[Python] How does "MaybeNone" (also known as "The Any Trick") work in Python type hints?

In typestubs for the Python standard library I noticed a peculiar type called MaybeNone pop up, usually in the form of NormalType | MaybeNone. For example, in the sqlite3-Cursor class I find this:

class Cursor:
# May be None, but using `| MaybeNone` (`| Any`) instead to avoid slightly annoying false positives.
@property
def description(self) -> tuple[tuple[str, None, None, None, None, None, None], ...] | MaybeNone: ...


The definition of this MaybeNone is given as:

# Marker for return types that include None, but where forcing the user to
# check for None can be detrimental. Sometimes called "the Any trick". See
# CONTRIBUTING.md for more information.
MaybeNone: TypeAlias = Any # stable


(I could not find additional information in the CONTRIBUTING.md, which I assume to be this one.)

I understand the intention of marking a return type in such a way that a user is not forced to null check in cases where the null is more of a theoretical problem for most users. But how does this achieve the goal?

1. 
   SomeType | Any seems to imply that the return type could be anything, when what I want to say is that it can be SomeType or in weird cases None, so this doesn't seem to express the intent.
   
   
2. 
   MyPy already allows superfluous null-checks on variables that can be proven not to be None even with --strict (at least with my configuration?) so what does the special typing even accomplish as compared to simply doing nothing?
   

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