Play slow live chess (G/40 or slower). It's very hard to program a computer to play at a particular low strength, so to compensate CM10 (and other engines) randomly leaves pieces en prise.
Learning Online vs Computer
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Dec 3, 2009
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#3
Different styles of learning suit different people.
1. There are many chess.com groups that welcome learners. Playing against a fellow human who can point out your mistakes (gently!) can be a fun way to learn.
2. These threads discuss possible approaches ...
best-way-for-an-adult-to-get-started
3. TAKEBACK is now available on chess.com.
4. There are numerous learning tools on chess.com: Chess Mentor, Computer Workout, Tactics Trainer, ...
If you're willing to throw $20-$100 into a good chess computer program, such as Fritz or Chessmaster, you will get a lot out of that. However, computers are less likely to make 'mistakes' (I'm not talking low-level playing, I mean blunders at any level) than humans. You should mix it up a bit, besides, chess.com has a lot behind it, Tactics Trainer, puzzles and tournaments.
There are free chess programs, Fritz 5.32 and chess.com's computer chess are some good ones.
I am relatively new to chess and have begun to try and improve my game. I am currently reading a couple of books, which I read about here, and have begun playing games using the Chessmaster computer series. My questions is this- what is the best way to practice playing chess; online against real players or against the computer. Obviously the computer is a bit easier on me as a new player as I can play whenever I want, take back moves, and there is no real blow to my self esteem which keeps me coming back for more and more. So, should I man up and play some online games or am I ok with just computer games for now?