Getting Started with Chess Analysis

🤔 What is Chess Analysis?

Chess analysis is like having a really strong chess player review your game and point out where you could have played better moves. Instead of a person, we use a powerful computer program called Stockfish (one of the strongest chess engines in the world!) to evaluate every position in your game.

📈 Why Should I Analyze My Games?

• Learn from mistakes: See exactly where you went wrong and why
• Understand patterns: Notice if you keep making the same types of mistakes
• See missed opportunities: Discover brilliant moves you didn't spot
• Track improvement: Watch your accuracy get better over time
• Objective feedback: The computer doesn't care if you win or lose - it just shows the truth

📖 Basic Chess Terms (Beginner's Glossary)

PGN (Portable Game Notation)

A file format that records chess games. Like a text file that contains all the moves of your game. You'll export this from Chess.com or Lichess.

Engine

A computer program that plays chess and analyzes positions. We use Stockfish, one of the strongest engines.

Evaluation (Eval)

A number showing who's winning. Positive numbers (like +2.5) mean White is better. Negative numbers (like -1.8) mean Black is better. Zero means equal.

Move Notation

How we write chess moves. For example: "e4" means "move a pawn to the e4 square" and "Nf3" means "move a knight to f3".

Accuracy

A percentage showing how close your moves were to the best possible moves. 100% means perfect play!

💾 How to Export Your Games

From Chess.com:

1. Log into your Chess.com account
2. Go to your game archive (Profile → Archive)
3. Click on the game you want to analyze
4. Look for the "Share" or "Download" button (usually three dots ⋮)
5. Select "Download PGN"
6. Save the file to your computer

From Lichess:

1. Go to your Lichess profile
2. Click on the game you want to analyze
3. Look for the "Export" button below the board
4. Click "Download" in the PGN section
5. Save the file to your computer

🚀 Using the Chess Analyst Tool

Method 1: Upload a File

1. Open Chess Analyst in your browser
2. Click on the "📁 Upload File" tab
3. Click "Choose File" and select your PGN file
4. (Optional) Adjust analysis depth (15 is good for most games)
5. Click "Analyze Game"
6. Wait while the engine analyzes (this can take 30 seconds to a few minutes)

Method 2: Paste PGN Text

1. Copy your game PGN from Chess.com or Lichess
2. Click on the "📋 Paste PGN" tab
3. Paste your game into the text box
4. Click "Analyze PGN"

Method 3: Try a Sample Game

1. Click on the "⭐ Try Sample" tab
2. Choose one of the famous games (great for learning!)
3. See the analysis instantly

📊 Understanding Your Results

Accuracy Percentage

This shows how well you played compared to perfect play:

• 90-100%: Excellent! Near-perfect play
• 80-90%: Very good, strong performance
• 70-80%: Good, solid game
• 60-70%: Okay, room for improvement
• Below 60%: Many mistakes, great learning opportunity!

Move Statistics

• ✨ Brilliant: An exceptionally good, creative move
• ✅ Good Moves: Solid, correct play
• ⚠️ Inaccuracies: Not bad, but not the best
• ❌ Mistakes: Clearly worse moves that hurt your position
• 💥 Blunders: Very bad moves that seriously damage your position

Interactive Board

Use the controls to replay your game:

• ⏮ Go to start
• ◀ Previous move
• ▶ Next move
• ⏭ Go to end
• Keyboard shortcuts: Use arrow keys to navigate!

Evaluation Graph

The line graph shows how the game evaluation changed:

• Line going up = good for White
• Line going down = good for Black
• Sharp drops = big mistakes (blunders)
• Flat line = equal position, good play from both sides
• Click on the graph to jump to that move!

Coaching Tips

Click on any move classification to see personalized tips on how to avoid that type of mistake in the future!