I was nine years old when Bobby Fischer became world champion in 1972. My aunt said I was too young to learn chess but I begged and begged her to teach me. She finally showed me how the pieces move and I've been playing ever since. My chess experience was limited for a long time to beating friends and family members and reading chess books. I was in my late twenties when I entered my first USCF tournament. Chess is great because you don't need strength or speed to play. You just need a reasonably sharp mind. Something about me that may or may not be chess related is that I love reading a good scifi/fantasy story. In fact I just love reading.
How did you learn chess and who are you?
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May 7, 2011
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#3
Okay, DanaEileithyia:
I learned the rules, and played a few games when I was about 15 years old. But I didn't really start playing until I was about 22 years old. So I've had about 11 years experience.
I think chess is very good for me in some ways, and quite meaningless to me. So I wouldn't say "chess is great" for me, but I like it!
A non-chess related thing about me, is I probably have grown to appreciate animals much more than humans. 
I started playing when I was about 10 (I'm 50 now). I was (still am) a professional mucisian but, through a strange set of circumstances, became a chess instructor in the school system here is San francisco. I also write articles for a number of online chess magazines and websites. I play chess full time, playing a minimum of roughly 15 to 20 games a day (excluding the 20 to 40 games I have going here). Music and chess go hand in hand. Chess is great because it develops parts of the mind that are often neglected. You can look at neurological studies that demonstrate this fact at a number of medical websites. I enjoy teaching chess because there is nothing better than see the look on a person's face when they get a complex problem. It also teaches kids to become better at problem solving. Of course, getting paid well to teach chess also factors into the equation.
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Great some reactions :)!
I learned chess when I was 5/6 I think. Entered a chess club at age 7, left at age 9 orso because we had to do a year with a book with only about 500-1000 (don't know exactly) tactics. Off course I was overenthusiastic and finished it within a month. Unfortunately I had to wait 10 more months for the exam of the book and was not allowed to do something else. So I did nothing besides playing 3 games a week and when the 10 months were finally over I wasn't allowed to do the exam because my teacher thought I would not pass :(. So I left. I played a bit of chess at school after that and a few games with friends.
Two years ago I made this account just to play one game and kinda left for two years. A month ago I started playing serious, doing a lot of tactics, playing a lot of games and I hope that with advice of better players (I have already one great player who is giving me advice :)) I can become a good chess player. If I know the basics and am confident that I'm not a complete noob I might join a real tourney :). A chess club would be great too, however I don't like to be member of a club with all man with the average age of 40!
Rl related I'm a graduate student computing science, 21 years old. Further I've two small jobs (together about 12 hours a week) and I play (field) hockey.
May 7, 2011
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#7
I learned the rules when I was 6 years old, my father had shown and taught me the game. I loved playing it against him and my mother. 2 years later I joined a chess club since my parents were no longer a challenge. It started off great, I kept beating everyone around my age, but 2 years later after joining the club I couldn't bring myself to focus enough to get a good result anymore, because I was interested in other things than chess. I lost a lot of games since then, which eventually caused me to quit. When I was 20 (2~3 years ago) I picked it up again because of a classmate that wanted to play against me. Things are looking good right now, I've risen from 1300 ELO to 1800 ELO in this time. However, life currently forces me to focus on other things than chess, so I'm thinking of taking a break again.
One other thing. In sixth grade I won a gold medal in chess. (Okay, it was plaster of paris painted gold) The thing is that there were only three players in the tournament. Everyone won some kind of medal.
I started when I was six. My mother taught me how to play. In fact, my mother used to do a lot for my chess. We moved to the Philippines shortly afterward. I joined the club in India and we moved to the Philippines for a year. And there they had a TV program that was on in the afternoon, one to two or something like that, when I was in school. So she would write down all the games that they showed and the puzzles, and in the evening we solved them together.
My rise in the Indian chess world was meteoric. National level success came early for me when I won the National Sub-Junior Chess Championship with a score of 9/9 in 1983 at the age of fourteen. "Vishy", as I'm is sometimes called by my friends, burst upon the upper echelons of the chess scene in the early 1990s, winning such tournaments as Reggio Emilia 1991 (ahead of Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov). Playing at such a high level did not slow me down, and I continued to play games at blitz speed.
Or wait... that wasn't me, I'm thinking of Anand.
waffllemaster wrote:
I started when I was six. My mother taught me how to play. In fact, my mother used to do a lot for my chess. We moved to the Philippines shortly afterward. I joined the club in India and we moved to the Philippines for a year. And there they had a TV program that was on in the afternoon, one to two or something like that, when I was in school. So she would write down all the games that they showed and the puzzles, and in the evening we solved them together.
My rise in the Indian chess world was meteoric. National level success came early for me when I won the National Sub-Junior Chess Championship with a score of 9/9 in 1983 at the age of fourteen. "Vishy", as I'm is sometimes called by my friends, burst upon the upper echelons of the chess scene in the early 1990s, winning such tournaments as Reggio Emilia 1991 (ahead of Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov). Playing at such a high level did not slow me down, and I continued to play games at blitz speed.
Or wait... that wasn't me, I'm thinking of Anand.
Ok so you're an Anand fan? What about you ?
May 8, 2011
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#11
I just started playing about 2 years ago, at 14, after getting back from climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro I felt like I needed a hobby besides sitting around watching TV(In other words, I needed something intellectually stimulating), and so I found this site. I've never had a coach and have exclusively taught myself, but I feel like I'm doing fairly well considering. Hopefully I'll only get better with time!
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I'm sure that this forum was not posted for the purpose of socializing, unless if you choose to take it upon your own free will either to reply or initiate the leading efforts in socializing among fellow members (of Chess.com).
And, I am just as certain that this topic was neither presented to encourage any possibility for comparative judgments of competitive ridicule to be passed upon anyone.
I’m sure that “chess.com” would not mind if all members would refrained from all unnecessary comments so that researchers may determine accurate readings in order to build a foundation of supportive proof (for various positive purposes).
I was around 5 when my older brothers taught our version of chess--no e.p., no castling, the king could be taken, etc. And they would beat me horribly each game. I really didn't like chess at all. When I was 12, a family friend taught me chess notation and bought me some Reinfeld and Chernev books and I laid an ambush for my brothers. I crushed them both, and they haven't played me since 1970. My first tournament was in Syracuse, NY, in 1972. I've been playing tournament chess on and off since then, my latest break being 23 years (1987 to 2010). I served in the US Navy during Desert Storm, was adopted by a contingent of Navajo when a carny in 1994, and in September of 1994 in was involved in an off-set head-on MVA. It took over two hours to extract me and I was in a condition known as "beyond pain"--for example, my right leg was six inches shorter than my left leg, my right hand was crushed, but I didn't feel it, and I was cracking jokes with the EMT's cutting me out. They told me that of the 3 emergency squads working to extract me that I'm the only one who was "beyond pain" to survive. Much pain and many surgeries later, I was forced on disability @one year ago. I still play chess, having made USCF expert last year, I play bass in a rock band, and I've gotten into writing, with a short story on the Morphy-Lowenthal meeting in 1850 which I'll be creating a blog in the next few days in order to post it here. And, oh yeah, I like crazy chess and intoxicants of all types.
1. 6
2. I play here for fun, and am by far the best chess player at my school
3. It's an ego booster when you win, and its a way to kill time. It makes you look clever.
4. I've studied maths to university-level and taught myself Calculus at the age of 10.
I was taught by my father at about ten years old. I then joined a chess club in London and played for years never getting much beyond average club strength.
Its a wonderful game and I enjoy every game, win, draw or loose.
I am not one who believes everyone can become a master it seems to me people reach their own level much as they do in all forms of artistic endevour.
I was 18 when I "learned" how to play chess last December. We didn't have much money at Christmas and my mom asked me what I wanted that wouldn't cost much. I've always liked the way chess boards look (they're very artistic and perfect for photographing) so I asked for one of the cheaper ones. When I got the set, there were about ten sentences of instructions on the back of the box and that constitutes my knowledge of the rules and tactics of chess.
I've played only the games you see on my profile here plus maybe a dozen games against my mom, brother, and sister none of whom actually have any more knowledge of the game than I do.
I don't know why I love chess so much but ever since I played my first game can't really think about much else. My other hobbies suddenly seem so much less interesting all of a sudden, hahaha (probably because they don't make me think).
A non-chess-related fact about me... David Bowie is my god. Figuratively speaking.
My father taught me to play after i have ask several times when I was about 10 years old. I started reading my fathers chessbooks by Bent Larsen and became almost obsessed with the chessworld.
Living in Greenland it's difficult to find chessplayers and clubs, but this site does pretty much to fullfill my needs.
Like to sail, hiking, when the time and weather is right.
Some one once said: "Life is to short for chess, but you can not blame the chess for that..."
I play anyway ;-)
One of the forums I missed at this forum is a forum where new members can introduce themselves and a forum about getting to know each other. If any of the staff is reading this and thinks this is a great idea as well please make :)!
Offcourse there are groups and teams which have their own forums however that is pretty closed (I did make a group with as main purpose socializing and as second purpose playing chess together so if you feel the same join!). So here a topic about getting to know more members of this community.
How old was you when you learned chess?
How much chess experience do you have?
Why do you think chess is great?
Please tell something about yourself non chess related.