(04-03-2020, 09:41 AM)PF* Wrote:

(04-02-2020, 08:22 PM)Sneakers Wrote: To improve your game, you first need to lose more.  You're playing down to the opposition level you selected (let's admit it, it's fun to win), but that rook never should have been exposed anyway.  Bump your opponent setting up a couple notches and try again.  When you find yourself getting into an unfavorable position, back up to a key move and try again.

When you're considering a move after the first 10-15, how far ahead are you thinking?  At that point do you typically have a clear strategy in mind based on position?

Hmmm, interesting. I haven't played in 20-25 years so doing this on home detention has been fun. I've played a couple of games at Level 3 and the bot has made some really dumb moves...almost like it intentionally wanted to lose the game.

For instance, there was a pawn which had advanced on the far file (H I guess, getting used to that) to H4 and was strongly supported by the rook up at H8. My H pawn was gone so the file was open to my castled king at G1 behind a G2 pawn and beside my F1 rook.

I was worried about that for about 8 moves, not wanting to do something stupid and risk a dumb checkmate  when he inexplicably moved the rook to an insignificant place on the 8th rank and removed the threat.

I think he Bortled it as I was then able to just crash in. But you're right, it is fun to win.

Don't forget you can play "live chess" on that website, against either a bot or a real person.  "Live chess" means you are using a clock and you don't get mulligans like you do against "Level 1" through "Level 10" computers.  You can get a rating and play for rating points.  

I know what you mean about the computer sometimes Bortling, and it led me to wonder, how do they make the computer play at these various "levels."   And I have a theory, that, on the lower levels, randomly throwing away a piece every now and then is one of the ways it reduces its playing level.  Because how could they program a computer to play poorly?  But I don't know that for sure.  I do know that it never seems to do that on the higher levels.  

Playing the higher levels can be pretty frustrating.  It's like being slowly strangled by a python.  There's no one place apparent where you could have made a better move that would have changed the outcome.

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