Automach modus evaluation

[Pippen]

It's been awhile since KGS introduced the automatch modus which looks automatically for players and connects them. What do you think? Is it used? Does it work? Should this feature be deleted soon because it doesn't work?

[oren]

There are currently about 450 games on KGS now, and I counted about 90 are automatch. It seems like it works pretty well to me.

[judicata]

I use it all the time.

[kirkmc]

It's been awhile since KGS introduced the automatch modus which looks automatically for players and connects them. What do you think? Is it used? Does it work? Should this feature be deleted soon because it doesn't work?

And what's your evidence that it doesn't work? I use it occasionally; I know people who use it more often. As another poster pointed out, a fair share of games use it. So what's your beef?

[cdybeijing]

I use it about half of the time, and I always enjoy the games I get through that feature. I appreciate that less games seem to be escaped and there is of course no opponent selection - in fact it's one of the only ways I get to play higher ranked opponents.

If anything, we should be talking about how to improve the function.

[Li Kao]

One thing I notice is that recently I get significantly more opponents who are weaker than me than opponents who are stronger than me.
Not sure what the reason is. There might just be fewer stronger players, stronger players might not use auto-match as much, or they have chosen a smaller rank-range.

[kirkmc]

I use it about half of the time, and I always enjoy the games I get through that feature. I appreciate that less games seem to be escaped...

I was told that escapes in automatch count as immediate losses, so you are unlikely to get the kind of escaper who does it occasionally yet not enough to lead to losses.

[Li Kao]

I use it about half of the time, and I always enjoy the games I get through that feature. I appreciate that less games seem to be escaped...

I was told that escapes in automatch count as immediate losses, so you are unlikely to get the kind of escaper who does it occasionally yet not enough to lead to losses.

No you still have the same number of escapes before you get losses. The big difference is that escaping in the first few moves always counts as an escape, ant not just if the opponent decides to save the game.

[SoDesuNe]

I use it all the time.

Same here. I like it very much.

Li Kao
I always use +-1 rank, because I don't what to play against handicap ^^ By the way I also thought, I'd played against weaker oppents far more ofen but in the end I just played one more game as White (out of 33 since October).


post scriptum:
Further evaluations show: 8 times played against a higher ranked opponent, 13 times against an even ranked and 12 times against an lower ranked opponent.

[palapiku]

One thing I notice is that recently I get significantly more opponents who are weaker than me than opponents who are stronger than me.
Not sure what the reason is. There might just be fewer stronger players, stronger players might not use auto-match as much, or they have chosen a smaller rank-range.

Such is life - if you were 20k, the reverse would probably be the case.

[Li Kao]

Just checked and it's not that biased. It was just a bad streak in october that seems to have formed my mind.

[Apoah]

I would say that 99% of my rated games are found through automatch. I doubt I would find as many opponents without it.

[amnal]

I've only ever used automatch. Unfortunately it doesn't work so well past about 1d, there don't seem to be so many stronger players using it. But I persevere, maybe others will join me

[oren]

I've only ever used automatch. Unfortunately it doesn't work so well past about 1d, there don't seem to be so many stronger players using it. But I persevere, maybe others will join me

I've noticed more higher level automatch games recently with Japanese players making the majority of players. So it may also have something to do with time zones too.

[Li Kao]

Yes I noticed an increase in Japanese opponents(automatch) for me recently. What did happen there?