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Chess Games
Chess Games
172. 97th win chess.com 10 Sicilian: Bowdler Attack
see Blog for more games.
Play chess.com Play Chinese Chess (Beginners)
Q & A on How to Defeat the Computer
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These are mostly games I played against the computer using chess.com level 10
(104 wins so far published here).
I also play premium.sparkchess.com, Boris level, which is more fun and easier than stockfish. Easier to win against a more aggressive player if you know what you are doing.
Boris plays very good tactical chess. You can win however with the right spatial strategy, even without a sacrifice. Boris' end game is not quite as good as a human chess expert. Chess is an art. Chess games can be very pretty when they are well fought by both sides. Stockfish has a very good endgame but you will only draw if you blindly take it's advice.
Sparkchess says Boris is rated at 1700. Sure, this may explain why it is not so hard, but I just enjoy winning without stress! Boris is not so easy either. You cannot make any mistakes.
If you consider that even GMs make lots of mistakes, you have to admit that humans are overrated! If you win when your opponent makes a mistake, does this make you a better chess player? Not at all. So better to play against a computer that does not blunder, at least very often. I find that playing Boris improves my game and Boris is not annoying (unlike many opponents online). The good thing is that when you blunder and lose, your number does not go down, so you risk nothing! I think the whole rating thing makes chess much less fun and distorts people's view of themselves, and others.
I am very interested in the psychology of chess and its players. Chess to me needs a philosophical justification and some major rules of etiquette. Chess should not need arbiters. I see playing chess with people as a way of making friends, not enemies. Who needs more enemies?
I beat the Play Magnus app age 12 with black, which has rating of 2250.
So far, reviewing these games, I notice that what wins is not very subtle chess, but hard hitting aggressive tactics. Whatever side the Boris puts his K on, that is where you have to attack -- with overwhelming force. In game 16, Boris keeps attacking with his queen until he gives it up. You have to use all your pieces in the attack. Concentrate fire power where the K is. Look for the mating net. Game 19 is a good example of an overpowering attack on weakened K side.
Use caution before trading a B for a N. Knights are better in the opening but bishops are more useful in the end game, especially if you coordinate a pair of them. Destroy your opponent's B-pair or you will never win the endgame! Today I watched a GM willingly give up a B for a N and he wound up with a lucky draw, being a pawn down. He also did not focus his attack where the K was.
You have to go after the K! Don't be timid. Don't just look for the draw. Just waiting for a mistake to win is not a good way. This is why it is important to practice beating an engine, because it does not make tactical mistakes.
When you play a computer engine, it is like playing Bobby Fischer in 1972. Every move counts. You cannot sit back and relax although your game will be better if you do not get nervous. Stay calm and concentrate.
Position your Ns to neutrlaize those of your opponent. Trade them off if opponent gets into your territory. Tempt your opponent to trade a B for a N. Do this by placing your Ns as forward and center as possible. The B is better in the end game. Very important to keep Boris' Ns out of your territory in the opening!
Just managed a win against chess.com level 10 using the London system. See game 23. Watch the following video to learn some tricks for this sytem.
IM Eric Rosen on the London system tricks.
This is good for beginners through chess.com level 10.
Do not change your move just because the computer rates your position as slightly negative. If you play by just watching score, you will always lose.
How strong is chess.com, which uses stockfish? One person calculates ratings in link below. Says level 10 is 3000+ It is certainly hard to beat, so I would believe this! This only means that you can iprove your game by learning how to beat your stockfish friend: chess.com level 10. Don't be afraid (???)
The Rating of The Chess.com Computer Levels
Do ratings mean anything? After all, when you play a computer you can take back moves, but then so does the computer in a sense. It sees many moves ahead, many more than a human possibly can. So it is only fair to be able to take back moves when playng a computer. Just being able to take back moves will not help you win of course. You will just get frustrated tring to play over your skill level. Even grandmasters make mistakes, which casues them to lose games and lower their ratings.
I do not play any rated games because I do not believe in assigining people numbers. I prefer to play in Washington Square park, or NYC Chinatown if playing XiangQi. I would rather play someone I know than someone on the internet, especially fast games. Speed chess just teaches you all the wrong things. If both players are good, they will play fast enough anyway. When teaching chidren chess, having a clock helps them to focus, but I ignore the time on the clock.
You can probably see some XiangQi style in Chinese GMs, such as Ding Liren, such as avoiding trading -- to play for the win. Often, it is not advantageous to accept a trade. Otherwise, it would probably not be offered.
My purpose in playing chess is purely for mental improvement, as well as creating beautiful games. Chess is as much art as science. Chess will improve your concentration and thinking ability in general, ie, intelligence, and can do so for any age level. It is also fun to know people through the game, unless they try to badger or insult you of course.
In addition to playing chess engines, you should watch the youtube chess videos and maybe read a good chess book or two. There are books for XiangQi as well, written in Chinese of course, but you can follow the game notation fairly easily. Visit your local Chinatown bookstore. I still teach children Chinese Chess, and sometimes International Chess, at our Chinese School.
Saint Louis Chess Club ChessGames.com WCC at chessgames.com
Play Boris at SparkChess Chess.com
Here is a link for learning and improving your chess:
Everything You Need to Know About Chess: The Endgame!
Crush the Sicilian with 2.Nc3 | Games to Know by Heart - IM Eric Rosen
Have been playing "tactics" at chess.com. Good exercises but don't like that they take off points when you miss one. Makes my heart jump, so I stopped doing that. Maybe I will try them with a real board instead of just in my head (77% pass rate of the 96 puzzles attempted) to make sure I don't miss any at all. Don't like point penalties. Of course, doing them in your head is a better exercise.
Below is a picture of a young Ray Robson playing a conservative opening of Chinese Chess against Eric Spurgeon at our Chinese School, maybe 1999. Eric usually lost to Ray, who I said, at the time, played chess like a "little computer." Ray had perfect concentration as well as high intelligence. Ray loved to play chess. His dad started taking him to chess clubs and tournaments and he became a GM at a young age and plays in international chess tournaments today. As he was growing up, his mom would bring him by at least once a year to play me a game of Chinese chess, while she watched. I would only play him Chinese chess, and he had yet to beat me, so it was a challenge for him. That was until he went away for chess college in St. Louis. The last game of Chinese chess he won, btw.
Notice the head in hands posture of Ray. Probably means he was born to be a chess player. I noticed that Ray really concentrates and considers what every piece on the board can do, and also every square. To play chess, you really do need to consider every peice at every move, and your opponent's pieces as well!
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