reflectionofpower wrote: ↑Sat Sep 28, 2024 2:43 pm
I used to think that too about cheaters on chess.com, but after a while if you notice the more games you play the worse you get.
It’s definitely not about personal performance, playing against a bot just feels different. Especially in lost positions, I try to complicate the game and set traps. After an unclear and unexpected move, a human opponent usually takes some time to figure things out, while a bot continues to play at the same pace. The bot responds quickly, finding the fastest path to victory, avoiding the typical human mistakes. In contrast, a human player usually looks to simplify the position and choose the safest route to win.
I’m not referring to the occasional game, I’m talking about 10 or more games in a row, where it feels like I'm playing against a bot. For sure it is not Stockfish, it is something trained to play human like.
I prefer Lichess for playing, and Chess.com for Lessons library and Puzzles.
Lichess experience is fast. It's open source and continually being improved. Only issue I noticed, is moving a-file/h-file pawn, under time pressure, is not easy, and it takes up bit of time. Chess.com is quite laggy even with supposed improvement in game speed and it is not suited for Blitz/Bullet.
It's been a long time since I played in playchess. I remember it was also fast with use of desktop, not mobile friendly though.
Over time, their policies have driven away players out of the site. They have restricted the entry of free users. This is the era of open source, and making available maximum features for free users and they are doing the opposite!
Otherwise, it is Chessbase's Playchess with use of desktop, and Lichess in mobile.