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En Croissant provides powerful analysis tools powered by chess engines like Stockfish. This guide covers the complete workflow from opening games to generating detailed analysis reports.

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Opening Games for Analysis

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From PGN Files

1

Open File

Press Cmd+O (Mac) or Ctrl+O (Windows/Linux) to open the file picker.
2

Select PGN

Choose a .pgn file from your computer. Files with multiple games will show a game selector.
3

New Analysis Tab

The game opens in a new analysis tab with all features enabled.

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From Databases

1

Browse Database

Navigate to Databases and open any database.
2

Find Game

Use filters to search by player, date, rating, or result.
3

Open Game

Double-click any game to open it in a new analysis tab.

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Quick Navigation

  • New Tab: Cmd+T / Ctrl+T
  • Close Tab: Cmd+W / Ctrl+W
  • Cycle Tabs: Ctrl+Tab
  • Reverse Cycle: Ctrl+Shift+Tab

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Using Engine Analysis

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Starting Analysis

1

Open Analysis Panel

Press A to switch to the Analysis tab in the right sidebar.
2

Select Engines

Click the engine selector (icon) to choose which engines to enable.
3

Start Analyzing

Engines automatically analyze each position as you navigate through the game.

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Understanding Engine Output

Each engine displays:
  • Evaluation: Numerical score (e.g., +1.5 means White is up 1.5 pawns)
  • Depth: How many moves ahead the engine has calculated
  • Best Lines: Top recommended move sequences
  • Mate Scores: “M7” means mate in 7 moves
Positive scores (+): White is betterNegative scores (−): Black is betterCentipawns: Scores are in centipawns (100 = 1 pawn advantage)Mate notation: M5 = mate in 5 moves for the side to moveEquality indicators:
  • 0.0 to ±0.2: Equal
  • ±0.2 to ±1.0: Slight advantage
  • ±1.0 to ±3.0: Clear advantage
  • ±3.0+: Winning advantage

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Configuring Engine Settings

1

Open Engine Settings

Click the settings icon on any engine card.
2

Adjust Analysis Mode

Choose between:
  • Depth: Analyze to a specific depth (e.g., 20 moves)
  • Time: Analyze for a set duration (e.g., 5 seconds)
  • Nodes: Analyze a specific number of positions
  • Infinite: Analyze until manually stopped
3

Configure Lines

Set “Number of Lines” (MultiPV) to see multiple best moves (1-5 recommended).
4

Optimize Performance

See Engine Configuration for detailed tuning.

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Multiple Engine Comparison

Analyze with multiple engines simultaneously:
  1. Enable Multiple Engines: Use the engine selector to load 2-4 engines
  2. Compare Evaluations: See if engines agree on the position
  3. Different Styles: Some engines are more aggressive, others more defensive
  4. Summary View: When 2+ engines are active, see a summary card at the top
Running multiple engines requires more CPU resources. Close unnecessary engines if performance is slow.

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Engine Controls

  • Toggle All Engines: Ctrl+A enables/pauses all engines at once
  • Reorder Engines: Drag and drop engine cards to rearrange
  • Individual Control: Click play/pause on each engine card
  • Kill Engine: Use the stop button if an engine becomes unresponsive

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Annotating Games

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Adding Move Annotations

Press number keys to add standard chess annotations:
KeySymbolMeaning
1‼Brilliant move
2!Good move
3!?Interesting move
4?!Dubious move
5?Mistake
6??Blunder
1

Navigate to Move

Click on any move in the game notation.
2

Add Annotation

Press the corresponding number key (1-6).
3

Toggle Annotation

Press the same key again to remove the annotation.

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Adding Variations

1

Navigate to Position

Go to the move where you want to add an alternative.
2

Make Alternative Move

Click on the board to make a different move than what was played.
3

Continue Variation

Keep adding moves to develop the alternative line.
4

Return to Main Line

Use the up arrow or click on the main line in the notation.
  • Next Branch: C - Move to the next sibling variation
  • Previous Branch: X - Move to the previous sibling variation
  • Branch Start: ↑ - Go to the start of current variation
  • Branch End: ↓ - Go to the end of current variation
  • Next Branching Point: Shift+→ - Jump to next position with variations
  • Previous Branching Point: Shift+← - Jump to previous position with variations

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Adding Text Comments

1

Switch to Annotate Tab

Press D to open the Annotate panel.
2

Select Move

Click on any move in the notation.
3

Write Comment

Type your analysis, observations, or notes in the comment field.
4

Comments Auto-Save

Comments are saved automatically when you navigate away.

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Visual Annotations (Arrows and Highlights)

1

Draw Arrows

Right-click and drag on the board to draw arrows showing key squares or threats.
2

Highlight Squares

Right-click a square to highlight it.
3

Clear All Shapes

Press Ctrl+L to remove all arrows and highlights.
Arrows and highlights are saved with each position and automatically appear when you return to that move.

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Generating Analysis Reports

En Croissant can automatically analyze entire games and generate comprehensive reports.

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Creating a Report

1

Open Report Panel

Click the “Report” tab in the Analysis panel.
2

Configure Analysis

Click “Generate Report” to open the report settings:
  • Engine: Choose which engine to use
  • Depth: Set analysis depth (20-30 recommended)
  • Time per move: Or set time limit per position
  • Annotation thresholds: Configure when to mark moves as mistakes/blunders
3

Start Analysis

Click “Analyze” to begin. Progress is shown in real-time.
4

Review Results

The report automatically annotates moves and adds engine variations.

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Report Features

Accuracy Scores:
  • Overall accuracy percentage for White and Black
  • Average centipawn loss (ACPL) per move
Evaluation Chart:
  • Visual graph of position evaluation throughout the game
  • Click any point to jump to that move
  • Clearly shows mistakes, blunders, and turning points
Move Classification:
  • Brilliant moves (‼): Moves even better than the engine’s top choice
  • Good moves (!): Top engine recommendation
  • Mistakes (?): Significant evaluation drops
  • Blunders (??): Major evaluation swings
Annotation Statistics:
  • Count of each annotation type for both players
  • Click numbers to navigate to annotated moves

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Customizing Report Settings

Adjust annotation thresholds:
  • Blunder threshold: Default −200 centipawns (e.g., missing a piece)
  • Mistake threshold: Default −100 centipawns (e.g., losing a pawn)
  • Dubious threshold: Default −50 centipawns (e.g., slight inaccuracy)
Higher thresholds = stricter evaluation (fewer annotations). Lower thresholds = more lenient (more annotations).

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Move Navigation

ActionShortcut
Next move→
Previous move←
Game startShift+↑
Game endShift+↓
Branch start↑
Branch end↓
Next variationC
Previous variationX

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Panel Navigation

PanelShortcut
PracticeP
AnalysisA
DatabaseB
AnnotateD
InfoI

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Best Practices

Set Appropriate Depth

Use depth 20-25 for quick analysis, 30-40 for deep analysis. Higher depths take exponentially longer.

Analyze Critical Positions

Focus engine time on complex middlegame positions rather than simple endgames.

Add Context in Comments

Explain the ideas behind moves, not just engine evaluations. Include plans and positional themes.

Save Regularly

Press Cmd+S / Ctrl+S to save your annotations and analysis to a PGN file.

Use Multiple Lines

Set MultiPV to 3-5 to see alternative plans and tactical options.

Compare with Reference

Check database statistics (press B) to see how masters handled similar positions.

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Advanced Techniques

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Tablebase Analysis

For endgames with 7 or fewer pieces:
  • En Croissant automatically queries Syzygy tablebases
  • Shows guaranteed best moves and distance to mate
  • Displayed automatically in positions that qualify

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Blunder Checking

1

Generate Report

Create an analysis report for the entire game.
2

Review Mistakes

Click on blunder/mistake counts to navigate through errors.
3

Find Alternatives

Study the engine’s suggested improvements at each critical moment.

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Opening Preparation

  1. Load Reference Database: Mark a large database as reference
  2. Explore Openings: Play moves and see statistics from master games
  3. Add to Repertoire: Save good lines to your repertoire for practice
  4. Annotate Key Ideas: Add comments explaining opening concepts
Combine database statistics (press B) with engine analysis (press A) to understand both practical results and objective evaluations.

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