Engine analysis
Engine analysis is the use of a chess program to search a position and report which moves are strongest, along with a numeric evaluation and the lines it expects both sides to follow.
Also called: computer analysis
When you turn on engine analysis, a program examines the position by searching many move sequences and scoring the positions that result. It then shows its top choices, an evaluation, and a main line of play. For a club player the value is immediate feedback: it spots a tactic you missed, shows that a sacrifice you rejected actually worked, or reveals that a position you thought was lost can be held. The common mistake is treating the output as an explanation. An engine says which move scores best, not why a human should find it, and its preferred line often runs many moves deep through ideas nobody would play over the board. Another trap is switching analysis on before you have thought for yourself, which trains you to copy instead of calculate. A useful habit is to write down your own verdict on each critical moment first, then let the engine check it. Where your verdict and the engine disagree, work out which concrete line you overlooked and try to find it yourself before reading the engine's answer. Different tools search to different depths, so their results can vary slightly.
A neighboring idea is Evaluation bar. The evaluation bar is a vertical or horizontal gauge beside the board that shows, with a bar of black and white, which side the engine thinks is better and by roughly how much.
Also worth reading is Neural network engine. A neural network engine uses a trained neural network to evaluate positions, and NNUE, the efficiently updatable neural network added to Stockfish, combines such an evaluation with fast traditional search.
A neighboring idea is Principal variation. The principal variation is the line of best play for both sides that an engine has found, shown as a sequence of moves and tied to the evaluation it reports.
An engine can tell you what "Engine analysis" means for a position, but not which mistakes you keep making; a first lesson with George Li reviews your games and finds those.
Related terms
A chess engine is a computer program that searches positions and evaluates moves, usually playing and analyzing far stronger than any human, and it is used for analysis, preparation and play against a machine.
An evaluation is a numerical judgment of who stands better in a position, usually given in pawns from White’s point of view, where positive favors White and negative favors Black.
The principal variation is the line of best play for both sides that an engine has found, shown as a sequence of moves and tied to the evaluation it reports.
A game review is an automatic engine pass over a finished game that marks each move, shows how the evaluation changed and points out the turning points, mistakes and missed chances.
The best move is the move an engine rates highest in a given position after searching, usually shown first in its list of candidate lines and marked with the strongest evaluation.
Guides that go further
What to decide first, the questions to ask, what a first lesson should show and the red flags to avoid.
How much does chess coaching cost?
Published rates for private, group and subscription chess coaching, with the source and the date of each.
A game review, a read on your level and a written study plan from George Li.
Want to spot this in your own games?
A first lesson starts with your games: George reviews them and builds a study plan around what he finds.