In order as an adult: I was a college student, a journalist, a business owner, a cost-savings contractor for Ford, and then a soldier for seven years. That led to a position as an intelligence analyst and then, through a horribly convoluted route, a juvenile probation counselor. Through it all, I've been working at writing. I finally completed my first novel and I'm in the rewriting phase.
Me and chess, huh? Well, my dad and I played from the time I was less than five. He didn't let me win which probably made me better than I would have been otherwise. I played in college for a bit and then recreationally. Lately, I've started playing chess at the juvenile detention center with the residents. Some are very clever and the sheer number of games I play in a week is probably helping my game quite a bit.