White to move and mate in two #750 - January 6 and the Politics of History

by dkosdan

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Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025 Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025 at 3:00:18pm PST

White to move and mate in two. The chess puzzle is published on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. It is customary for advanced players to wait till midnight ET before posting the full solution. Before then, they provide some stats about the solution (e.g., the number of distinct checkmate moves), help guide others, and sometimes post hints. But, there are no hard-and-fast rules, feel free to post comments as you please.

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The simple fact of a formal investigation has power, something Senator John Parker Hale (N.H.) appreciated as far back as 1850. On April 17 of that year, during a debate on what would become the Compromise of 1850 over free and slave states, Senator Henry Foote (D-Miss.) grievously insulted Senator Thomas Hart Benton (D-Mo), who was less bullish than Foote on the spread of slavery. When the outraged Benton lunged toward Foote, Foote grabbed a pistol from his pocket and pointed it at Benton. Mayhem ensued. Some senators rushed for Foote’s gun. Some tried to restrain Benton. Others jumped on desks and chairs to get a good look. Eventually, the chamber calmed and senators went back to work, this was hardly the first congressional clash, or even the first threatened gun-play. But Hale wanted something more. A formal investigation was essential he argued, not just for “Vindicating the character of the Senate, but to set history right, and informs the public as to what did take place.” The public needed to know what happened, and perhaps more important, they needed to see that Congress had taken the matter in hand. They needed to see the image—ideally, the reality—of Congress as a functioning institution. They needed to see government holding itself accountable.
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—Joanne B. Freeman, January 6 and the Politics of History

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