beginings

iwas ten when i learned to play by watching 2 friends play on my back porch. my play was limited to a few games at the end of a school term. i began to take chess seriously in the earlr 60,s. i was  a regular reader of the ny times chess column and was perplexed by one coment that appeared in the game comments (white is weak on the white squares) this comment lead me to purchase my first book- chess made  simple. it broke the game into opening,middlegame, and ending. the openings covered were e and d pawn ,classical. ruy lopez, guicco piano ,sicilian,french, and d pawn queens gambit, kings indian, nimzo-indian. basic middle game plans and patterns were discuussed as were basic endings.