I’ve been playing go against the provided computer programs for some time and, as you all will understand, have become totally addicted. I like playing around the 6k or 7k level and because of my age (74) have no aspirations to make great improvements in the future. I really enjoy playing the Doge bot at 6k or 7k and most other bots (for example, Carnation) when they’re playing at 6k or 7k. Sometimes I send a challenge to play Carnation when it’s listed at 7k but when the game begins it says it’s playing at 10k, which is no fun. What accounts for the difference? Is it a matter of demand and traffic? Why aren’t there more possibilities to play on the high intermediate level. Though Deutzia plays on the level I like, it’s no fun for me, so is basically worthless.
First answer is that bots are not provided by OGS but by people like you. And I think that the bot setting is made by each owner like how strong they play. You can find the way to contact them usually in the profile of each bot.
Besides I am curious, did you try to play with humans? What would make you more interested by bots?
I doubt the playing strength of Carnation actually varies from 10k to 7k and it’s actually the same and just random fluctuations in its rank because it’s a ranked account like anyone else and sometimes wins more and sometimes loses more.
Right, the strength of Carnation is not changing. OGS is just changing its opinion of how strong Carnation is.
Thanks for your response to my question. Somehow it’s difficult to convince myself that there’s no difference between the playing strength of Carnation 10k and 7k. The 7k version makes different moves that tend to be more effective. On the other hand, sometimes I’ve found that the 8k is at least as strong as the 7k, which means that you’re probably right. In any event, I appreciate your response.
Thanks for answering my question, which agrees with what dexonsmith said. I should just defer to you two since you’re rated in what appears to me to be the stratosphere (3d and 4d) and I’ll be playing for the rest of my life in the intermediate range.
Thanks for the response to my question, especially for the idea of contacting directly the bot owner. You asked why I’m more interested in playing bots than humans. I mentioned before that I’m pretty old (74) and have been playing for a while. I learned initially when I was 18 and became better for several years. I made it to the quarterfinals of the tournament at the National University of Singapore when I was 29. But after that I didn’t have anyone to play with/against for several decades (because I live in a rural setting in an agrarian place) until OGS came on the scene, which was like a Godsend. Computers changed my taste in Go. Maybe because of my age, I learned to like playing fast. Humans tend to spend too long (at least for my taste) before each move. I lose interest and just want to wander away. Also there’s a high degree of ego involvement in games with humans. There’s much more I could say, but this is already too long.
Thanks for your detailed answer. We don’t have similar expectations on a go game but I can fully understand yours now.