Whats your chess story ??

I love reading over this assignment I had in 9th grade were we had to talk about something that changed our lives and I chose to write about when I first learned to play chess. Now im asking you guys what is your story on how you started taking chess seriously ?

i liked to play a little chess at get-togethers on a cheap little board with even cheaper tiny plastic pieces.  i could beat all my friends but they loved to challenge me.  at that point, i knew nothing at all of openigns, theory, endings, general principles - not a thing.

i heard through a friend that a certain downtown coffee shop was hosting chess club night every thursday evening. well, i went down, not knowing what to expect.

well, i sure wasn't expecting chess clocks (never seen one before), FIVE minute games (unheard of!), and losing for a solid year.  i mean that, too; i lost for an entire year, every game, before i started getting a clue. 

now, years and years later, it takes a 2100 or better to upend me with any regularity.  i'm one of the guys to 'watch out for' at the club, so to speak.  on a real good night, i won't be defeated for several hours.  :)

Who takes chess seriously? I'm not a GM!

I first learned chess at the early age of 5 but hated it. My older brother was into it and needed an opponent, so I was volunteered to play. The game itself was okay (with cool horses and weird pointy queens and bishops) but I had no idea what I was doing and had to wait an excruciatingly long time for my brother to move (he was thinking hard you see). Once he made his move, I just mirrored it, until he mated me or took all my pieces.....

Many years later, in college, I played a few offhand games against a friend and he crushed me (he sucked by the way)...Determined, I went to the library and got some book with tips about the opening. We played again and I still lost, my friend telling me this time he had to think...."a little". That was the end of chess for a while...

A year or two later, a colleague at the lab, an old guy with a thirst for bad coffee and internet chess, was playing on something called "xboard". It looked interesting...so I asked him for some tips. He told me to read "My System" by some dude named "Nimzovich". I downloaded xboard and began playing on the internet with little success. I also tried reading My System but understood only a little and reading through the games in the back of the book slowly acquainted me to how to play chess, but I still sucked..

One day I was studying Nimzovich's magnum opus with a borrowed tournament set (still have it, so I guess I "borrowed" it for quite a long time), when this local master and his buddy challenged me. Of course I lost, but I began playing with a few of the masters lower-rated buddies for a while and studying any and all books I could find on chess...(mostly the same ones the master and his buddies were using)...suddenly I started beating most offhand challengers and winning internet games! My new-found buddies and I played regularly and I began holding my own...(except against the master)

After moving away, I began serious study of the game and acquiring any material I could find on it. I joined a "real" chess club and started playing rated games. My strength soared (compared to earlier, in any event).My previously superior (and then equal) buddies who had moved into my new town again (alas not the master) could no longer win or draw a single game vs me.

Nowadays, I am a rated USCF expert working on becoming a master. Hopefully I will reach it, but only time will tell.

Going from an entire year of losses to only 2100 players being able to beat you regularly dude thats some major persitance you'll be a experts sooner than later with that attitude.

thanks, chessmaster!  it's been a long, but fun, ride.  :)

Great topic! 

I can't really say "seriously", because my playing has come in spurts over the years (and my ratings reflect it ).

I received a little chess book by Fred Reinfeld for Christmas when I was 12.  I lost to my high schooler neighbor every tiime we played.  Didn't play for years.  Played with my brother off and on for years as an adult.  Joined USCF as a adult and played in a couple big OTB tournaments...won some, lost more.   Chess.com reps another spurt.   I love this game!

My Father taught me chess when I was about 9 years old and we played only each other until Bobby Fischer made his run to the title. Then, it seemed everyone wanted to play. In high school, I played three years on the chess team and played some in college. Since about age 40, I have played USCF OTB on and off. I' just a class C/B player, but I enjoy the game. When playing your mind is off everything else ... an escape. 

I was raised outside of Gulmarg India in the Karakorum mountains by rhesus monkeys in an abandon building that had previously been used as a mosque.

It was there I learned the fine ways of chess, from the monkeys, whose harsh lessons began for me at the tender age of 2.

Because I was not distracted by the "attractive" young female monkeys, I was able to concentrate of my chess studies and was soon the male chess champion of the pack.

When some human explorers took me into civilization the therapy took around a decade. At first it was hard to understand why feces throwing and biting was looked down on by these hairless "civilized" apes. Also I had to re-learn chess which apparently didn't involve beating your opponent with a crude, stick-like weapon.

And that's how I learned to play chess.

@wafflemaster -- LOL :-)

Crap! 5 minutes late, waffle!

I learned the rules around 7 or so, but never played with anyone.  Then in highschool there was a kid who would set up a board afterschool and take all comers and he (almost) never lost.  He was probably ~1200 strength.  I liked playing him sometimes, but still wasn't very interested. 

I was 18 when I realized I wanted to take it as more than "just a game" so to speak.  Before that I enjoyed video games, but was disappointed that inevitably a new game would come out and the skill you'd built up counted for nothing.

I also enjoyed learning how to play games better, and thought chess was something that provided this aspect endlessly.

I got an old copy of chessmaster... I believe it was 5000 and started playing online.  I played online about 305 days a year for 3 years before I decided I was going to find a local club, and if one didn't exist I'd start one.  Luckily I found one, and played there for 4-5 years.  90% of them were casual players who'd never been to a tournament, but there were a handful of players class c to expert.

Pure chance, at the club I happened to meet that same kid who would set up his chess board after school.  This was years later of course, and I was better than him at that point.  It was a milestone for me to be able to beat him regularly.

I first learned to play from the internet one day after browsing through every board game I could find when I was younger. It took me 2 weeks to actually learn due to other distractions like cartoons music and yu-gi-oh (played it adddictively back then) of all the board games I learned after a period of 2 months chess and go took the longest and that alone I simply wanted to look more into both I found both intreasting but overall go was so boring to me and in general wasnt as hard as chess was to me. I had a already installed program into my computer back then that played chess (same as chess titan but it wasnt chess titan) One day when I was bored I played the program on its normal level I lost so I bought it levels down a notch and lost again then I played it on its lowest level and lost again !!! and again and again and I got sooo frustrated with the entire game but unlike other beginners I didnt quite becasue of it I actually wanted to jsut win one game until after 2months of harsh losing I finally won againt the easy and I felt relieved then I played the normal level and beat it after my second try and was overjoyed I actually never really felt that happy in anything else before then and that ignited my passion for the game for the continuing years.

My chess story goes like this:

Started playing chess at age 14, was very god at one point. Then, had to deal with life and got away from chess about 4 years. Now, Im starting to play chess daily but...SUCK SO HORRIABLY THAT IM ENDURING A PATHETIC 9 GAME LOSING STREAK!! HAd a 8 game losing streak once, but got back to being good. Now, I need a major overhal in my game. I need major help please.

I'd love to tell you my chess story, but it would undoubtedly break multiple chess.com forum rules.

@ waffle LOOOOL!  thanks for the laugh, mate. 

Wondered 2 summers ago how hard it would be to become a grandmaster in chess (i would play casually from time to time), turns out it is really difficult, so i took up the challenge. and now i just play because i'm so in love with the game. :)

I got my first set as a kid and taught myself.  Didnt play in Jr. and Sr. high school but was always fascinated by chess and all things related.  Recently (about a month or two ago), after playing some 200+ hours of Skyrim and being a fan of war/battles/martial arts, all of which involves strategy, I decided to reintroduce myself to the game that has been calling to me for years and years - chess.   

Started with just downloading Sigma chess and Hiarcs 13 on the mac, then 8 chess books later, diamond membership to chess.com, and chess set and board on the way, I find myself here.   Im a horrible player btw, but to me, the fun is in the studying and learning.  Per the HIARCS on the mac I rate 1200, chess tactics here I am high 600s, chess mentor 1400.  My guess is that really, Im around 800.  But, its a journey I am excited to be on.  

My teacher in grade 8 brought a chess board to school. The kids in my class would play and I was usually the smartest kid in my class, but when it came to the chess board, I got creamed! I went home, studied hard, read everything, and went back to beat everyone and to win the district championship. But that wasn't enough... I study every day now, hoping I'll get better

Waffle, why did the attractive female monkeys not find you attractive and interesting? Surely they must have seen how wise and witty you are!  My suspicions are they had poor taste