Near Perfect Chess Game

Having been playing chess for several months with a serious attitude, something I hadn’t been able to attain was a match where I had:

  • No Blunders

  • No Misses

  • No Mistakes

  • No Inaccuracies

The reason why this was so important for me was how it would let me know that I was making improvements when making decisions on what move to play. As I mentioned in the previous entry, I use Chess.com to play chess. I also have a membership on the site. Playing a game, the game engine (I believe Stockfish) will grade your game and how accurate the player was in moving the pieces. This grade is out of 100 (though I don’t think a person can get a 0 score).

Since I want to become pretty proficient with chess, it’s desirable to have a score as close to 100. At this point of my journey, I’m excited if I get a ~90.

This is where we come to my game with a bot known as “Gavin” (a 650-rated bot). Chess.com comes up with creative bots players can practice against, and currently, it’s called “Chess Club Regulars.” Each of the bots on the site comes with a short paragraph that describes their personality.

  • Gavin (650)

    • “Gavin was his school’s 3rd grade chess champion over twenty years ago, and he won’t let you forget it. Can you beat this former elementary school legend?”

  • Lauren (1000)

    • “Lauren is the self-proclaimed "Office Queen of Chess." She plays on her lunch break and during boring meetings. Can you win quickly before she gets in trouble at work?”

  • Freddy (1325)

    • “Freddy is a chess hustler from New York City. He makes his living hustling in the parks but runs away when he loses a big bet. That’s why he always wears his favorite tracksuit.”

  • Grandpa Gambit (1650)

    • “Grandpa Gambit is a lifelong chess player known to regale his opponents with a chess anecdote of his past…or two. Ready to take a trip down memory lane?”

  • Maya (2050)

    • “Maya is a child prodigy who commands a crowd any time she plays a game. She sits across the board, adjusts her pieces, and opens her fruit snacks. You’re in big trouble.”

If you don’t follow chess, the number next to their name is their rating. This means that the higher the number, the stronger the “player,” though in this case, they’re bots that are adjusted to play in a certain manner and difficulty. The bots on Chess.com are fun to play against, though professional chess players have said that the bots don’t always play in the most rational manner.

When I don’t want to play against others, I’ll often just pick a bot to play against. Lately, I’ve been playing against Gavin often. I don’t play against Gavin because I haven’t beaten him yet, but because I’m attempting to reach higher accuracy with no errors in my play.

Is it required to get close to 100? No.

Playing against people, I notice that I’ll make irrational moves that make no sense to do. This is because I haven’t solidified the fundamentals in my mind, and signifies that I need to study more. When I make a move, the move shouldn’t be arbitrary. I should be making moves that I could explain/justify to someone else because it makes sense. Being able to do that is how I’ll reach a higher accuracy.

This is why I’m extremely excited.

Playing a game against Gavin, I was able to play a game that was ~90 in accuracy without having any errors.

I’m playing as White in this game.

I also made a GIF of the game to be reviewed in the future.

Having a game without any errors (determined by the game engine), I was euphoric and glad to see that I was making progress as a chess player. Even if I’m still a long way from reaching a rating of 1500 (or higher), the fact that I was able to methodically move my pieces and understand what was going to happen (to a degree) made me confident that it was only a matter of time before I reached my goals.

For those wondering what I’m doing, the method of studying is as follows:

  • Reviewing my games and trying to figure out what mistakes I’m making (and hopefully not make them again in the future)

  • Playing against Bots of varying difficulties

  • Playing against other people in rated games

  • Dedicating time to solving chess puzzles

  • Watching videos, whether on Chess.com or on YouTube

  • Reading chess books that I’ve purchased

  • Trying to understand more tactics and strategies, like studying various openings for White and Black

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