Yeah, well. [He's not about to explain. Long story why he stopped. Long private story, involving breakups and breakdowns and far more interaction with both the CIA and the KGB than he'd ever care to have.]

Anyway, I started when I was nine, so it probably depends what your scoring rubric for "good" is.

...You've really never played chess? [Considering how much 75% of his life has revolved around it, it's difficult to even imagine what that would be like.]