Author: K. Burcham
Date: 12:43:48 12/21/01
Go up one level in this thread
On December 21, 2001 at 10:34:22, Graham Laight wrote:
>All my chess computers/programs only allow you to set time control per move to
>the nearest second. Even with "permanant brain" (where did THAT expression come
>from?) off, this still makes them too strong for an enjoyable game of chess.
>
>A nice simple idea - why not allow the player to specify the time in
>milliseconds? We could then level down the play by throttling off almost all of
>the computer's thinking time. I'm sure that they'd be much more fun to play
>against then.
>
>-g
well lets see. i thought some of the programs would let you set the
time=0. if you are turning off thinking, during your opponenets move time,
and you are limiting the program time control to 0 or one second,
then i would suggest some of the learning tapes available from chessbase.
there are different levels available. also some of the settings available
on some of the programs will allow the program to blunder, and to make losing
moves. but i would not use these to learn correct play.
instead of "throttling off almost all of the computers thinking time",
why not try to learn from the program?
i would suggest you start with white e4 against your favorite program
with all default settings. permanent brain on. time set at program to
move=5 seconds.
open the book window. watch the eval with every move. dont worry about your move
time. stay with e4 until you see indications that your level of play has
increased. set the book on tournament mode, stay away from "wide" book settings.
when you start your game with e4, try to remember the correct book moves that
the program wants you to play, in the book window. just keep doing these
openings over and over. there will be variety. but you must persist.
as soon as you blunder (eval will jump), then try to understand the position,
and start the game over. you will finally get to where you have the ability
to get "out of book" without a blunder. once out of book, it will be another
world, the middlegame. here you should study the basic do's and dont's of
chessplay. examples, queen out early is a no no. control the center. avoid
exposing your king early. protect your king. know what traps, pins and "hanging
a piece means". watch for knight forks. try to play ahead of the next move.
the more you play, the more you will learn to anticipate your opponents next
move. know all the common early mates, fools mate, scholars mate, etc..
sometimes i will go to chess.net, log in as a guest, play 20, 5 or 10 minute
games with the intent not being to win. the intent will be to only try to out
control your opponent in the center, and develop a piece with each move. as you
develop each piece, try to threaten as many of your opponents pieces as possible
without capture. play aggressive. try to get a "feel" for all the threatened
pieces. try to get a "feel" for everything that is going on in the
game. play play play, you will get a better feel as you go.
always watch for checks and piece loss. after your opponent moves, try to see
why he did, is he threatning to capture, etc.
when behind exchange pawns, when ahead exchange pieces.
if you are not sure why your opponent is offering a sacrifice, then take it.
if he wins a piece, then you will know next time.
when you first start, you can barely swim, but after awhile you will be able to
attack with one piece. then later two, then combinations. try to attack with
more than one piece.
these principles of play are all over the internet for free.
here is one. there are many. there is knowledge in surfing.
http://www.geocities.com/siliconvalley/lab/7378/principl.htm
my point is. all these programs play at a very high level of play. most of their
moves are correct moves on the level a master would play.
why cripple your program. use it as a tool to better your play.
here is a note on the internet about some of crafty's knowledge.
all of these are ideas that should be understood for good play.
Crafty for example includes the knowledge of these area in its evaluation
function;
Material
Trapped Bishops (e.g. White Pawns b3, c2, Black Bishop a2)
Development
King Safety
Trapped Rooks (e.g. White Pawns f2,g2,h2, Rook h1, King f1)
Weak Back Rank
Knight/Bishop Outposts
Centralisation
Bishop Pair
Pawns on same colour as a single Bishop
Rooks on Open Files
Doubled Rooks
Rooks behind passed pawns
Rooks on the 7th Rank
Bishops of Opposite Colour
Developing minor pieces before the Queen
Various end games related advantages - such as avoiding having the wrong rooks
pawn in a King and Bishop ending.
Passed Pawns
Isolated and Backward pawns
Doubled Pawns.
if you go to a chess server and continue to lose to a certain player
it is probably because of one of these reasons:
1. it is a program on strong hardware
2. you have personally played 200 games in your life. your opponent has
played 20,000 games.
3. your opponent has made chess study part of his life.
4. your opponent has more chess books than you.
5. your opponent has paid for chess lessons.
6. your opponent has a chess tutor.
7. your opponent was gifted with a higher level of memory, with an ability
to reason and calculate more than you.
8. your opponent has started a conversation about the opposite sex that you
find very distracting.
9. your opponent has exceeded the normal amount of caffeine for his body
weight according to the sactioning body that your game is under.
10. you say you are a chess enthusiast, but you can beat any kid in the
neighborhood at gran tourismo 3.
there are many other reasons we lose at chess.
there are several masters that post here, that can also add do's and
dont's with your program.
you said that "the programs are too strong for an enjoyable game of chess".
so if you learn one thing from each of your program losses, then next year you
will be winning at the chess servers.
you should look at your program, with the default settings, as a live in master
available for free lessons 24/7 that doesnt drink, cuss, blow smoke in your
face, or whine about his love life. i used to go to a chess club, that was
renting a large house for games. tables everywhere. but some of the guys that
frequented there looked liked they just got out of bed. some looked liked they
were homeless. the house always had an odor that i have never experienced
since then. maybe it was the mens room. the commode had busted its mount. so the
live in chess master at the club, just took it off the floor and everyone just
used the hole in the floor. every once in awhile ther would be a female use
this, of course there was never any complaints about any of this. just a lot of
joking. it was all excepted as ok.
this one guy would just sit at his table waiting for an opponent to sit. he
would fall asleep with a note in front of him at the board, "please wake me up
for a game". of course this was a club where we paid monthly dues.
sometimes one of the guys would make a pot of coffee, and get the last cup and
leave the pot on, stink up the whole place, and you are in the middle of a game
in a winning position with a guy you havent won against. if you were a smoker,
you could just take a deep breath and get a fix for your habit.
everyone had a nickname, stinky, one eye, killer, buzzsaw, mine was lightbulb.
the unemployed live in club master, was supposed to keep the place up as part of
his free rent. it was always dim in the club. burned out light bulbs.
so i got to where a lot of times i would take a light bulb with me to the club
and just install it over the table i was playing. some guy noticed i was
carrying in light bulbs.
great memories at that club. the town i live in now doesnt have a club.
so i appreciate my programs with the default settings.
kburcham
This page took 0 seconds to execute
Last modified: Thu, 15 Apr 21 08:11:13 -0700
Current Computer Chess Club Forums at Talkchess. This site by Sean Mintz.