Fox-in-the-Morning

Source: O. Henry, Cabbages and Kings, p. 19 of the 1920 Doubleday & Page (NY) edition. 

References to the game of chess in general are very common in literature -- often using terms like 'check', 'checkmate' or 'stalemate' to illustrate dramatic points in the plot, reference to chess problems is not common. So it is interesting to note in O. Henry's (William Sydney Porter, 1862-1910) early novel, Cabbages and Kings. 

The fact that Henry uses the exact terminology found at the time in most chess columns seems to show that he was, at least, acquainted with chess. A quick online search found various e-book publishers offering collections of O. Henry's works (since they're in the public domain). At least two have the same biography of O. Henry -- claiming he could 'hold his own against the best players of [his] town' (Greensboro, North Carolina) as a teenager. 

This is likely, but these e-books are obviously hack works. As they both have the exact same biography, it is very likely this biography is itself cut-and-pasted a previous (and naturally uncredited) biographer's work. I would therefore not consider their say-so as reliable evidence, without first finding the original work.

Incidentally, since copying and incompetence usually go hand in hand (as Edward Winter notes), it is not surprising a brief overview of these e-books finds howlers. One  book claims in the biography O. Henry was born in 1802. This is surely the plagiarist's -- or his scanner's -- mistake, not that of the original biographer. The other claims that Cabbages and Kings is a 'collection of short stories'.  That one of the publishers finds it necessary to praise itself for its 'High-Quality eBook Formatting' (capitals are sic) is also a big warning sign. 

Who do these "ePublishers" think they are -- Ray Keene?