What is your story? How did you start playing chess? What have you, and are you doing in chess?

This is what I posted to start this forum.

What is our shared human experience with this game? What have we done? Where are we going? 

Just as a way to think of this.

I am from ...

I learned to play chess ...

In the past I have done the following chess related activities ...

Currently I am doing the following chess activities ...

Jan 5th 2018 this thread started. Thanks to everyone who contributed their story.

Played a few games when I was a kid and liked it. Didnt play it much at all do but a little for fun. Now when I am an adult I watched the queen gambit show on Netflix and that made me create an online account so I could play some games. And I got hocked/addicted. Started at around 500 rating in nov 2020 and now I am 1692 rating in Rapid. Close to 1700. So that feels great. Hopefully I win the next game so I get a new record.

Anyway. I am 36 years old to. So it shows that "older" people can learn the game to. Not sure where my limit will be or how long I will keep the intrest. But I am the kinda guy that likes to play one game most time and dont like so many other games. Like I played a game called Awesomenauts for almost 10 years. I wounder where I will be in chess if I play it for 10 years. But I think it will be very hard to gain rating the closer you get to 2000. But we shall see. 

Now I have started to play some gambits like Scotch and Murra. And this is great for learning how to attack and to learn when you need to defend a pawn or just let go of a pawn because your threat is stronger then opponent being greedy and snatching pawns with his queen. 

i started playing chess at 4, i dont really remember learning so...

I m from india and I m playing chess from last 4 years . I played more than 1000 games on various platform but I m always on 200-300 ELO rating. 

In the late 90s and early 2000s, I played regularly at my local club and participated in a few club and local tournaments. Although I wasn't a burgeoning master in the making, I could hold my own around the 1800 Elo mark. By 2004, life took over, and Chess gradually took a backseat. But like hives, the chess itch would pop up now and again, but I realised by 2005 that I couldn't juggle family life, a career and Chess, so I gave up Chess completely.
Since September 2021, I have moved into consultancy work and find I have more time. With no kids at home, Chess has returned with a vengeance. Slowly the magic is coming back.

Mid 2022, I intend to find a local club and start OTB again.

Congrats! I'm glad chess has been a positive outlet for you.

i posted how I started playing when i was a kid 72 years ago . . .

Now im posting because I'm going downhill from a 1700 that i went to, down to the current 1358 . . .

I only have four more games to play and i will stop until August when my renew comes up again . . .

I'm now 84 and losing to lower rated players, I've left or moved my queen only to be taken never saw the blunder until the move was made . . .

I used to play a whole game blindfold when I was 21 years old . . .

I have memories of fun times times. I taught the game., I ran Swiss tournaments OTB FIFTY entries in six hours . . .

I had 30+ chess sets now I been giving the away. I even have a board made of butterfly wings from Brazil from the 1930. . .

All good things must end. I became a widower last year when my wife died. I have four sons and all play chess all bowled and all played soccer. I have licenses in the sports.

Bye for now keep having fun as long as you can . . .

Here's my prized board that hangs displayed . . .

 Check out my profile if you have time. . .

Click on more. . .

https://www.chess.com/member/richcolorado

November 8, 2018 brother. Good on ya! 

So many great stories here. Thank you for sharing with us.

can i have a fun trophy

I sent you one.

When did you learn to play? Why do you like chess?

Some of the entries in this thread are pretty inspiring. If you have a few moments scan back through them.

Hey, that is a cool pfp! I think it was the cover of the old Nintendo game "Chess" (??) ...@RMChess1954...

I always wondered where chess started...hearing it was translated through old writings...I invisioned time before time and that's a picture that inspires, fore we have achieved a higher communication through 64 squares 32 pieces

I was born in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I started playing chess when I was 9 and it all happened when my friend brought his chessboard to school. I used to play chess ( kinda didn't know how to move) and I thought it was boring for some reason, but he taught me some moves and I found out it was interesting. When I went home from school, I searched the internet to how to play chess and I was addicted. I asked my dad to buy me a chess board. Now I'm still an average chess player but I'm planning on becoming the youngest grandmaster.

My little sister taught me the moves after she learned them from the neighbors. We played chess and other games but everyone was terrible. Chess became more important after I discovered books.

I learned the moves in 1968. I discovered books in 1975.

Played on a team in high school. Then didn’t play much for several years. Started coming back to the game in graduate school and bought Chessmaster 2100 when I bought my first computer. Became active in my local chess club after graduate school. Started coaching when my youngest son was in elementary school. He’s in his 30s now.