Today when I woke up I was determined to beat the computer at chess on chess.com. I'm a decent chess player but not great but I realized what might be making me not great. So I decided to ignore almost everything about the openings and to just create a position that I liked instead of following the opening verses the computer.

I won! Instead of trying to "make the right move" I decided before I played what my general strategy would be. That strategy was that I would always open with the queen side pawn and I would always castle from the king side. Then I would use my bishops to point both of them toward the king side. Then I would develop the rest of my pieces to the center of the board to try to control it.

What ended up happening is that the computer gave me tons of potential sacrifices that I could make to gain an eventual positional advantage. It was awesome and I only played one game to do it.

I set up a bunch of nasty pins. Anyway it was a pretty awesome feeling.

I've only played the chess.com expert computer about 3 times but never won. I also spent about 5 seconds on each move

Solid poll.

You realize that Houdini or Rybka or Fritz or countless other programs would beat the chess.com engine 1000000 - 0? At the same time, chess.com engine would beat some random Iphone App 100000 - 0.

Therefore, care to specify what do you mean when you say "computer"?

I assumed he meant the chess.com one as that was what he was referring to in his op.

In fact.. I'm going to go play it now and post the pgn just for laughs

If that's the case, I always win against computer

I guess I mean the chess.com computer program. It's not big blue I guess but to me it might as well be. Anyway well it just feels pretty good to know that it's possible for me to beat it. What felt even better was that I didn't have to get to the endgame to do it. I won in 19 moves.

It's pretty unlikely that I'll put the time into the game to get really good. My second best game was I beat Chessmaster for playstation 2 on 2200. What was really weird about that game was that I was able to put the game back to the very beginning and remember every single move I made to replay it for someone else.

So it's weird sometimes my memory is awesome and I play super sharp but most of the other times I play I have a general sense of anger and boredom while I play. If the game gets too tedious sometimes I lose focus.

Yep, standard mauling.

[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2011.02.23"]
[White "Player"]
[Black "Computer - Hard"]
1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 c6 4. f4 Qa5 5. Bd3 e5 6. Nf3 exd4 7. Nxd4 Qb4 8. Nf3 Bg4 9. O-O Qc5+ 10. Kh1 Bxf3 11. Qxf3 Nfd7 12. Bd2 Be7 13. Ne2 O-O 14. Bc3 Rd8 15. Rae1 Na6 16. a3 Nc7 17. b4 Qb6 18. e5 d5 19. Nd4 Ne6 20. Nf5 Bf8 21. Qh3 h6 22. g4 c5 23. Rb1 c4 24. Be2 g6 25. Nd6 d4 26. Be1 Bxd6 27. exd6 Qxd6 28. Qxh6 d3 29. Bc3 Nd4 30. Bxd4 Qxd4 31. cxd3 cxd3 32. Bf3 Nf6 33. f5 Nxg4 34. Bxg4 Qxg4 35. fxg6 Qe4+ 36. Kg1 fxg6

Now off to do something that might actually improve my game such as sitting down and thinking about moves

I think b4 was where it all started going wrong. Certainly ended up being where it caused me to break down.

[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2011.02.23"]
[White "Player"]
[Black "Computer - Hard"]
[Result "1-0"]
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c4 cxd4 5. Qxd4 Nc6 6. Qf4 Bb4+ 7. Bd2 Nge7 8. Qg3 O-O 9. Nc3 d4 10. Ne4 Bxd2+ 11. Kxd2 Nf5 12. Qf4 Qa5+ 13. Kd1 Nxe5 14. g4 Ne7 15. c5 N7g6 16. Qg3 Rd8 17. f4 Nxg4 18. Qxg4 f5 19. Qg2 fxe4 20. Qxe4 Qxc5 21. Rc1 Qb4 22. Bc4 Kh8 23. h4 Qxb2 24. h5 Nf8 25. h6 Bd7 26. Qe5 b5 27. Qxg7#

[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2011.02.23"]
[White "Player"]
[Black "Computer - Hard"]
[Result "1-0"]
1. d3 d5 2. a3 Nc6 3. e3 Nf6 4. h3 e5 5. g3 Be6 6. Bg2 Be7 7. b3 Qc8 8. Bb2 Kd7 9. Nd2 Kd6 10. Ne2 h6 11. d4 exd4 12. Nxd4 Nxd4 13. Bxd4 b5 14. Bb2 c5 15. c4 bxc4 16. bxc4 Kc6 17. Bc3 Rd8 18. f4 Rb8 19. Qa4+ Kb7 20. Rb1+ Ka8 21. Kf2 Rxb1 22. Rxb1 Bd7 23. Qa5 Bc6 24. Be5 Qd7 25. cxd5 Bxd5 26. Nc4 Ng4+ 27. hxg4 Bxg2 28. Nb6+ Kb7 29. Nxd7+ Kc8 30. Kxg2 Kxd7 31. Rd1+ Kc6 32. Rxd8 Bxd8 33. Qxd8 f6 34. Bc3 Kb5 35. Qd5 Ka4 36. Qxc5 a6 37. Qb4#

No idea why it moved it's King from e8 to d7 to d6...

and that's level "Hard" lol

Anti-computer opening chess ftw!

[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2011.02.23"]
[White "Player"]
[Black "Computer - Hard"]
[Result "1-0"]
1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 Bf5 3. c4 dxc4 4. e3 Nc6 5. Nc3 e5 6. dxe5 Nb4 7. e4 Be6 8. Nf3 Qxd1+ 9. Rxd1 Rd8 10. Rxd8+ Kxd8 11. Nd4 Nd3+ 12. Bxd3 cxd3 13. Nxe6+ fxe6 14. Kd2 Ne7 15. Kxd3 Nc6 16. Rd1 Kc8 17. Ke2 Bb4 18. Bg3 Bc5 19. h4 Rf8 20. h5 Rf7 21. f3 Bd4 22. f4 Bc5 23. Kf3 Nxe5+ 24. Ke2 Nc4 25. Bh4 g6 26. Rd8#

Just after things went good for the computer, he suddenly moves instantly and allows mate in 1. wtf?

it started with 1.Nf3 g5!! vs me

Clearly the moral of the story is I suck :P

Nah, the engine goes on streaks of playing reasonably well, mixed with the occasional ??

speaking of computers and engines etc.. does anybody find that the icc's crafy engine sucks for post game analysis? Just played back through a game where it evaluated me as +0.48 at depth 16 (175m nodes) then after I played my move it insta-evaluated me as +2.85 and it was a simple capture it wasn't anything complicated :/

Woot. I drew as white lol. deserved it for playing the exchange french.

[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2011.02.23"]
[White "Player"]
[Black "Computer - Hard"]
[Result "½-½"]
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 exd5 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bd3 Nc6 6. h3 Bb4+ 7. c3 Qe7+ 8. Qe2 Qxe2+ 9. Kxe2 Bd6 10. Bg5 O-O 11. Bxf6 Re8+ 12. Kd1 gxf6 13. Nbd2 Bd7 14. Kc2 a5 15. Nh4 a4 16. Rhe1 Ne7 17. g4 a3 18. Nf5 Nxf5 19. Bxf5 axb2 20. Kxb2 Bxf5 21. gxf5 Rxe1 22. Rxe1 Kf8 23. Nf1 c6 24. Ne3 Re8 25. Kc2 Ra8 26. Kb2 Re8 27. Kc2 Ra8 28. Kb2 Re8 1/2

24. Ne3? imo

Yeah, I've seen it do stupid things too when I'm analyzing the games I played against it. We get in some technical bishop ending where I'm just winning, I let it sit there for 20 minutes, it says +.3, I go forward one of my moves, and it instantly sees +3.

Lol wtf the chess.com computer just walked into mate in 1 in an equal position. On hard.

[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2011.02.23"]
[White "Player"]
[Black "Computer - Hard"]
[Result "1-0"]
1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Bd3 e5 4. dxe5 dxe5 5. Bg5 Bb4+ 6. c3 Be7 7. Nf3 Nc6 8. Qc2 Bg4 9. Nh4 Nd7 10. Bxe7 Qxe7 11. Nf5 Bxf5 12. exf5 Qf6 13. O-O O-O 14. Nd2 Ne7 15. Ne4 Qh4 16. Ng3 Rad8 17. Rae1 Rfe8 18. Re4 Qf6 19. b4 Kh8 20. h4 Qd6 21. h5 Nf6 22. h6 Qxd3 23. hxg7+ Kxg7 24. Qc1 Nxe4 25. Nxe4 Qxe4 26. Qg5+ Kf8 27. f6 b6 28. Qg7#

Beat it on my third try, although i used a couple takebacks lol. btw, the ending is super lol.

[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2011.02.23"]
[White "Player"]
[Black "Computer - Hard"]
[Result "1-0"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 Bf5 4. Qb3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qc8 6. Bg5 a6 7. Bxf6 gxf6 8. e4 Bg4 9. Rd1 Bxf3 10. gxf3 Bh6 11. h4 f5 12. Bh3 e6 13. Ne2 Rg8 14. Ng3 f4 15. Ne2 Ke7 16. Kd2 Na5 17. Qd3 Qe8 18. Nc3 Bg7 19. b3 Nc6 20. Ne2 a5 21. a3 Bf6 22. Kc2 Ra6 23. Qc3 a4 24. b4 Ra8 25. b5 Na5 26. Nxf4 Bg7 27. Ne2 Nb3 28. f4 c5 29. e5 Rd8 30. d5 exd5 31. Rxd5 dxe5 32. Rxd8 Qxd8 33. fxe5 Nd4+ 34. Nxd4 Qxd4 35. Qxd4 cxd4 36. Re1 Rd8 37. Kd3 b6 38. Bf5 h5 39. Bh3 Bh6 40. Bg2 Kd7 41. Bd5 Bf8 42. Ra1 f6 43. exf6 Kc7 44. f3 Bd6 45. Kxd4 Bc5+ 46. Ke4 Re8+ 47. Kf5 Re3 48. Kg6 Rxa3 49. Rxa3 Bxa3 50. c5 Bxc5 51. Kxh5 Kd6 52. Bc4 Ke5 53. Kg6 Kd4 54. Ba2 Bf8 55. h5 Kc3 56. h6 Bxh6 57. Kxh6 Kb2 58. Be6 a3 59. f7 a2 60. Bxa2 Kxa2 61. f8=Q Kb2 62. Qb4+ Ka1 63. Kg5 Ka2 64. Kf4 Ka1 65. Ke3 Ka2 66. Kd2 Ka1 67. Kc2 Ka2 68. Qb2#

i've only played a handful of games in my life as this can attest...

[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2011.02.23"]
[White "Player"]
[Black "Computer - Hard"]
[Result "1-0"]
1. d4 Nc6 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. e3 e6 4. Nf3 Bb4 5. Ne5 Nxe5 6. dxe5 Nd5 7. Bd2 Bxc3 8. bxc3 Qg5 9. f4 Qe7 10. Qg4 O-O 11. Bd3 Qc5 12. Qh3 g5. 13. Qxh7#


wtf?

[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2011.02.24"]
[White "Player"]
[Black "Computer - Hard"]
[Result "1-0"]
1. d4 b6 2. e4 Nc6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 Be7 6. Bd3 O-O 7. O-O Bb7 8. e5 Nd5 9. Bxe7 Qxe7 10. Nxd5 exd5 11. Qd2 f6 12. Rae1 Rae8 13. c3 fxe5 14. Nxe5 Nxe5 15. Rxe5 Qf6 16. Rfe1 Rxe5 17. Rxe5 d6 18. Rh5 g6 19. Rh3 Qg7 20. Qe2 Bc8 21. Re3 Qh6 22. h3 Qg5 23. Rf3 Rxf3 24. Qxf3 Kg7 25. Kh2 Bd7 26. Qg3 Qd2 27. Qh4 Qxd3 28. Qe7+ Kh8 29. Qf8#

Is this mate in 1-proneness a bug or a feature? Also lol at 1. ...b6 2. ...Nc6 and at my subsequent play.

hmm pretty sure that any competent computer would have destroyed me after I very nearly messed up the endgame... I think that's probably a reasonable area for me to focus on because I was like a headless chicken that got lucky.

[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2011.02.24"]
[White "Player"]
[Black "Computer - Hard"]
[Result "1-0"]
1. d4 d5 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 d4 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Nbd2 Bg4 6. h3 Bxf3 7. Nxf3 Bb4+ 8. Bd2 Qe7 9. Bxb4 Qxb4+ 10. Qd2 Qxc4 11. e3 dxe3 12. Bxc4 exd2+ 13. Kxd2 Nge7 14. Kc3 O-O 15. Rad1 Rad8 16. e6 fxe6 17. Bxe6+ Kh8 18. Ng5 Ra8 19. Nf7+ Kg8 20. Nd8+ Kh8 21. Nxc6 Nxc6 22. Rhf1 Rab8 23. f4 b5 24. Rd7 Nd8 25. Bb3 Rb7 26. Bd5 b4+ 27. Kb3 Rb6 28. Rxc7 Rd6 29. Bc4 Nc6 30. Ka4 h6 31. Bb5 Nd4 32. Rxa7 Rb8 33. Ra5 Rdb6 34. Bd3 b3 35. a3 Rd6 36. Rc1 Ne6 37. Bc4 Nxf4 38. Bxb3 Rd4+ 39. Rc4 Rxc4+ 40. Bxc4 Rxb2 41. Ra8+ Kh7 42. Bg8+ Kg6 43. Ra6+ Kf5 44. Bh7+ Ke5 45. Ra5+ Kd4 46. Ra7 Rxg2 47. Rd7+ Ke5 48. Kb5 Nxh3 49. a4 g5 50. a5 Nf4 51. a6 h5 52. Bg8 Rb2+ 53. Kc6 Rb8 54. a7 Rc8+ 55. Kb7 Rc1 56. a8=Q Rb1+ 57. Kc6 Rc1+ 58. Kb5 Rb1+ 59. Kc5 Rc1+ 60. Bc4 Rxc4+ 61. Kxc4 Kf5 62. Qa5+ Kg4 63. Rg7 Nh3 64. Kd4 Kf3 65. Qf5+ Kg3 66. Rxg5+ Nxg5 67. Qxg5+ Kf2 68. Qxh5 Kg1 69. Qe2 Kh1 70. Ke4 Kg1 71. Kf4 Kh1 72. Kg3 Kg1 73. Qg2#

I never play against computers, I don't see the point in that.

I only use them for analysis.

[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2011.02.24"]
[White "Player"]
[Black "Computer - Hard"]
1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 c6 0-1 {White Resigned}