Training Game #17 with Turbo Eval

Here is a link to my blog detailing my Turbo Eval thought process, for those interested.

I must admit something that feels a little off to me. This isn't actually my 17th training game. It is more likely that this is around the 50th training game. My main problem when I face off against these tougher bots is that I find myself forgetting to use the thought process that I have developed and I end up losing within 20 moves, and I get angry. Then I end up playing like 5 more games, where I am simply just angry and frustrated, which drastically drops my playing strength. This game I have played against the 2600 bot is the only game that seemed even remotely decent. I played as black.

I ended the game with a post game accuracy of 67%, with 5 inaccuracies, 0 mistakes, and 2 blunders. I don't really know what to say about this game other than I really screwed up in it. Below are some highlights;

On move 19, I made my first blunder, by placing my rook on f2. In my thoughts, I believed that if he was to take my rook, I would take back with rook and then would have a very strong rook on the 2nd rank. However, the moment I played the move, I realized that he could take my rook and if I took back with my rook, he could take my knight, simply just winning a piece.

On move 33, the computer had a decent advantage, but then it played Ke3, allowing me to force the trade of rooks, which was massively beneficial. This was the moment that I thought I might have a chance.

On move 42, I got that chance that I was so desperate for, when the computer played Ke2, allowing me to push his king back and away until I could pick up the pawn on h5. I then screwed my plans up when I thought that maybe going for the kingside pawns would be better, which gave the game right back to the computer.

What Can I Learn From My Failings?

There are only really 3 things that I should be able to take away from my many losses and this one especially:

1. I need to get MUCH better at doing my blunder checks. I find that I can see my mistake just as I make the move, but not for the 5 minutes I spend thinking about the move. This will not do.
2. I need to flesh out my opening consistency. In many of the games I played, I found that I would get into a bad position right out of the opening, which doesn't lend itself well when I'm trying to win.
3. I need to do more endgame puzzles and practice winning the won game.

sigh
I'm pretty disappointed with my game. Logically, I understand that it is a learning moment for me and those readers who want to learn from my underwhelming games, but I can't help but feel like I'm simply failing. Oh well, I will get better. This about sums up all I have to talk about today.

If you are interested in the idea of training to fight against the computer, consider joining The Club of Believers. As I have been posting these games, more people have joined, which is absolutely amazing. The more likely it is that we will uncover new ways to fight back against the computers.

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Thank you for reading, and enjoy the rest of your day!