Trying to add personal annotation to computer analysis

Does anyone know how (if?) you can add your own comments and annotation to the computer analysis?

I think that question is clear, but in case it isn't, what I'd like to do for my completed games is run them through the computer analysis, and then to that output (the one that shows your blunders and suggested variations, etc.) add my own comments.

I keep notes on my daily games as I go, and then review them myself when the game is done.  I also like to see the computer analysis to point out where my big mistakes were.  I know that there is an overwhelming consensus that beginners like me (~1450 ELO) should avoid computer analysis, and I try to take this to heart.  But at the same time, I at least want to see concrete examples of alternate lines that might have improved my play.

So in a perfect world, I could review my game and take notes, then run the computer analysis, then add my comments into the appropriate places of the computer analysis.  I know how to add comments, etc. using the self analysis page, but then I'd have to add in the variations move by move (does that just make me lazy?).  Perhaps, but I have two young kids, a full time job, and a dog to walk, so I think I'm just trying to be efficient... or have my cake and eat it too!

Any help that anyone could provide me would be much appreciated.  Thanks in advance!

Hi I'll try and help but it's difficult to explain without being sat at the PC. Firstly you can't do this from a phone app, you have to use the web site.

Run your games through the computer analysis and once finished click download (it's a symbol with a downward arrow on it). You can then copy and paste this annotated set of moves to notepad or word.

If you want to post your game in a forum or message you need to click the 'insert game' icon and then paste your saved list of moves into the Load PGN option.

To add comments right-click on any move and you can enter text to the right of the move.

Once finished click INSERT - there's no going back from this point - you won't be able to edit comments.

Hope this helps!

Dan

If you start making alternative moves on the board the variation will automatically appear.

Thanks, LuckyDan!  It took me a couple of attempts to get it all the steps right based on what you said, but I got there.  Looking back at your instructions, I think they're correct - I just wasn't interpreting/following them correctly at first.

This is a somewhat complicated process, but I'd be willing to live with it if if wasn't for the fact that once you add your own comments and then post the game to a blog post (which was my main goal) you can't change anything.  That's unfortunate, but I understand the why of it.

 

So after trying that I started poking around the site (a lot!) trying to see what else I could try, and I discovered a few features that I hadn't noticed before:

1) when you open a self analysis page from your game, that analysis (in which you add your own annotations and comments) is saveable!

2) You can "save"/preserve computer analysis of a game in quite a convenient fashion by loading it's downloaded PGN into a comment on the game page.  And as a bonus, if you click the "Analyze" icon directly below the Comments' game board, you can even view it in full size on a separate tab AND add personal annotations/comments to the computer analysis from here (and then download or post that PGN of combined comments if you want).

 

So what I can now get from any of my game pages (from the website) is:

1) The game itself, and the private "notes" that I can add to during the game to record my thoughts and decision process.

2) My saved fully-annotated/commented self analysis (which opens on a separate tab) that I can build based on my game notes, and prior to running computer analysis.

3) My saved computer analysis for future reference identifying the mistakes/blunders and suggested variations.

 

This is perfect!  The only reason I was trying to figure out how to add personal comments to the computer analysis was so that I could preserve everything in one PGN that I would then post to my blog so I could review past games (both personal and computer analysis).  But the solution I came up with will work very nicely since everything is tied to, and easily accessible from, the appropriate game in my archive list.

 

Thanks for your help - I couldn't have gotten here without it!!