I do lots of lessons on Chess.com but everyday I play the computer opponent of various ratings. I have been wondering how does practicing on a computer versus playing real people work out. Winning against a 1600 rated computer opponent does not mean you can actually defeat a 1600 real player, but you can probably beat at least a 1000 rated player maybe a bit more.
My rating is a very beginner 572 in Rapid 10 or 20 minute 0 increment games, I feel this is my main Chess rating as of now since it’s what I play the most. I have defeated 1000 rated people thus far so it’s what I am basing my metrics off of. I was actually looking at some of the BOTS saved games and most were against players twice or more my ranking, a little humble brag.
I was looking at some other players who played against some bots and noticed many just play only them and have 0 real games played. Makes me wonder if they are waiting to get up to a certain level before they start their stats, possibly play on another account too.
Back to my opinion, I do think the BOTS are a great tool to work out things and to see your weaknesses, mine is typically playing too fast. Against a BOT you will pay for going too fast because their response will be nearly instant and you might be moving your next piece too fast to fully understand their last move. This has happened so many times usually costing me a bishop or knight, check all your pieces each turn and make sure they are protected. You get quicker at seeing the entire board over time has been my experience, one small move by your opponent can make huge directional changes in your setup.
So my final opinion is I’d highly recommend playing the BOTS, go through each rating level no matter how long it takes. If you keep losing stop and go watch a YouTube video on the bot, sometimes just seeing another player defeat them will give you new ideas. You can also read some of my posts where I have embedded some of my games, and just because you defeat them once does not mean they are easy. You should be able to beat them most of the time, I often revisit the lower ranked bots because they have different play styles of interest.
A final note is play the BOTS with no help at all for the 3 Kings rating, no take backs or hints to maximize their learning.