Well, like Stan, many moons ago I played briefly, I think it was along the time that I wore my hair long, wore flowered shirts, bell bottom pants, and side zipper dress boots, I may have been drinking allot then also.
Anyhow, I do remember that the warden and I were shopping for a gift for someone special (when 'P' shops for a gift everyone is special) well we're in this higher than usual end store and I spotted a chess set, a game board actually, it was on short legs, was made of fancy grade Walnut, and had a drawer that held the chess pieces and a set of ebony and Ivory (fake of course) checkers.
The board itself was inlayed with walnut and ivory colored squares, the chess pieces were made of the same ebony and imitation ivory as were the checkers, in all it was a rather simple but elegant set and it impressed the hell out of me, I don't remember what 'P' bought for a gift nor who it was for, but the chess set did follow me home.
To be honest I wasn't a very good chess player, and checkers bored the crap out of me, the kids as they came along got the most use out of the chess/checkers set, it followed us to several other homes and always did look impressive where ever it happened to be in the house, it did please me to look at it occasionally, I haven't seen it for quite a few years now, maybe one of the kids inherited it.
Anyhow, the short answer to your question Craig

is no, I don't play chess, checkers, or parlor games as a rule, I'd much rather read a good book, engage in a spirited conversation, or search out information about any number of interests than I might have at the moment, many of which we share in common, but not chess.
However there have been times in my life that a enjoyed playing Pitch, poker, I was hooked on Monopoly for a short while, and for a year or so we (my chief, myself, and a country band leader who played a local C&W bar we frequented quite often and the wives) had a small group that got together at the band leaders house once a week and played UNO until he had a heart attack and died.
