Analyze board

Do you use the analyze board and if so,what for:-
1.Remind yourself of the recent moves when you return to a game?
2.Try things out be moving and anticipating the opponents response hence spotting potential blunders and traps before committing.
3 Both
If (2) could this be construed as a mild form of cheating?
I go to the analyze board first when I log onto a game and do both (1) and (2)

It's not cheating, mild or otherwise to look at potential moves on a correspondence chess site. It's lazy but it's not cheating. I look at the board, think of a move then hit analyze board to see how it might develop.

Flip board is something I need to start using again, so many blunders spotted just by looking at it from your opponents perspective. But I've gotten lazy.

That board lost me a couple of games over the years.
You can play by accident an illegal move which is accepted and
unknown to you, especially if the bogus move is maybe the 3rd
or 4th move in some combination, you analyse thinking you are doing
OK. Leave the analysis board and make your move in the game.

A few days later you are looking at a lost game wondering what happened!
But more often than not I I found it very handy.

@greenpawn34
That's the downside of looking 3/4 moves in advance, if you're just like us mortals who looks maybe 1/2 moves in advance that's less likely to happen 😃

I think the note pad is important to use for that but again I'm too lazy, looks like its gong to cost me a game not making notes. Had a simple move but completely forgot it by the time I went back to the game and played something else. Oops.

@venda said
Do you use the analyze board and if so,what for:-
1.Remind yourself of the recent moves when you return to a game?
2.Try things out be moving and anticipating the opponents response hence spotting potential blunders and traps before committing.
3 Both
If (2) could this be construed as a mild form of cheating?
I go to the analyze board first when I log onto a game and do both (1) and (2)

@A-Unique-Nickname said
Had a simple move but completely forgot it by the time I went back to the game and played something else. Oops.

@mike69 said
That happens to me every move😁. I have to stop and look each time like it’s the first time I’ve seen the game unless playing straight through. I also lose everything and can’t remember anything maybe I’m just getting old? I don’t have the patience to use analyze board or think long although I know it would improve my game. Openings are something I’ve put off on learning. ...[text shortened]... d trying the English a little on chess.c but didn’t like it so figuring out a new one I should try.

@A-Unique-Nickname said
Nah it's hard to remember all the positions, once I have over 20 games it's impossible. Blunders a rook away on a won position just recently, chess isn't hard concentrating is 😅

Playing an opening by a book is boring imo and closer to cheating than anything else Venda has mentioned.

Thanks for the replies.As I've said before,opening theory is fine provided the opponent follows the moves!.When he doesn't the dilemma is what to play to take advantage of what is considered to be the best move.

@venda said
Thanks for the replies.As I've said before,opening theory is fine provided the opponent follows the moves!.When he doesn't the dilemma is what to play to take advantage of what is considered to be the best move.

@mike69 said
I wonder if all the different openings, memorizing only moves and responses and so forth to some point limits/hampers ones ability to be able to find these best moves oneself? I’m not talking about 1800 or 1900 and up but the mid to lower levels.