Author: Dann Corbit
Date: 12:50:29 12/11/01
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On December 11, 2001 at 11:19:04, Thomas Knoles wrote: >OK, I'm not a beginner, just a bad player who wants to improve. I've tried a >number of freeware programs, and own Fritz 6, but it always seems that when I >have a program set to be almost as weak as I am, it makes moves that make even >less sense than mine (the queen repeatedly moving back and forth between >squares, for example). I'd like an opponent that makes the kind of mistakes a >human player makes. I'll be grateful for any advice. I would suggest trying a bunch of Winboard programs, and choosing the one with a style you enjoy. If you want to feel good about your game, play Golem. It does not make boneheaded moves, but it is beatable if you play well. Like any computer chess game, it will jump on a tactical mistake, but it is liable to all the customary computer weaknesses like walls. It is nice and stable, unlike many games which have a lower ELO figure. I proclaim it as "The World's Most Playable Winboard Engine." Winboard is also very pleasant. The best looking interface on the planet, and it is very tolerant of junky PGN that makes most other PGN readers puke. You can play online with it. It requires some measure of computer saavy to set up Winboard engines properly. You have to read a bit of documentation and follow written directions. If you're not a geek type you might have a bit of trouble setting it up, so I would suggest that you might learn a lot more from a chess database tool like Chess Assistant than you will from a chess playing engine. You can study what great players have done, and there are lots of lessons and annotations. I expect that the same is true for ChessBase as for Chess Assistant, but I have not tried ChessBase since it doesn't process EPD properly.
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