Tell us a bit about yourself & your life!

Hi, this is a thread for us to get to know each other a bit better.  Feel free to share where you're from, how'd you get into chess, what you do for a living, what other hobbies you have, what's important to you & how you came upon this team (and anything else you'd like to share).

I will answer these questions myself later on.

Cheers,

Narz

I just started playing chess last fall.  It seems like every year I throw myself into a new hobby or interest, and this year I decided to learn to play chess.  Last year it was black and white photography and darkroom techniques, the year before it was bonsai trees.  At least with chess, I'm not likely to kill anything :lol:

I'm a woodworker by trade, I work primarily for one theatre in New York City. Everyone asks me what shows are good - I wouldn't know, because I enjoy making things, not watching plays.

I live with my long-term girlfriend of 9 years in a small apartment in Queens.  She's a doula - a birth assistant. It's been quite interesting to learn about birthin' babies when I'm not even about to be a father!

Gotta go for now...

I learned to play chess as a child, was even in some tournaments, in the chess club in high school, but then I lost the desire to play much and didn't play at all until Narz invited me here. I'm really enjoying it here for the most part and have improved in my game bit by bit.

I'm originally from southern California but I moved to Oklahoma three and a half years ago. My training is in family medicine but I quit that nine years ago this month and never looked back. I stay home with my family now and keep house but I also write science fiction, raise angora rabbits, and have been an organic gardener since the early 90's. Since my children are teenagers I'm quite busy -- there's always somewhere they need to be taken to.

Petergrimes, my husband likes woodworking also, but his is a hobby. He makes his own speakers and four years ago made this amazing subwoofer case -- I should take a picture, it's hard to explain it. If you want to see it send your email address as a PM and I'll send a picture of it to you.

Hi all,

I started playing chess when I was about 10 or so against my dad. I tend to play just for fun, unless I'm in a tournament online (in which case I play to win). I currently work at McDonalds as Crew (soon to be promoted to Crew Trainer), and I also am the owner and President/CEO of Joffee Publishing Inc, which I founded in September of 2006. I also like playing strategy games on my computer, and art is a hobby of mine. Anything from drawing to working with clay, I like to do. It tends to help me relax. I also like to read and write. I have published one of my own books so far. (Nonfiction book full of poems and reports.)

I also produce the weekly podcast WhiteEagle's Aerie (formerly known as Chess Talk). I found out about the group from Civilization Fanatics Forums (CFF for short), where I'm known as WhiteEagle22.

Take care,

Nathan P.

I'm married, with two kids ages 8 and 5.  I'm a software engineer at a major computer company.

I started playing chess at the tender age of 6, but didn't get "serious" about it until high school.  I played enough rated OTB games to get past the provisional rating, but haven't played in any tournaments in about 15 years.

While I was in the Air Force for 6 years I tried postal (aka correspondance) and liked the slow pace and lack of tournament travel.  This was especially important the year I spent in Iceland at a remote site. 

When I got married I stopped even playing CC.  My wife sometimes forgot to give me incoming move cards and it was hard to keep a board set up -- she would clean and bam, the position's all messed up.

Online play at chess.com has been wonderful.  It's so much easier with the site keeping track of the moves, and the opening explorer is way better than lugging around 2 boxes of chess books.  And the online analysis board stays untouched as long as the computer doesn't crash and the kids don't fool around with it. 

Hi;

I first started playing chess when I was in the army (as many of the CFC crowd know, I was with the Parachute Regiment for a long time) and I tended to play with friends from home, drawing boards on peices of paper and attaching them to letters. I left nearly 25 years ago (christ I feel old), joined the police as a SFO, and later retired officially and took up a post with the ACF, but I've kept playing chess. Chess.com is great, since you can play far more games than you can in real life, and it's easier to learn

Thought I'd update you all:

I'm shutting down Joffee Publishing Inc. at the end of the month, because it did not take off. I'm still trying to find another job so I can leave McDonalds (been there 5 years now). I still podcast, but the podcast is now called WhiteEagle's Podcast, and the feed is here.

I have recently created a community site called Leet Link, which used to be a directory. Feel free to drop by and register, as the first tournament with a prize of a VIP Membership for a year starts Jan. 1st.

Nathan P.