My stepfather taught me the basic moves to chess when I was about 9-10yrs old, but the greatest learning for me, was watching others play. Not being an avid reader, I didn't learn much from books. As I grew up, I went through stages of playing/not playing. I did teach my son Marc "Sparky1A" the basics also when he was younger. (I don't need to LET him win anymore, he can beat me without help. lol).
I class myself as an Intermediate player, who just enjoys playing a game. Some days I can be up there playing with the best, while on other days I make stupid mistakes and struggle with newcomers.