Hey guys I've heard alot about how playing yourself is a bad thing and that there only a few exceptions to when it's ok but no one has told me what those exceptions are. One hypothesis I have is if someone like Garry Kaparov who's unrivialed at the moment could perhaps get stronger just from playing himself and analyzing afterwards. or one example is when I was beginner with no coach who couldnt rival anyone I simply played myself and reached a 700ish level of play on my own in like a few months which is what I was told is pretty good for a beginner. What are some other exceptions ?

http://www.chesscafe.com/video/video323.htm

Bobby Fischer started out early by playing against himself when he was young...he turned out to be a decent player

I can never beat myself at chess because I know all my opponents (myself) tricks and tactics.

Stop! You'll go blind.

Only when chess.com doesn't exist ;)  Playing opponents, in my humble opinion, will improve your chess ability much more drastically than playing yourself, but only if you take the time to analyze the games you play (which I clearly don't do :p)