I'm interested in environmental issues, mathematics and humanism. My first chess memory is of picking up a tiny knight in a pocket chess set that I had received one Christmas shortly before my fifth birthday. "That's a knight" my dad said, "it's from a game called chess". He taught me the basic rules (which was all he knew) and I've loved the game ever since. Best present I ever had. I love the history of the game, the shared culture of chess fans around the world and the aesthetic beauty that it can produce. Oh, I quite like winning as well :) I only wish it happened more often!
I have recently read Josh Waitzkin's book 'The Art of Learning' and would recommend it to anyone who wants to understand how to approach learning a skill. Here is a fascinating interview with Josh from the Authors@Google series: