I have no remembrance of where I first saw a chess set or how old I was. It was probably in a department store toy area and I was around ten. I remember I was intrigued that four of the pieces were horse heads. I knew no one who knew anything about chess. Chess was never mentioned at school.

When I was 17 I went to a party where the host had many games set up to play, and one was a chess set. He knew how the pieces moved, but was uncertain about the Knight.

The next day I purchased the chessmen and a book on how to play chess. Chess books were rare in the stores and the local library where I lived, which made my quest for educating myself difficult. For three years I had no one to even play chess with. It wasn’t until I was in the Army that I was able to find opponents, and they weren’t much better than I was, except for a sergeant who beat me every game. He was excellent with the knights, and I learned much watching him defeat me with them. I am forever grateful for his patience to play with such a novice as I was then.

I am not a strong player, but I enjoy playing chess for the sheer enjoyment of it. I enjoy reading about chess and improving my game. When someone suggested checking out chess.com, I did and I immediately joined just to improve my game. .

Because I enjoy meeting people from all over the world, and what interests them about chess, I truly enjoy chess.com. And now I have many people in which to share my interest in chess.

Knightvanguard