Review

   

A game review (or analysis) is a process where a game you played is discussed by

Reviewing games has a high impact on improvement. Thanks to a review, you will be able to assess your ability to apply what you knows already and pin down flaws in your game.

Table of contents

General Conditions for a Good Review

There are three skills you have to master to get the most out of reviewing a game with an opponent or by yourself. One would hope that a teacher would apply them automatically:

Control your Emotions

If you have lost a game, it is important not to let feelings of regret prevent you from giving the review your full attention. Console yourself with the thought that lost games teach you more than games you have won, so it is well worth putting in the effort of identifying mistakes and weak strategies. If you cannot control your feelings sufficiently, then wait until later, but don't omit the review (I could also add that if you cannot control your feelings then maybe you should take up another game).

Be Objective and Honest

A common mistake on the losing side in a review is to try to show how they "should" have won the game. In chess parlance this is called trying to "win the post-mortem". A review will only do you good if you honestly seek mistakes and not if you seek to justify yourself.

Be Realistic

Many reviews go off into long branches that bear little resemblance to the game. While it can be useful to show how a game might have developed if a certain path had been taken, you can easily end up discussing a game that never happened. Try to keep to the main paths of the game itself and keep it real.

Don't "read out loud"

In many cases, people use a review to check whether their mental reading during the game was correct by physically going over the variations. While this may have some justification, many people continue the analysis in the same spirit, by quickly going over variations as if the game constraints were still in effect, except that playing variations out physically is allowed. It can be argued that this type of "reading out loud" is counterproductive and one should either practice reading mentally, or, if physically going over variations, one should completely change gears by going over each move more slowly with the emphasis on correctness.

Reviewing with your Opponent

The foremost principle when reviewing your opponent's moves is respect. This is particularly important when the review takes place immediately after the game, when both players may experience strong emotions. A friendly atmosphere helps both players enjoy the review and learn from it.

There is no obligation to endure an analysis. If you don't want to, just decline politely.

Tips

Good and Bad Analysis

In a good analysis, both players review a game with interesting points and input from both sides. Bad analysis is when the losing player goes over a disastrous game as consolation ("oh, if only I had done this and that, he never could have won! he was so lucky!") This kind of "review" is certainly better done in the privacy of your own home. See /Ilan's Dreaded Analysis for an example.

Review by a Teacher

A common practice is to play a teaching game with a teacher. This game will usually be reviewed by the teacher.

You can have your games reviewed at the GTL.

Reviews of Professional Players

Losing a Review

There is a story about the great Japanese player Sakata to the effect that one day he was in a bad mood. When asked why he explained that things were really bad; he had lost a tournament game and also lost the review. I guess winning the review of a lost game is also common among the pros.

About this Page

Contributors: -- Dieter. Tamsin, AndreEngels, BenFinney, Matt Noonan, Bob McGuigan
WME: Sebastian


This is a copy of the living page "Review" at Sensei's Library.
(OC) 2004 the Authors, published under the OpenContent License V1.0.
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