When and How did you learn to play chess?

Chess came to me via my older neighbor when I was 11 years old. Since then, it has been an off-and-on affair. Sometimes, chess is a daily grind. At times, months pass by before I could say check! It's because of the goings-on around me. There just are priorities to attend to that chess has to take a back seat. But I love the game. Thanks to Chess.com, there's a ready venue for chess interaction, 24/7 and at your convenient time.

The first time I played chess, was on school. Just to have something to do. After that I played the game a few times with someone I knew. But I didn't really "like" chess at the time. Stopped a while and then started with Chessmaster a few years ago. Learnt a lot there. Then stopped again, until a week or two weeks ago when I started studying chess 24/7. Then I saw the 'depth' of the game, and I am now addicted. Thanks to chess.com, this addiction is growing!

my mom showed me how the pieces moved when i was about 7 years old. she says that i then beat her, but that might not be true ;)

i didn't really pick up the game again until the summer after highschool with my grandpa. but then when i started college i met this total chess nerd who lived on my freshman floor, and he became my friend, my chess coach, and then my busines partner. that guy is JAY! :)

I learned chess from my parents in the early 1960s.  I played chess in High School.  I then joined a chess club, learned how to read chess notation, and started studying chess books.  My first chess books were 1000 Short Games of Chess and Practical Chess Openings by Fine, found in an old book store.  I played chess in college and, through Isaac Kashdan and his encouragement, played in my first rated tournament, the American Open in Santa Monica in 1969.  I've been actively playing chess since.

i think i learned how the pieces moved sometime around age 8 or 9. didnt start trying to get any good until i picked up a used copy of chessmaster for xbox

I learned how the peices move on Yahoo! Chess a few years ago, but that was only for a few days. Earlier this year I started to play more and then I bought Chessmaster for the PS2 and it has gone from that to reading things via the internet and now I am reading Chess books.