Most human chess software?

Looking for advice regarding the most human chess software out there. I think we have all played games on software where it plays blindly well and then just hangs a piece to even things up. I have found Chessmaster to be a bit like this and Chess Genius to be a lot like this but Shredder to be the most human like that I have encountered. I'm not looking for the ultimate truth in chess when I want to play the computer, just something that can simulate playing against a real person.

Thanks

I keep hearing this complaint.

When your opponent just gives up a piece, or whatever the material, for nothing after playing sharp, tight, and superior chess, it ruins the verisimilitude of the game.

Back when the average decent player could still be better than the current software--like when I had Sargon IV and Chess Master 3000--I could win a reasonable seeming game, even if there was at times an artificially limited horizon effect on what the engine would not see. This was more an issue in the endgame. In the middle game one might win a pawn but then the fight was still on after that position was reached--you still had to win the game.

So how about searching out some old (and free) software and seeing how you do with it?

My Jade II hand held was a slightly superior opponent for me, so always a good challenge and, again, the games typically had a reasonable feel to them.

There may be an advantage to an engine/machine that tops at a few hundred points above your strength in terms of the feel of the games. If you score 30-40% against such an opponent that is good training and also gives you something to shoot for: equal and then surpass this engine/machine.

Of course, I am talking about long time control games.

I began playing chess a few months ago after years of absence, by getting Chessmaster 11.  While the program has some nice tutorials and information for learning, I was disappointed in the way the engine would play several Grandmaster like moves and then a move that was beyond silly. I started reading reviews on forums and decided on Shredder 12.  I have to say, that when I am playing against Shredder, I feel like I am playing OTB rather than against a chess engine. You can get the free demo of the Classic 4 on their website and try it for yourself. 

The lower rated opponents (between 1800-2400) on Chessmaster 10th edition do a good job of mimicking human play IMO. There are also a wide variety of styles within a certain rating range. That said, some of the personalities have a limited range of opening moves. You can also create your own personalities and that functions well for variations.

Good Luck.

You're just fooling yourselves. There is no such thing as a "human" playing engine. They either play too strong or too weak. Either way, they play differently from a human.

I second the opinion that there is no good human emulating software out there. Chess Master does a pretty silly job at times at emulating a "lower-rated player" playing at a very high level and then suddenly doing something even a 1100 player would not ever do.

We've all played a really weak player at some point who happened to have his moment of genius and come up with a very hard-to-find good move or better yet, the "best" move possible in that position. I recently played a 900-rated player OTB who seemed to have an uncanny way of reaching a Lucena position and playing it right!! He may have not done the evaluation/analysis to support it, but he still came up with it.   He may play like a 1000-rated player for 90% of the game but at times, he might pull it off and surprise you.  

In addition to that, "human play" can involve psychological warfare such as gambits/setting traps/repeating moves and using the clock as a weapon as well.

Finally, let's not forget fatigue (the quality of human play might degrade after 2-3 hours on the board in a LONG game) or even the ego (I'm rated 500 points higher so I simply have to crush you!).

I don't see a machine even coming close.  Nor do I see today's chess programmer even bothered to do anything more than destroy super-GMs and contend for the #1 Engine position, rather than mimick a weak human player.