Kicking the 'Bot

A while back (see "Artificial Stupidity") I tried my Jerome Gambit chops against FICS'  "MiloBot". Recently I wondered: has anyone else matched Jerome-ish wits with the silicon creation? Turns out, some have.

piratebopper - MiloBot
standard game, FICS, 2010

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

One player had mixed results trying a Delayed Jerome Gambit, transposing to one of the Gambit's "modern" variations on move 5: 4.0-0 Nf6 5.Bxf7+ Kf8 (5...Kxf7 6.Ng5+ Ke8 7.d3 Bb6 8.Nc3 Nd4 9.Nd5 a6 10.Qh5+ Nxh5 11.Be3 Nb5 12.c4 Nd4 13.Rac1 Ne2+ White resigned, yogitim - MiloBot, blitz, FICS, 2010) 6.Bc4 Ke7 7.d3 Kf8 8.Bg5 Be7 9.Nbd2 Rb8 10.Nb3 b6 11.d4 h6 12.Be3 Ba3 13.bxa3 Ng4 14.Nxe5 Nf6 15.Qf3 Ne7 16.Ng4 Ra8 17.e5 c6 18.exf6 Ng8 19.fxg7+ Ke7 20.gxh8Q d5 21.Qh7+ Kd6 22.Qf4+ Ke6 23.Qe5 checkmate, yogitim - MiloBot, blitz, FICS, 2010.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+

There are many reasons to get MiloBot out of its "book" knowledge of openings, as one player learned quickly: 5.0-0 Nb8 6.c3 c6 7.d4 exd4 8.cxd4 Qa5 9.dxc5 Qb5 10.Ne5+ Ke7 11.Bg5+ Ke8 12.Qh5+ g6 13.Qf3 Qxf1+ 14.Kxf1 Nf6 15.Qxf6 Rg8 16.Qf7 checkmate, Postobon - MiloBot, FICS, 2011.

5...Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6

The Blackburne Defense, part of MiloBot's "book".

8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.0-0 Nf6 10.Qd8

Yes!

The Blackburne Defense can be deadly against unprepared attackers; but it also can be overcome if White knows what he/she/it is doing.

Knightpusher, whose name we've seen here before in relation to the Jerome Gambit, this year tried, instead, 10.d3 Ke6 (10...Bh3! was obviously not in MiloBot's book) 11.g3 Qh5 12.Qg7 c6 13.Qh6 Bb6 14.Qxh5 Nxh5 15.Nc3 Nf6 16.Be3 Ne8 17.Bxb6 axb6 18.a3 Kf7 19.f4 Kg8 20.f5 Ng7 21.f6 Be6 22.fxg7 Kxg7 23.Rf2 g5 24.Raf1 Ra5 25.Rf6 Re5 26.d4 b5 27.dxe5 Bh3 28.Rf7+ Kh8 29.Rf8+ Kg7 30.R1f7+ Kh6 31.Rf6+ Kh5 32.Rxd6 b6 33.Rxc6 Bg4 34.Rxb6 Bc8 35.Rff6 Kg4 36.Kf2 Bd7 37.h3+ Kxh3 38.Rh6+ Kg4 39.Rxh7 Bc6 40.e6 Ba8 41.e7 Bxe4 42.Rg7 Bg6 43.Rgxg6 b4 44.Rxb4+ Kh5 45.Rg8 Kh6 46.e8Q Kh7 47.Qg6 checkmate, Knightpusher - MiloBot, FICS 2011.

10...a6

MiloBot's "book" seems to be 9 moves deep. Left on its own, it is much weaker, and now finds this lemon, just as it found 10...a5 against me in perrypawnpusher - MiloBot, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 24).

11.Qxc7+ Nd7 12.d4 Qxe4 13.dxc5

White's extra Rook wins.

Now, MiloBot falls apart.

13...Qxg2+ 14.Kxg2 dxc5 15.f4 Kg8 16.f5 Nf8 17.fxg6 Bh3+ 18.Kxh3 b6 19.g7 Nd7 20.Qxd7 h6 21.Rf8+ Rxf8 22.gxf8Q+ Kxf8 23.Bxh6+ Kg8 24.Qg7 checkmate

Lazy, lazy, lazy

I ran across the following game the other day, one that I played last year, that I had not presented on this blog.

No, it is not because I lost the game that it had slipped my mind. It is because how I won the game.

perrypawnpusher - maxmi
blitz, FICS, 2010

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8

7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qg3

In an earlier game my opponent faced 8.Qf4+ Nf6 9.d3 Kg8 10.Be3 Bxe3 11.Qxe3 Bd7 12.Nd2 b5 13.d4 Qf8 14.0-0-0 Re8 15.f3 d5 16.e5 Nh5 17.Qb3 c6 18.Qa3 Ra8 19.Rhf1 Nf4 20.Rf2 Be8 21.h3 Bg6 22.Qa6 h5 23.Qxc6 Rc8 24.Qxd5+ Kh7 25.Qxb5 Qf5 26.Ne4 Qd7 27.Qxd7 Black resigned, piratebopper - maxmi, FICS, 2010.

8...Nf6 9.d3 Nh5

Played in a trio of internet games by belgje a number of years ago -- destinyx - belgje, GameKnot.com, 2004 (1-0, 80); obviously - belgje, GameKnot.com, 2004 (0-1, 19); and raes - belgje, GameKnot.com, 2004 (0-1,49) – and more recently against a Jerome Gambit Gemeinde member, Petasluk - brittaundvolker, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 32).

10.Qf3+ Ke8

Reflex.

11.Qxh5+ g6 12.Qg5

Two pawns up, my brain dropped into L for Lazy: Why think when you can just push pieces? This is a habit that has hurt me in the past, so it is actually painful to see it be successful in this game.

12...Qxg5 13.Bxg5 Rf8 14.0-0 h6

This does not help, giving a free pawn. From now on I play almost on auto-pilot.

15.Bxh6 Rf7 16.Nc3 c6 17.Be3 a5 18.Bxc5 dxc5

19.f4 b5 20.Rae1 b4 21.Nd1 Bd7 22.Ne3 Ke7 23.Nc4 a4 24.Ne5 Rh7 25.Nxd7 Kxd7

Anyone still awake out there?

26.f5 gxf5 27.Rxf5 Rah8 28.h3 Kd6 29.Ref1 c4 30.d4 Re7 31.Rf6+ Kd7 32.Rf7 Rh4 33.Rxe7+ Kxe7 34.Re1 Kd6

35.c3 c5 36.dxc5+ Kxc5 37.e5 Kd5 38.cxb4 Re4

Unwittingly or wittingly bringing the game to a close.

39.Rxe4 Kxe4 40.e6 Ke5 41.e7 Ke6 42.e8Q+ Black resigned