I play chess just because I like it. I don't care whether my oponnent uses an engine as I can't do anything to stop him, so the best thing I can do is to beat both him/her and his/hers engine.
Any easy way to tell if your opponent was using an engine?
Sort:
ask him to explain or annotate the game for you ... among other ways. After all, who would want to turn down the chance to show off their brilliant victory and all the thought behind it?
Ways during the game: quickest is to make a totally off the wall and unexpected pawn sac and see if he takes less than 1.5 nanoseconds to capture it... like a computer. If it is taken faster than you could even have clicked your mouse, you pretty much have your answer.
there are so many ways: opp can use different engines for diff crucial moves; 'routine wins' opp reads up on and 'tunes' enging output to 'human-like' - sees if the engine's 2nd-or-3rd-choice also wins ...
yawn - why bother?
whats the use of knowing? more important how can we get them out ? or convince them to stop cheating
What's the use of playing online if your just playing against a computer?
I don't think you can convince them to leave, because they're not here for the chess in the first place. I don't cheat because it holds no satisfaction, but cheaters obviously think its a worthwile way to spend thier time. The joke is on them. :P
If you play any sort of game on line you're just going to have to deal with cheaters. They will never go away.
I'm with you BaybyFeratu.
If I wanted to play a computer I would just play j-chess. Less time waiting for the axe to fall.
I think it could be done using the method I described, but It wouldn't be foolproof. The best you could hope to do is come up with a program that would rate a player's "humanness". Some players were just born as cold, efficient, killing machines, equally invulnerable to error and mercy, and would rate low on the "humannes" scale even withouth a computer.
I don't think there's anything wrong with this topic as long as the discussion sticks to the facts and does not get emotional. I think it's interesting.