Can you improve by playing bots/computer?

The thing I like about playing bots is sometimes you want to go "deep", meaning; try to play a game where you actually calculate alot, take alot of time for each move etc, but you don't want to face the uncertainty of how you will feel at the end as you will against a human in a 30+0 game or classical game... So I'd say - once in a while when you feel like challenging yourself alot - play a high rated bot.. Just playing easy or medium bots... I wouldn't do it, tbh

I play a high rated bot (2000 2200 is super challenging for me) like about twice a month...

Also the bots will play the same openings over and over so it's nice for sharpening opening theory 

Are their bots that you prefer?  Are there some that seem more humanlike than others?

Li (2000) is the best... She plays Sicilian, French, and Italian as black. 

The 1800 one is also fine perhaps a bit easy for me but also fun for practicing conversion against an opponent who does not collapse after they are losing +4 etc...

Also Jonas (1700) plays provokative openings so that's also not bad... but he's easy to beat.

the 2200+ are too hard for me personally but maybe for just reaching equal middle games I'll try em again

I‘m a low rated beginner around 600 in rapid 30 minutes matches. I‘ve beaten all beginner bots both as black and white in challenge mode and I got a draw against a 1800 bot and I analysed all of my matches. BTW many games without blunders and even over 93 accuracy. Playing against humans is totally strange for me. Around 60%, many blunders and even sweaty hands.  I don‘t why I play better against bots but I can say: humans around my rating are doing lots of funny stuff on the board which overwhelmed me - I can‘t cope with it. Openings are not really book moves and I‘m wondering what they do and what I should do. 

So my answer is: Bots don‘t improve your rating or playing even if you analyse your game. Playing humans is totally different, maybe one of many unsolved mysteries…

Yeah playing bots will definitely not "improve" your chess ability let alone your rating which are two different things...

Bots are amusing for when you want to play for fun and want a strong resistance to challenge your calculation but nothing that will challenge you really mentally like a real chess game...

mainly for learning to calculate objective stuff without a clock, versus an opponent that plays pretty normal openings (except for the ones who are programmed to troll) and know how to be annoyingly strong in the endgame... 

So don't expect to improve from it, no... But it can be a bit fun and instructive to some extent if you want to challenge yourself with no stress involved 

Computers are not good for learning to play against people.

I like playing bots when I don't want to mess up my record. You can't beat them tactically so you can improve your positional game.

Also I like loading up games I won, to see how a better opponent would have handled my moves 

Playing with a bot is not imporving me there are lot of options there like friendly chalenge like that .play against a human and analyse the game later. So play against a human is improving me and I am analysing every match I played.

I’m not sure if the computer games help but I’m certainly going to try them and also some chess.com courses. My game has gone from a 900 to the low 600s and I’ve developed a chess phobia.  I don’t want to ever lose my passion for the game so I’ll try playing the computer, the chess tutorials - whatever WORKS!

Thanks, TempoFunk for the feedback as I embark on refreshing my chess skills!😊

The criticism you'll see of bots is that they don't play much like human beings.  That's true, and if you have only played against bots you might be at a disadvantage playing against similarly-rated humans.  But, I have no doubt you can improve by playing against bots, particularly at the beginning, as long as you are rigorous about analyzing your mistakes.

Yes.

Yes..

ThePilgrim_HH wrote:

I‘m a low rated beginner around 600 in rapid 30 minutes matches. I‘ve beaten all beginner bots both as black and white in challenge mode and I got a draw against a 1800 bot and I analysed all of my matches. BTW many games without blunders and even over 93 accuracy. Playing against humans is totally strange for me. Around 60%, many blunders and even sweaty hands.  I don‘t why I play better against bots but I can say: humans around my rating are doing lots of funny stuff on the board which overwhelmed me - I can‘t cope with it. Openings are not really book moves and I‘m wondering what they do and what I should do. 

So my answer is: Bots don‘t improve your rating or playing even if you analyse your game. Playing humans is totally different, maybe one of many unsolved mysteries…

I disagree. Playing against Bots can improve your rating depending on the elo of the Bot and Human. If you're 1800+, and the Bot's strength is +50/+100, you can dramatically improve your Chess playing strength, since this is the elo that Players tend to stop making tactical blunders and Engines start to play tactically and positionally sound. Players at the 1800 range usually excel at either tactics or positional play, which by neglecting the other, really holds them back from reaching the 2k threshold. Engines at around 2000 elo forces you to be tactically AND positionally strong/sound(strong is relative).

Of course you can't just mindlessly play Bot games and expect to improve, which can be said of playing against Humans-- you need to supplement your playing with tactics training, studying books on strategy/opening/endgame, and post game analysis and annotations of your Bot games.

Imo, playing both Humans and Bots are the best way to improve. Once the Bot's elo reaches around and above 2000~ elo, the nature of the game becomes much more positional since it's not going to be making any tactical blunders on its own, and if they blunder, it's a positional one that requires you to refute it with a strong variation.

Humans are very inconsistent with their playstyle and it differs between each player. One might be tactical and be poor positionally, other is positional but lacks tactical, other is more well rounded but excels at none, some have memorized traps/strange lines, etc. However, the engine is consistent, so you're more able to pinpoint exactly where your strengths and weaknesses lie and focus on improving those aspects of your game.

I gained 150 points in just 2 months of consistent play of an 2000 elo adjusted Komodo engine by thoroughly reviewing my games with it and supplementing that play with tactics training and studying strategy/endgame books.

Imo, it's important to be open minded and flexible in your approach to learning Chess and never be dogmatic since everyone is different and may respond to the same training methods differently. Improving at Chess is predicated upon how well you utilize the tools at your disposal, and engines, just like puzzles or chess books, can be used as a tool for improvement based on how YOU tailor it to your needs.

I mean you can, but it gets pretty boring after getting crushed every game. Playing humans are better for sure.

Playing against bots is more enjoyable. Simple as that.

If club players and titled players use engines to prepare and analyze (the ones I personally know) why can’t beginners and intermediate players like us do it?

I do experiment with opening prep and middle game planning ideas and it’s got me to 1400 thus far.

Work smarter, not harder.

I mostly play the bots when I'm trying something new and want to practice. Like if I'm learning a new opening, I can quit after the opening is over, rewind a few steps, etc. I can go as fast or as slow as I want. I can consult books and videos and try new things...which would otherwise be cheating if I were playing live.

I'm just noticing that I can also set up custom configurations in Explorer, then play those scenarios against the computer. I sometimes get opponents who play the Englund Gambit, so I'm setting up and practicing against that.

https://www.chess.com/explorer?moveList=d4+e5+dxe5+Nc6+Nf3+Qe7+Bf4&ply=7

Yes, but they do not play them, they use them for assistance, big difference.

I catch my own tunnel vision.  Which is a problem.