Computer Chronicles I

Much of the time that I play chess, I ought to be more awake than I am due to the many hours that I spend online rather than buried in books. I haven't had any chess books in some time (they've been lost to travel) and so I mainly analyze games with the aid of Arena Chess GUI coupled with my personal favorite engine, Fruit 2.3. I've lost quite a few games to other players on this site (not as a direct result of fatigue, either) and an alarmingly large number of those losses have been due to resignation from a lost position (and quite often in less than 20 moves). I'm starting this blog, however, to discuss my struggles against an opponent of the computer kind. Needless to say, I am not going to chronicle staggering losses to a chess simulator operating at ELO levels the likes of top players! However, I recently have been fiddling around with the chess app found on my friends phone. I only dare to compete with it on the easiest setting and, nonetheless, even here it has given me a number of thrashings!

But there was a glimmer of hope two days ago when after encountering seemingly lost positions against it, I somehow managed a victory against it! In a match against a human I probably would have offered to resign. At any rate, I thought it was an interesting game and I'd like to share it with you, dear reader. I like these types of games where the "optimal" move is not always chosen and victory seems to vascillate, unsure of whether to side with white or black. For your humble narrator, dear reader, is just the type to find this sort of game more exciting. Here I've included a PGN of the game (which I input from a history that the simulator on the phone records for you). I've included some comments here and there, but as I'm still very much a beginner I don't quite understand all the different principles behind it. Needless to say, comments are more than welcome!

I sincerely apologize to anyone reading this and saying to themselves "what a pathetic game".  I truly sympathize with those on a higher level for whom reading this blog was a waste of time.  To the rest of you, I hope you enjoyed it!

- Your Humble Narrator