Answers.Body: <p>I didn't find a problem for the original qualifications set in tbe question, so I created one.</p>
  <pre><code>[Title &quot;me, chess.stackexchange.com 10/8/2023, Mate In 3&quot;]
  [FEN &quot;8/1P1p4/1p3p2/1kn2Rp1/1B4K1/1P6/NN6/1B6 w - - 0 1&quot;] 
  
  1. b8=N! d5 2. Bc2 d4 3. Bd3#
  </code></pre>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2023-10-04T01:54:33.793Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2023-10-09T00:57:54.600Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2023-10-09T00:57:54.600Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Rewan Demontay
Answers.Body: <p>Now which chess problem author will &quot;high literature&quot; reference?</p>
  <p><a href="http://www.fulmerford.com/shrovisbishopthorpesoap/2013/02/nabokovilia-michael-chabon.html" rel="noreferrer">Nabokov. That's a no-brainer.</a></p>
  <p>It's in the afterword of the book!</p>
  <pre><code>[FEN &quot;3N3B/KP1p2r1/1Qp1N2b/4k1nR/4BR2/2p3P1/4n3/8 w - - 0 1&quot;]
  </code></pre>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2023-10-04T09:58:12.440Z
Answers.Text: Wrong position? Mate in two as it is.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Rewan Demontay
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2023-10-05T07:07:57.667Z
Answers.Text: Yes, it is a #2. But this is definitely the position Chabon referenced. (I blame it rather on the memory of the author.)
Answers.UserDisplayName: Hauke Reddmann
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2023-10-05T08:43:37.713Z
Answers.Text: A #2 indeed: https://yacpdb.org/#18121 It'd help to point all this stuff out in your answer.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Rewan Demontay
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2023-10-06T04:46:40.723Z
Answers.Text: The point of Nabokov's problem is that promoting to a third Knight looks like a spectacular solution -- Black is allowed three discovered checks by moving the Pd7, each of which allows a different cross-checking mate -- but Black spoils the fun with 1 . . . c2!  The solution is 1 Bc2! and it is indeed Zugzwang.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Noam D. Elkies
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2023-10-06T08:02:50.413Z
Answers.Text: I think it is the *question* which should be edited, since the for the OP memory spake imprecisely (as the comments here prove). I try; revert if inappropriate.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Hauke Reddmann
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2023-10-04T08:01:22.533Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2023-10-04T08:01:22.533Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Hauke Reddmann
Body: <p>I will preface this by saying that the following contains a spoiler for Michael Chabon's <em>The Yiddish Policeman's Union</em>, so tread carefully.</p>
  <p>Chess features heavily in the book and a major plot point is a seemingly in-progress game that a young man was playing while he was murdered. However, at the end, it turns out that it wasn't a game at all - it was a <em>puzzle</em>. Here are the details of the puzzle as it is described in the book.</p>
  <ul>
  <li>White still has two knights on the board in the position.</li>
  <li>White to move and mate in 2. <em>(Not 3, see comments under answer below)</em></li>
  <li>White can try by underpromoting the b-pawn to a third knight. <em>(Tempting, but not the key, see comments under answer below)</em></li>
  <li>Black has a pawn on d7 that he must move at this point, though it is unclear if it is because this is the only legal move, or if failing to do so would lead to a quicker checkmate.</li>
  <li>White instead plays the move Bc2, a move described in the book as, &quot;a dull move [that y]ou don't even notice it at first.&quot;</li>
  <li>After White plays Bc2, Black is in zugzwang, and is compelled to move into their own eventual loss.</li>
  <li>Had White <em>not</em> played 2.Bc2, then White would still have mate in 3, not mate in 2.</li>
  </ul>
  <p>Is this a real, pre-existing puzzle that anyone is familiar with? It sounds an interesting, but I can't work the mechanics of it out in my head. Surely the Black king must be in a wildly precarious position for the move 1.b8=N to be necessary - the only way I can rationalize it is if it somehow leads to a mating net, necessitating the king to be in the general vicinity of, say, a5. I'd love to know if something real can be made out of this, or if it's possible at all.</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2023-10-09T07:41:25.177Z
Comments.Text: @user30536: That's why I asked in my comment below if it makes sense to edit out factual errors - I don't like this myself. But they would have been extremely confusing for anyone who reads question and answer(s) for the first time, so I declared it lesser evil. Methinks this calls for a discussion on Meta.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Hauke Reddmann
Tags: <problems><puzzles><identify-this>
Title: Is there a real version of the chess puzzle from The Yiddish Policeman's Union? If not - can it be made?
ThreadText: # Is there a real version of the chess puzzle from The Yiddish Policeman's Union? If not - can it be made?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2023-10-03)
  
  I will preface this by saying that the following contains a spoiler for Michael Chabon's *The Yiddish Policeman's Union*, so tread carefully.
  
  Chess features heavily in the book and a major plot point is a seemingly in-progress game that a young man was playing while he was murdered. However, at the end, it turns out that it wasn't a game at all - it was a *puzzle*. Here are the details of the puzzle as it is described in the book.
  
  * White still has two knights on the board in the position.
  * White to move and mate in 2. *(Not 3, see comments under answer below)*
  * White can try by underpromoting the b-pawn to a third knight. *(Tempting, but not the key, see comments under answer below)*
  * Black has a pawn on d7 that he must move at this point, though it is unclear if it is because this is the only legal move, or if failing to do so would lead to a quicker checkmate.
  * White instead plays the move Bc2, a move described in the book as, "a dull move [that y]ou don't even notice it at first."
  * After White plays Bc2, Black is in zugzwang, and is compelled to move into their own eventual loss.
  * Had White *not* played 2.Bc2, then White would still have mate in 3, not mate in 2.
  
  Is this a real, pre-existing puzzle that anyone is familiar with? It sounds an interesting, but I can't work the mechanics of it out in my head. Surely the Black king must be in a wildly precarious position for the move 1.b8=N to be necessary - the only way I can rationalize it is if it somehow leads to a mating net, necessitating the king to be in the general vicinity of, say, a5. I'd love to know if something real can be made out of this, or if it's possible at all.
  
  **Tags:** problems, puzzles, identify-this
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: @user30536: That's why I asked in my comment below if it makes sense to edit out factual errors - I don't like this myself. But they would have been extremely confusing for anyone who reads question and answer(s) for the first time, so I declared it lesser evil. Methinks this calls for a discussion on Meta.  
  
  ---
  
  ## 2 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_1 on 2023-10-04. Score: 5 | Accepted answer
  
  Now which chess problem author will "high literature" reference?
  Nabokov. That's a no-brainer.
  It's in the afterword of the book!
  [FEN "3N3B/KP1p2r1/1Qp1N2b/4k1nR/4BR2/2p3P1/4n3/8 w - - 0 1"]
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_2**: Wrong position? Mate in two as it is.  
  > **username_1**: Yes, it is a #2. But this is definitely the position Chabon referenced. (I blame it rather on the memory of the author.)  
  > **username_2**: A #2 indeed: https://yacpdb.org/#18121 It'd help to point all this stuff out in your answer.  
  > **username_3**: The point of Nabokov's problem is that promoting to a third Knight looks like a spectacular solution -- Black is allowed three discovered checks by moving the Pd7, each of which allows a different cross-checking mate -- but Black spoils the fun with 1 . . . c2!  The solution is 1 Bc2! and it is indeed Zugzwang.  
  > **username_1**: I think it is the *question* which should be edited, since the for the OP memory spake imprecisely (as the comments here prove). I try; revert if inappropriate.  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_2 on 2023-10-04. Score: 3
  
  I didn't find a problem for the original qualifications set in tbe question, so I created one.
  [Title "me, chess.stackexchange.com 10/8/2023, Mate In 3"]
  [FEN "8/1P1p4/1p3p2/1kn2Rp1/1B4K1/1P6/NN6/1B6 w - - 0 1"] 
  
  1. b8=N! d5 2. Bc2 d4 3. Bd3#
  
  
  ---
  
  