Chess Dreams

by admin on April 13, 2011

Do you ever dream about chess? Here’s a typical dream I had a couple nights ago.

I am at a chess tournament in Las Vegas, and eating lunch at Harrah’s casino. The tournament is in another hotel, and suddenly I realize to my horror that (of course) it is time for the next round to start, and I am going to be late. I quickly leave my table and head for the exit.

This part of the dream takes a long time, because as you know casinos are very large and the pathways through them are meandering. Plus, I am riding in a wheelchair (don’t ask why, I don’t know) with a maximum speed of about 2 mph, and I have to get out of it and lug it with me every time I get to a staircase or an escalator. But after going up and down and over and around, I finally get to the front desk, and for some reason I have to stop and pay for something. (Maybe the wheelchair rental?) I get out my blue American Express card and put it on the counter … and then it suddenly hits me that I never paid for my lunch!

There are actually two American Express cards on the counter, but I quickly pick up the one I think is mine and head back to the café. Naturally I have to retrace my entire path, around and over and down and up. I get back to the café, find the waitress (she is black, with long curly hair) and apologize profusely, saying I didn’t mean to run out on the check. She of course remembers who I am, rings up the bill, and I hand her the credit card.

She swipes the card and says (even though this never happens in real life), “124 Clares Street?” I’m barely listening, and I say, “Yes … NO!” Obviously I picked up the wrong credit card at the front desk. I tell her to take the credit card and return it to the rightful owner, and I will go back to the front desk and reclaim mine, if I can. Meanwhile, I’m thinking that I there is no way that I can do this in time, and I am going to forfeit my chess game. “What a nightmare!” I think. And that’s when it hits me … it IS a nightmare, and I wake up.

Somehow my chess dreams never involve brilliant queen sacrifices leading to mate in seven. In fact, I don’t think I ever get to play a single move in them — instead, it’s all about crazy obstacles keeping me away from the chess board.

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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }

Marc April 13, 2011 at 1:03 pm

crazy obstacles keeping me away from the chess board = my children

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dfan April 13, 2011 at 2:28 pm

If I dream about chess it’s usually similar: I’m playing in some tournament and everything goes wrong (e.g., I can’t find my board, suddenly my clock is down to two minutes, etc.).

Not quite a dream, but sometimes if I’ve been totally obsessed with chess, I’ll get into a half-awake state in bed where I think my body is a chess position. For example, I’ll move my leg a more comfortable position and think in my head that I am moving a knight to f3 or something. It’s a little disturbing!

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Rob April 14, 2011 at 11:52 am

Dana.
Not being a psychologist, it seems pretty clear to me that this dream is not necessarily about chess.
It seems more about paying attention to things that matter. The fact that you almost forget about your game and that causes you to rush.
In making this effort you need the assistance of something that offers you mobility (the wheelchair), but yet you cannot meet your requirements by that alone and you must manually carry it to get to your objective. So far you are facing normal obstacles that because of your original oversight continue to cause you difficulty. (Ultimately of your own making of course.)
Continuing in haste you compound the situation by choosing the wrong financial method for meeting an unpaid debt-which makes you retrace your steps to remedy the situation which results in that discovery (of having picked up the wrong credit card). Likewise your brief conversation with the waitress and your misunderstanding of the address she quotes, reinforces the idea of your not continuing to pay attention to something that may or may not be important.
Of course, glossed over is the fact that all this commences in a casino. Umm a place where people often take financial risks.

But then again, what do I know, maybe your dream is just as you say…related to chess.

Rob
France

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