---
title: "Reviewing a Game Immediately Versus After a Delay · Xiangqi Master"
description: "Immediate review catches your own thought process while it's still fresh, but a delayed second look, once emotion has faded, often spots mistakes an immediate review misses."
url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/reviewing-a-game-immediately-versus-after-a-delay
updated: 2026-09-23
source: Xiangqi Master (https://xiangqimaster.com)
license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
---

# Is it better to review a game immediately after playing it, or to come back to it with fresh eyes a few days later?

These answers restate the rules implemented by our open-source engine, which follows the WXF laws and is regression-tested against the official 110-diagram repetition casebook. Where an answer refers to a specific position, that position lives on the linked reference page, where the build verifies it against the engine before publishing.

> Direct answer
>
> **Both have real value, and the strongest habit uses each for a different purpose.** Reviewing immediately after a game captures what you were actually thinking and feeling at each critical moment, while that memory is still accurate. Coming back to the same game a few days later, once the emotional charge of winning or losing has faded, often reveals mistakes or missed ideas that immediate review, still coloured by relief or frustration, tends to gloss over.

## What immediate review is good for

Right after a game, you still remember what you actually calculated, what you were worried about, and where you felt unsure, information that fades quickly and is not visible from the moves alone. Capturing that honestly, even just as brief notes, is much easier immediately than it will be later.

## What a delayed second look adds

After a loss especially, an immediate review is easily coloured by frustration, either overreacting to a single move or defensively minimising real mistakes. A second pass once that emotion has faded tends to be more objective, and it is common to notice something completely different the second time through the same game.

## Related questions

Is one pass ever enough on its own?

It can be for a routine game, but important or emotionally charged games usually reward a second look once time has passed.

How long should the delay be for the second review?

A few days is usually enough for the emotional response to fade while the game is still reasonably fresh in memory.

## Related xiangqi resources

How to improve

What to study, in what order

Common mistakes

The errors that decide most club games

Xiangqi Academy

The guided path, in order

## Try it on a real board

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