Is Chess Against the Computer Worth It?
Playing chess is always worth it! Except for the 2 a.m. bullet games, or 3 a.m. blitz chess after losing and tilting in the previously mentioned bullet games. Or when I lost a classical game in six moves. Or when I missed my flight because I did too many chess puzzles. Okay, so maybe playing chess isn't always worth it, but what about playing against the computer?
Ways to Play Chess Online Against the Computer
Playing chess against a computer is easier than ever. Most chess websites have a quick and easy way to jump into a game against the machine! Chess.com has an entire page dedicated to playing different fun bots. Lichess has a great “continue from here” option that lets you take any position you were just analyzing and play it against stockfish. Many beginner players, young and old, find playing games against the computer less intimidating than real opponents.
Should You Play Online Chess Against the Computer?
Playing chess against a computer is a great way to get into a game quickly and without much stress attached. However, if you want to improve I always encourage my students to start playing real opponents. But why? What is wrong with playing against a computer?
Free Chess Pieces and Odd Blunders
If you are playing a lower-rated bot or computer, computers will play clearly wrong moves. To play bad enough moves to be considered low-rated, a computer will often not play obvious moves. Sometimes they will avoid obvious recaptures. If you take a piece from your opponent, you need to be used to them recapturing! Often a low-rated bot will play pretty good moves but then one outright ridiculous move that a human would not play.
Opening Practice
A computer often will not prepare you for the types of openings people are playing at your level. A low-rated bot will either play a weird amount of theory, or they will play their knight back to the starting square for no reason. You need to become familiar with the types of openings that are tried at whatever your level is.
Low-rated Bots Are Forgiving
If you are playing a low enough rated bot, they may not punish you when you make obvious blunders. A human player will take your queen if you hand it to them on a silver platter, but a computer may be trying to play at an artificially low level so they ignore the free piece. This doesn’t make you better!
When to Take That Leap and Play Against People
I fully understand and can relate to the anxious feeling of playing a real person in a game of chess. Humans are harder to predict, and they don’t all play the same way. Some people play fast, and some people play slow. There may even be a chat feature that is best to disable in the first place. So, how do we deal with this chess-playing anxiety?
Dealing with Chess-Playing Anxiety
The first and best answer to chess-playing anxiety is to just play games. Online chess makes it easier than ever to jump into a game with a real human just as easily against a real person as against a bot. There is always someone out there ready to play you in a game. But how can you feel better about playing humans instead of bots? For me the best way to feel more prepared. Figure out which part of the game is causing you stress. Is it the opening? The endgame? Spend time studying those areas so you are more confident in playing humans! If you are new to chess, then learning good basic opening and endgame principles will help, as well as learning basic tactics.
Tools to Play OTB Against a Computer
One great application of playing chess against a computer is tools that let you play OTB, over-the-board, games against a computer. Because finding a real person to play with is much more difficult than just queuing into an online game, using the technology we have to practice with a 3D board is a good method, especially if you have an OTB tournament on the horizon. Only practicing on a 2D screen can leave you with some board blindness when you try to play on a real chess board. These tools can offer you an easier practice method without bothering your friends and family for another game.
Is There Any Time That Playing Bots Online Is Useful?
Playing chess online against computers has its use! Garry Kasparov sat across from Deep Blue in 1996, so there are chess computers that can absolutely learn from. In fact, bumping up that chess engine to maximum difficulty can be a great learning tool.
Openings
Using a high-level chess computer to practice openings can be a good training method. Do you really know your stuff? Playing against the computer will make you prove it. Every opening you play can be practiced against the computer if you choose. But you can also just jump into a game and see what happens!
Endgames
One of the best ways to learn endgames is by drilling them over and over against a computer. Chess.com has a great endgame trainer that just gives you winning positions and makes you beat the computer. There are winning positions where even the best stockfish shouldn’t stand a chance against you. Using an engine to practice those positions can give you an advantage when you get that supposedly winning endgame in a real game! It can also help ease some of that “chess-playing anxiety” if you feel more prepared for anything.
Having Fun With Online Chess!
Playing bots can be fun! Beating chess.com’s latest mittens zombie robot, or whatever, can be lots of fun! Seeing if your friends can beat all of the holiday bots on the bots page is still more fun than it probably should be. If it brings you joy, then play bots. If you are doing it just to avoid your chess-playing anxiety, then consider trying real opponents!
Kids Playing Bots
I see this kind of anxiety a lot in the kids that I teach chess. They often will tell me they played chess, but just against bots. There are lots of good ways to teach chess to kids, but playing only bots can teach kids bad habits on the chess board! So, have fun beating the gingerbread man, Martin, or Mr. Beast bots, but playing chess against your friends, family, or real players online or on Chesskid is still a better way to get better at chess.
Bots are a Free Chess Tool
Playing against bots or the computer can be a great learning tool. The computer is extra useful when playing out repetitive positions. These are positions you need to practice many times over, like basic endgames. However, playing against the fun bots online is not a waste of time. Just make sure that you are not avoiding playing against stronger opponents. Playing better opponents is always the best way to make yourself better. Beating the 450-rated Yeti a thousand times will not make you all that much better. But playing a thousand games against other real players at your skill level will make you a better chess player.