I've tried all the settings on the new play against computer variety....these are my findings

Silly(~800) - Not even close to 800 ratings, it was easier to beat this than a ~550 i've played. More like ridiculously easy than just silly.

Easy(~1200) - About even with a 1200 honestly...it was harder than Hard setting

Medium(~1600) - Easier game than Easy gave me but harder than Hard setting.

Hard (~2000+) - Lasted longer playing this setting than I did on Easy or Medium....it seems players under 1250 might find this setting easier because their simplistic approach to the game makes the computer overcompensate and leaves more usable space for a smaller player to last...

odd. i'd love to get some of our title players to play it and rate it. 

creating chess engines to be monsters to a easy process, creating chess engines that realistically simulate the types of mistakes human players of x strength make is a behemoth of a task for AI programing.

I played hard just a sec ago. it played an ok opening and middlegame (some odd choices) and I thus went into an endgame a pawn down and without compensation. the computer however clearly misunderstood the position and lost a position a 2000+ would comfortably draw (at very least).

so if you want to beat the thing, just play positionally and avoid the tactics

In anycase,  is it possible to have the notation displayed in a useable format (eg. pgn)? 

computers dont read this:

1.    e4    c5
2.    f4    e5
3.    Nf3    exf4
4.    d3    Qf6
5.    Nc3    Ne7
6.    Be2    d5
7.    exd5    Bg4
8.    O-O    Nd7
9.    Qd2    Bxf3
10.    Bxf3    g5
11.    Re1    O-O-O   ...etc

EDIT:- I retract this statement. Fritz 8 actually understands it if you give it the movelist with  a 'pgn header' 

[Event "Blitz:0'"]
[Site "TOSHIBA"]
[Date "2010.06.30"]
[Round "?"]
[White "NN"]
[Black "NN"]     <----all this sort of stuff.

So if anyone else was wondering how to do it, voila!

im hoping to see a force move button in the future. the computer has been contemplating my offer for a queen exchange for a good ten minutes now.

just take it already!!!!!

or dont!!!

i dont care just doo something!

 i've found it really doesn't like some positions and will seem to get "stuck" at the same spot every time.

try to go to the app page and do a hard refresh to clear your cache. we have fixed most of the bugs that made it freeze!

I don't know if the same computer is used in Live Chess but here's another example of odd moves. I agree that scaling back a killer machine to an arbitrary easier level is very hard but it does make for some weird outcomes!

 After 1.c4 nf6 2.g3 (well it's a opening I sometimes use) it freezes. I don't know what it is a hard refresh, I have try in another browser, the same.