Nabokov's Chess Problems

I opted to to look at his chess problems, rather than do a creative writing piece, because I fancy my self a chess player just slightly more then I do a creative writer. I was initially struck by the way that the problems varied from actual game's of chess. The construction is far more intricate, and the discovered checks are by far the most valuable tactical strategy. Like Nabokov's fiction his problem often have red herrings, bishops sitting blocked off in the corner, that need not be touched to solve the problem. 

The first problem in the collection "The Irresistible try" plays with it's player like Nabokov does his reader. There is the compulsion as a chess player to promote a pawn when given the chance which in this case he is able to do, and check the king. However the problem is beautifully composed so that the Pawn is forced to move, thereby checking your king and guaranteeing you will not succeed.

Some other themes I found to be consistent in Nabokov's chess problems were points when a king would be forced to move into a place he would be checkmated the next turn, not because he is in check but because in chess the the player is forced to move. This, I think, could be a reflection of  fate, the idea that the game continues, and that even if it's toward a loss, a player must move.

A final thought: I completely saw how Nabokov enjoyed creating chess problem, he created the world on the board, by specific unmoving pieces which formed the boundaries of the game.  The problem then worked as story which he made for the characters to act it out.