When I play in ranked games and I set the game time to say 60 minutes or maybe even less, the computer thinks for a very long time between moves. This only happens if it's an opponent with a rating higher than about 1000. Is this normal? I just find it wierd that I have to wait more than two minutes for my computer opponent to make a move

Is it possible to play a ranked game vs a 1000+ rating player with no immediate time pressure without having to wait for the computer to move? Is it a bug or is it really thinking? I just couldn't imagine it would take that long, I guess it knows It has say 60 minutes at its disposal but if I give it less I also have to give myself less.

what settings do you recommend me to use in a ranked game?

A real opponent would use that time, so the simulated opponent uses that time too. I use this time to help me get used to the waiting ('cos it's going to happen in a real game) and to counteract the stress it imposes. What you should be doing during that time is studying the board: this is time freely given to you to study your position and that of your opponent, so don't be frustrated by it - use it to your advantage.

quote:

Originally posted by ebutaljib:
Against many people's beliefs the engine does calculate all the time, it's not just sitting idle and simulating a human thinking. The engine always calculates on it's turn. With ponder on it calculates on your time as well. All the time.

So how does it simulate the lesser opponents then? I mean real opponents rated low, at say 1000, don't do all that much calculation, whereas a computer can think 5 moves ahead in a fraction of a second. How does the computer keep its AI from overcalculating? I realise that part of the AI focuses on making moves with preferred pieces, but when it comes to calculation does it compensate for the computer's abilities by merely throwing in errors randomly?