Bot Whammed
Bots. I used to have this chip on my shoulder about playing bots. I wouldn't really pay attention when I played them. I would take them lightly. It was like a bit of light self sabotage, so if or when I lost I could just tell myself that I wasn't really paying any attention. It felt like a dirty little secret I didn't want anyone to know about. Given what a mediocre chess player I am, I'm not quite sure where I got off having that attitude. Especially low rated bots. Martin?!? Why would I waste my time? It's not a challenge to beat it. Pfftthhhh. Please.
I suppose the difference between then and now is that now I'm really serious about improving my game. When your really serious then you stop and look at all the available tools. You realize that if you want to get good then you have to get humble. If your truly humble then you know that nothing is beneath you because if your really humble then the first thing to go is the ego. That's the childish, self-centered, part of you that demands everything now, the part of you that thinks anyone who beats you must be cheating and that playing stupid bots is a waste of time.
I seem to remember hearing Elon Musk say something about chess being a simple game. It's only 64 squares, no fog of war, and no tech tree. Something like that anyway. Well, he's not wrong. Which of course doesn't mean its easy. At least not for mere mortals like me. Chess is a simple and honest game. There aren't any secrets on a chess board. Your not going to discover any magic squares or magic pieces on random turns that will suddenly give you an advantage. It's all laid out in front of you and your opponent. You both have the same tools, same amount of space to work, and the same amount of time. It's your personal knowledge and vision versus that of your opponent. Those are the only wild cards. Knowledge and vision can only by earned one way. Maybe you can sus it all out in a hundred matches or maybe it will take you a hundred thousand but everyone must sit and learn.
Bots are one of the tools available to learn and they are extremely useful. It's not like I don't have issues with Bots. Mostly I don't think they perform to the level advertised but on the other hand if they're supposed to emulate humans then there's gonna be mistakes, blunders, and all the rest. I've seen enough videos on YouTube of master level players losing in ten moves to simple gambits to realize, no matter their skill level, anyone can lose at anytime. Personally the highest level bot I have beaten to date is rated 1500. I cannot beat the bots at that level consistently at this point but a couple of months ago I could not consistently beat a 1200 rated bot so there is hope for me yet. On the other hand I have blundered my Queen playing Martin so there you have it. Don't laugh it's not funny. Well ok, its hilarious but how the hell did I let it happen? A lingering touch of contempt is certainly part of it but let's be real I blunder against human opponents all the time. For the same simple reason, I am not properly focused on the game. I am not properly checking myself before I move. I am moving faster than I should because I am in a hurry to get good. I am forgetting that there aren't any shortcuts.
Thankfully, all said and done, even after having blundered my Queen, I managed to beat Martin. It was simple carelessness, I saw an opportunity on the opposite side of the board and got tunnel vision. It shouldn't have happened but it did. I did a game review afterward, it wasn't just a blunder, there were misses, mistakes, and inaccuracies as well. At least I don't discriminate, when I make one mistake I make them all. Full disclosure it wasn't the first time.
The nice thing about Bot Tournaments is you can play as fast or as slow as you want and on whatever terms you decide. My version of the Bot Tourney on the first run was simply beat the bot. Start at the bottom with Martin and his other 250 rated fellows. You don't move on till you have beaten them. Next 400 rated bots, then 550 and so on. Simple enough but as previously stated 250 rated bots are easy to beat even when you blunder your Queen. So then I started adding other criteria on subsequent runs.
Accuracy must meet or exceed 80 percent. Blunders must be zero. Want to make it harder still? Can you do it with zero misses? It's harder than you might imagine. Certainly doable against a bot rated 250 but what about 800 or 1000? 1200? Try it and see. No one needs to know except you and it doesn't hurt your ELO at all. Run up as high as you can, see how far you get and then go back and make it harder on yourself. I think you'll be surprised at how hard it can be.
I originally started with the idea of 80 percent accuracy, zero blunders, and zero misses but evidently I am not ready for that level just yet. So I dropped that requirement for zero misses. I'll add it back on the next run and see where we land.
Admitting you are chess stupid is a hard but necessary step on the road. Bot Tournaments are just one way of admitting to yourself how far you have to go. Obviously one size does not fit all here but I am finding it a worthwhile exercise though it is somewhat tedious. Here's to getting rid of tunnel vision...
