Why moves get labels
A game review does not just score your accuracy — it puts a label on each move so you can see, at a glance, where you did well and where you slipped. The labels are based on how much your move changed the engine evaluation compared to the best available move.
The labels, from best to worst
- Brilliant: a hard-to-find, often sacrificial move that is also the best. Rare and worth celebrating.
- Best: you found the engine's top move.
- Good / Excellent: a strong move that keeps your position healthy, even if not the absolute best.
- Inaccuracy: a small slip. The position gets a little worse but nothing is lost.
- Mistake: a real error that hands your opponent a clear advantage.
- Blunder: a serious error — hanging a piece, missing a tactic, or turning a win into a loss.
Which ones to focus on
Ignore the brilliant moves — they feel great but teach little. Your rating lives in the blunders and mistakes. Those are the moves that actually change results, so those are the ones to understand and drill.
Turning labels into improvement
Open a game analysis, jump straight to your first blunder or mistake, and work out why the engine's move was better. Then practise the pattern with blunder puzzles made from your own games. For how these labels roll up into your score, see What Is Accuracy in Chess?