Is Stockfish really better than all these human chess coaches?

Discussion of anything and everything relating to chess playing software and machines.

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chetday
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Location: North Carolina
Full name: Chet Day

Re: Is Stockfish really better than all these human chess coaches?

Post by chetday »

tapio wrote: ↑Fri Jun 26, 2026 7:15 am The question makes no sense, but I am really curious in how there'll be AI companions explaining games in a human way.
I'm thinking it would be interesting to create a prompt to feed to one of the frontier LLMs to satisfy your (and my) curiosity about this.

For example, off the top of my head, use a prompt like this:

You are a competitive chess teacher and coach who has been asked to help a young player improve his game. Examine the published chess games of Magnus Carlsen from 2026. Once you've completed that task, rank the winning patterns you discovered and then from what you've learned about Carlson's play, analyze the uploaded games from the young player you're going to coach and then craft a framework for him to follow to improve his game.

Keep in mind I'm a writer, amateur AI collaborator, and patzer at chess so the above prompt would need a lot more thought and work before it would be truly useful (and maybe it wouldn't be useful at all). But I think the idea would be worth following up on.
Dr.Ex
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Joined: Sun Jul 08, 2007 4:10 am

Re: Is Stockfish really better than all these human chess coaches?

Post by Dr.Ex »

It's surely a better coach than Simon Williams...
BrendanJNorman
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Full name: Brendan J Norman

Re: Is Stockfish really better than all these human chess coaches?

Post by BrendanJNorman »

Dr.Ex wrote: ↑Tue Sep 15, 2026 12:44 am It's surely a better coach than Simon Williams...
Simon is more of an entertainer than coach. And he's funny as hell tbh.

That being said, back when I worked for iChess (before they sold to Magnus), Simon did some great chess courses (The GingerGM Method 1+2) for them.

I say this as a coach, myself. Simon took those courses really seriously, and they were very easy to sell.

Among the top revenue earners. People like a guy who's a legit GM, but also has a personality.
Dann Corbit
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Location: Redmond, WA USA

Re: Is Stockfish really better than all these human chess coaches?

Post by Dann Corbit »

Yes and no.
Yes:
Stockfish can tell you what move is better more often than they can, though they will often agree.
No:
Stockfish cannot tell you why the move is better and they can tell you.
We don't use a chess coach to tell us what move to make. We use a chess coach to tell us why we should make a certain move.
Taking ideas is not a vice, it is a virtue. We have another word for this. It is called learning.
But sharing ideas is an even greater virtue. We have another word for this. It is called teaching.
Uri
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Joined: Thu Dec 27, 2007 9:34 pm

Re: Is Stockfish really better than all these human chess coaches?

Post by Uri »

Most human chess players are much stronger than me, that's for sure.

I'm not kidding but I think I'm getting Alzheimer's at a pretty young age and that's not even funny.

"Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and is the most common cause of dementia, accounting for around 60–70% of cases.[14][15] The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events.[1] As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems with language, disorientation (including easily getting lost), mood swings, loss of motivation, self-neglect, and behavioral issues.[2] As a person's condition declines, they often withdraw from family and society.[16] Gradually, bodily functions are lost, ultimately leading to death."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alzheimer%27s_disease

The fact is that my brain and body have become totally flabby and I don't even know why.
Dann Corbit
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Joined: Wed Mar 08, 2006 8:57 pm
Location: Redmond, WA USA

Re: Is Stockfish really better than all these human chess coaches?

Post by Dann Corbit »

My dad died from Alzheimers a few years ago.
Maybe interesting:
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/ ... he-making/

I suspect that brain activity like chess and music, as well as exercise can be helpful.
Taking ideas is not a vice, it is a virtue. We have another word for this. It is called learning.
But sharing ideas is an even greater virtue. We have another word for this. It is called teaching.