odd phenominon

I played a game with my roommate that makes me think I have played too much chess online and not enough on a real board since it took me quite a while (at least 7 moves) to begin to visualize the way the board would work with 3-dimensional play.  Since I maintain a 1400-1500 rating currently and my roommate would probably be between a 700 and a 900 this was frustrating in the extreme.  He even went up a piece before I managed to equalize, go up the exchange, and then queen a passed pawn.  I did win, but it was a humbling experience.  I wonder how many people have had this experience?