Grand Masters Use Computer Chess Programs

Top level players use chess software to assist in their chess analysis. If this is a solution for world-class chess grand masters then surely there is a use for chess software to also improve the games of players of lower ability also? While world class players may use complex and expensive clusters of many computers to enhance the speed of their analysis these resources are unlikely to be available to an ordinary player. What is available though is a multitude of chess engines, many of which are free, that are arguably stronger than any human chess Grandmaster. Such instruction and guidance would cost a lot of money if it was provided by a human instructor, yet a computer program can offer this for free.

Memorising Openings by Rote is Unproductive

Many beginners make the mistake of trying to improve their game by attempting to memorise openings, arguing that they suffer a tactical disadvantage early in the game from which they never recover. Analysis by an unbiased source, such as a chess program, will expose this as a fallacy in the majority of cases. At low levels of chess skill a player will have reasonable results by merely adhering to sound opening development theory, rather than spending time learning a particular opening by rote. After all, if they are playing against opponents of similar level, their opponent is very unlikely to play many of the normal “book moves” anyway. Surely it is far better to develop sharp tactical awareness and good concentration skills that will serve you well in almost any position you may come across.

Over the coming weeks and months, it is my intention to show how computer chess engines, when used appropriately, can contribute to a rapid increase in playing strength for players below the level of an International Master (IM).

In the meantime, please feel free to play chess online against computer opponents right here at computer chess online.

Computer Chess Online - Learning to Play Chess Online Against Computer Opponents

Free Computer Chess Game for Visitors

We live in the computer age yet many people have never played chess against a computer.  I guess there are as many reasons for this as there are people in this situation.  As I enjoy computer chess I thought it was only fair to offer other people the chance to indulge themselves in a game I enjoy.

Although a number of sites like The Spectator offer chess puzzles online they do not offer the chance to play a full game. Here is my small effort toward improving the situation.

Installing Flash CHESS 3

Now don’t laugh, but it took me a few days just to get the page working.  The people from flashchess made a great program. However, my complete ignorance about how to install it on a website stood in my path quite some time.  Eventually, I found a way to install chess program and get it to work within WordPress. Overall I am happy with the results. The sole niggle is page load time. This is unavoidable as the computer engine has to load the game to work (about 2megs total).

It was my original goal to make a variety of chess computers available. Unfortunately, there was little interest from programmers in showcasing their work.  This left me with an unusual chess problem to solve. The only chess engine I could hope to put on the page was one that was freely distributed.  Flash chess 3 is thankfully a pretty advanced program considering its size. It looks good and plays reasonably well. And all this considering that it was written in Flash rather than a more conventional programming language.

If there are any computer chess programmers out there reading this with a non-experimental chess engine that can run within a web page please contact me.  It would be really great to offer people a greater variety of chess software and let them see what is available.

Installing Chess Programs is Fun! (Honest)

Anyone that is familiar with my other websites will know already that I am a big fan of computers and technology, science fiction, chess and online games in general. Writing this website is a labour of love. Yes, even when I can’t get annoying flash chess programs to install and run properly on it!

I hope over the coming months to show people some of the things that are really great about the game of chess in general, and computer chess in particular.  For now, though, I hope you enjoy your time here and this opportunity to play free online chess against a computer.

Computer Chess Online - Play Free Online Chess Against a Computer