--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There had been a few times over the past…" description: "\"“There had been a few times over the past year when she felt like this, with her mind not only dizzied but nearly terrified by the endlessness of chess..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/089/walter-tevis-34092_chess_there-had-been-a-few-times-over-the-past_2087481.jpg" --- # There had been a few times over the past year when she… ![“There had been a few times over the past year when she felt like this, with her mind not only dizzied but nearly terrified by the endlessness of chess.” quote by Walter Tevis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/089/walter-tevis-34092_chess_there-had-been-a-few-times-over-the-past_2087481.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/089/walter-tevis-34092_chess_there-had-been-a-few-times-over-the-past_2087481.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/089/walter-tevis-34092_chess_there-had-been-a-few-times-over-the-past_2087481.jpg) > ““There had been a few times over the past year when she felt like this, with her mind not only dizzied but nearly terrified by the endlessness of chess.”” [Walter Tevis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-tevis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A character feels dizzy and terrified by the endless possibilities in chess, illustrating how mastery can become overwhelming and anxiety‑inducing. **In simple terms:** Chess feels endless and frightening. Key Takeaway Embrace limits and focus on present moves. Themes anxiety mastery overwhelm focus strategy Mood tense introspective analytical Type mental strategic emotional When to use this quote - competitive gaming - high‑stakes decision making - learning new skills - mental fatigue - self‑doubt Key Concepts cognitive load fear of infinite options performance pressure Questions to Reflect On - How does infinite choice affect performance? - What techniques reduce overwhelm in complex tasks? A Different Perspective The quote is internal; external pressures also matter. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chess/) [Dizzied Nearly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dizzied-nearly-4108556/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Mind Dizzied](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-dizzied-4108557/) [Nearly Terrified](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nearly-terrified-4108555/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Terrified](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrified/) [Terrified Endlessness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrified-endlessness-4108554/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“But young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution, inciting them on the one hand, but also their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-young-men-have-not-only-this-frivolous-ambition-of-being-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm terrified of heights, but I think there's something really beautiful about birds and soaring, having a bird's-eye view of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindy-booth/i-m-terrified-of-heights-but-i-think-there-s-something-really/) [Lindy Booth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindy-booth/) > [As a female, you're always terrified that if you blow it, you've blown it for your whole gender.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kari-skogland/as-a-female-you-re-always-terrified-that-if-you-blow-it-you-ve-blown/) [Kari Skogland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kari-skogland/) > [I guess I have always been deeply terrified to really be someones wife since I know from life one cannot love another, ever, really.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orebela-gbenga/i-guess-i-have-always-been-deeply-terrified-to-really-be-someones/) [Orebela Gbenga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orebela-gbenga/) > [“Here at its extremities the terrified transients gathered, gazing out at the vast refulgent ocean for some sign of security.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-boyd/here-at-its-extremities-the-terrified-transients-gathered-gazing-out/) [William Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/) > [I am terrified by this dark thing That sleeps in me; All day I feel its soft, feathery turnings, its malignity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-am-terrified-by-this-dark-thing-that-sleeps-in-me-all-day-i-feel/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [Being on set is quite difficult, because it's so big and you've got to try and relax, which isn't easy when you know you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/being-on-set-is-quite-difficult-because-it-s-so-big-and-you-ve-got-to/) [Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/) > [I did a thing called 24 Hour Plays, a thing they do every year on Broadway. 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Jake jogged slightly to catch up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-blake/the-shadows-why-do-you-think-they-invented-chess-he-s-got-you-there/) [Russell Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-blake/) > [ \[Photographer Julian Wasser\] had this great idea that I should play chess naked with Marcel Duchamp and it seem to be such a great… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-babitz/photographer-julian-wasser-had-this-great-idea-that-i-should-play/) [Eve Babitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-babitz/) > [Chess is a good mistress but a bad master.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-abrahams/chess-is-a-good-mistress-but-a-bad-master/) [Gerald Abrahams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-abrahams/) > [I am not some sort of freak. 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Use it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-steinitz/the-king-is-a-fighting-piece-use-it/) [Wilhelm Steinitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-steinitz/) [Browse all 2,003 Chess quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chess/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There had been a few times over the past year when she felt like this, with her mind not only dizzied but nearly terrified by the endlessness of chess.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Walter Tevis" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-tevis/there-had-been-a-few-times-over-the-past-year-when-she-felt-like-this/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Chess" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-tevis/there-had-been-a-few-times-over-the-past-year-when-she-felt-like-this/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/089/walter-tevis-34092_chess_there-had-been-a-few-times-over-the-past_2087481.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/089/walter-tevis-34092_chess_there-had-been-a-few-times-over-the-past_2087481.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/089/walter-tevis-34092_chess_there-had-been-a-few-times-over-the-past_2087481.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There had been a few times over the past year when she felt like this, with her mind not only dizzied but…” — Walter Tevis", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Walter Tevis", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-tevis/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“There had been a few times...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-tevis/there-had-been-a-few-times-over-the-past-year-when-she-felt-like-this/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-tevis/there-had-been-a-few-times-over-the-past-year-when-she-felt-like-this/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```