Chess

I love chess and played competitvely through to high school. Since then I've only played a handful of times a year. I'd definitely like to play over the board more often. Internet chess, such as on yahoo games, is fun for a while but people tend to play the same opening or the same moves.

Favourite style of chess would be bughouse (four players simultaneous, teams of two, swapping captured pieces), closely followed by blitz. I love playing 5 minute games - even if you lose a piece you keep going and hope your opponent makes a bigger mistake. Momentum and concentration is really important.

I try to play the occasional game against anyone I can find - at uni, at the park / public square, friends, acquaintances, etc. When I see two people playing chess in public I can't help but stop to watch. Grandmaster games such as the ones by Capablanca, Morphy, Tal, Nimzowitsch can be especially artistic IMO. The sequence of moves that develop tactical and positional advantages, the unexpected sacrifice, the clever use of zugzwang and an aethestically-pleasing final position makes me consider great games of chess similar to a piece of artwork.

Jam it back in, in the dark.