Game review
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.
Also called: automatic review
After a game ends, many analysis tools offer an automatic review. The engine goes through every move, compares it with its own preference, and presents a graph of the evaluation along with labels such as inaccuracy, mistake and blunder. Different tools compute these marks differently, so treat them as approximate. For a club player a review is fast and convenient: it shows where the game turned, often within seconds. Its weakness is that it does not explain your thinking. It can say that a move lost a pawn, not that you were short of time or misjudged the pawn structure. The common mistake is to skim the marks, feel good or bad, and close the page. A better habit is to review in two steps. First, go through the game yourself and write down where you think it turned. Second, run the automatic review and compare. The gaps between your notes and the engine's marks are exactly what you should study, because they show what your own judgment misses.
Also worth reading is Average centipawn loss. Average centipawn loss, or ACPL, is the mean amount of evaluation a player gave up per move compared with the engine's best choice, measured in hundredths of a pawn, so lower figures mean cleaner play.
Also worth reading is Brilliant move. A brilliant move is a label some analysis tools give to a strong, hard-to-find move, often a sacrifice, that the engine confirms keeps or improves the position despite looking risky.
Also worth reading is 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.
An engine can tell you what "Game review" 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
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.
Accuracy is a percentage produced by analysis software that summarizes how closely a player's moves matched the engine's preferred choices over a game, with higher numbers meaning fewer costly errors.
A blunder is a very serious error, such as leaving a piece undefended or missing a decisive tactic, that swings the evaluation so far that a good position turns bad or a bad one becomes lost.
Post-game analysis is the discussion or private review held right after a game, in which both players or one player alone retrace the moves and identify the turning points, missed ideas and lessons.
A game review habit is the routine of going back over your own games soon after playing them, first by yourself and then with an engine, to find the real reasons behind your decisions and mistakes.
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.
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.