Well, assuming a decent internet connection I can only see one advantage playing a computer: You can pause the game when real life interferes.
Fo me that is a Key advantage but I would much rather play a game vs. a real opponent. Computers are really weak at playing substandard chess.
Many trainers (in all type pf training!) agree to that training should be "competitionsesque" in order to be efficient. I tend to loose focus playing a silicon based foe.
If you have chessmaster, you can set the 'blunder' level and the 'risk' level of your opponent if you're creating them from scratch or adjusting one of their premade opponents, so they will be more human and sometimes go on premature attacks or leave their king exposed or drop pawns etc, depending on how you set it up. Clearly theres a corrolation between ELO and blundering, so you couldn't make a 2800 rated player that drops knights or something, but well you get the drift.
I think playing computers can teach you a lot about chess, I use Rybka to learn openings. If the computer makes a move instantly, you're still in its book, so if you just restart the game or go back a move, you can just practice lines of the Schevengenin or Birds' etc. More fun for me than looking at flashcards of 1. e4 c5 d4 nf6 nc3 etc.
You can check out my photo set for a nice set up. I use Fritz in several ways. One of my favorites is to set up positions from the tactics books, and then play against the computer. This teaches you how to play a clean finish, as a GM level opponent will be playing the strongest moves. Another major use I have is doing training games with tournament controls similar to those of an upcoming OTB event I'm training for. I do not have it running at full GM capacity, but I don't believe you should ever play your program under the Expert/Master standard. Playing a disabled engine would be like inviting a strong chess coach over to help you and then telling him to drink 3 beers before you start your lesson. The trick is post mortem analysis. That is where you will get the meat of your muscle building. I personally do my own analysis by hand first, looking for improvements for both sides (important as this is a two player game). After that is done, I do computer analysis (this time we DO crank it up to GM). Then I compare my own analysis with that of the computer, to see what I missed. I can also try lines that I may have thought were improvements, and see why they might fail, which will iron out my faulty thinking. An important note.. you can, in Fritz anyway, set the openings variety to be high. Sometimes when you play a computer at a set strength, you may face the same opening line over and over. Switching this simple setting will alleviate this without dropping the quality of play. Sorry for the long post, hope it is helpful.
If you can play a thorough game against your computer, avoiding blunders...and if you can practice being thorough even if it is against a computer, then you are getting stronger.
The computer may have its failings as an opponent if you also plan to play humans
but at least it won't tell your friends when you lose.
One more post, sorry. I just thought I'd make a quick note about 'play' and 'work'. To me, chess study is the work half. I 'play' whenever there is a board and an opponent. The play part is where we have fun and make good art and meet all the great chess crazies out there. So just make sure you know what you want to get out of your time.
I have ChessMaster 10th Edition. I find that you can choose your own opponent...based on "rating". You can search the list of opponents and "see" a short description of the strength or weakness. You can also have the computer analyz (did I spell that correctly?) a game you played against a one of the preprogramed opponents. I know there is more you can do with this program, but I have not investigated. I enjoy playing with the computer, using this program.
This might just be me, but no matter how much I tell myself I will take it seriously, I never take games against computers seriously. I end up making moves in about 2 seconds and get crushed. Even when I do try I get crushed. To get better I suggest tactics problems, a book of tactics problems should be your bedside book to always look at before you go to sleep. And I've been trying chess mentor on this website.
simple answer is yes, but always with moderation books and puzzles are always a good choice.
i know it's my product, but i HIGHLY recommend chess mentor to improve your game => www.Chess.com/chessmentor :)
I decided to only play against computers for a span of time a couple years back to see if it would improve my chess. I played customized programs on another chess site (inferior to chess.com 
) that were a little bit beneath GM strength but still very strong and capable of picking me apart when I made an error. After a couple weeks of doing this I went back to playing human opponents and I don't think I improved. My rating stayed the same and if anything for a while there I was playing way too cautious. As with anything though playing chess programs in moderation I'm sure can be good for one's chess.
On the flipside of this, post-game computer analysis is probably where I make my biggest improvements.
Hello again :)
Playing against a computer is good in some ways and bad in others, for example it's terrible at long-term tactics. Good openings and forks, pins and skewers are a computer's strengths.
Also, certain levels of Fritz tear me to bits when I make an error...so it's good that you can change the computer's playing level.
I wouldn't recommend playing complete games against computers on a regular basis for the following reasons :
- they don't play at all like humans : if you play them full strength, the best you can hope is to develop "rabbit-play" : ie. running as long as possible before getting shot; while if you play some handicap mode, the kind of blunders they can do is very different from the mistakes human players do
- you don't get proper psychological training, which is very important in human play : ie. how to deal with your emotions OTB, how to counterattack, how to look for moves that set problems to your opponent.
So by all means, play human players when possible.
However, you can play agains the computers for training purposes on an occasional basis :
- a complete game agains the computer full strength to work on your focus and calculation (but play a long game - at least 2 hrs) and no more than once a month I would say
- some endgame positions to try and improve your endgame play
- play out some winning positions to see if you can win them (for example a piece up)
One of the main reasons I like chess and have continued to play for more than 30 years is that I meet interesting people from all walks of life through chess and travel, for various chess activities. If this aspect of chess didnt exist I dont think I would continue to play. If I just stayed at home, playing on the net and against fritz that would be lost. Is that a good thing ? To me it certainly isnt, its a very bad thing. I dont think playing a strong program on a regular basis is good for ones chess, in fact I think its detrimental unless you just like losing. I use a strong program to analyze my games after a tournament, to see where I could have played better/differently. This is especially useful in very complicated middlegames and complex endings. I am always amazed at how much I (and my opponent) usually miss!
I concur! Reb is waayyy nicer than Fritz too, and a spot more good lookin. Now that cat of his, well I don't have much to say about him after he beat me blindfolded. He looks like such a nice cat too.....a trickster he is.
I dont approve playing against a comp.I find it the most boring shit.I dont know how others feel.
playing against a computer can make you become cautious and good, but you would reach a level where you might not go further, especially in the middle game where sheer instinct alone cannot carry you through except you've developed the power to analyse.... An old GM (who had recorded more win against engines on chess.com through natural ability than say a 'lose or draw') that began to teach me chess, taught me that 'if any software or engine wouldn't teach you anything (like chess opening, strategy, tactic, and so on) to enhance your knowledge of chess, then it is not worth it..." he encouraged me to rather read a host of materials which he recommended for my good, which i'd since sourced for and read. Mind you, i can now interprete with certain accuracy why a computer or say 'a human opponent' make the move they do... this is because i am now knowledgeable in chess strategy, tactics and technique et cetera
I play against characters in Chessmaster 9000, but my problem is that when I am stuck and don't know what to do, I click on "hint." That is not good, I know, because it becomes a crutch and keeps me from having to think my way out of the problem.
With people online here at Chess.com I am forced to sweat and think.
stwils
Or would it give me bad habits since a computer probably wouldnt obviously think like a human?