Why does the narrator imagine an imaginary chess game in her mind in this excerpt? Explain what this imaginary chess game reveals about the narrator's motivations and her internal conflict.

Hamadi, a short story by Naomi Shihab Nye, is about a Palestinian American girl named Susan. She comes to value Mr. Hamadi as a surrogate grandfather. She appreciates his advice, wisdom and kind heart as well as the link that Mr. Hamadi has to her ancestors.