Scholar's Mate
Do you want to win a chess game in only four moves? If you do, you can try the Scholar's Mate, one of the most well-known checkmates in chess!
Here's what you need to know about the Scholar's Mate:
- What Is Scholar's Mate?
- How To Deliver Scholar's Mate
- How To Defend Against Scholar's Mate
- Show Off Your Mating Skills
- Wrapping Up
- Scholar's Mate Video
What Is Scholar's Mate?
The Scholar's Mate is one of the most well-known checkmates among chess players. This checkmate ends the game after only four moves! It does so by attacking the weak f7-pawn with a bishop and a queen.
The Scholar's Mate is common among beginners, so it's a great opening trap to try out on your beginner friends to impress them! However, it's easy to defend against it if you've seen it before. In fact, if your opponent knows how to protect themselves, you'll end up in a slightly worse position.
How To Deliver Scholar's Mate
To win the game using the Scholar's Mate, you must remember the critical weakness it attacks: the f7-pawn.
After the game starts with 1.e4 e5, you will have to bring your bishop out with 2.Bc4. Now, if Black responds with 2...Nf6, you won't be able to checkmate them like this anymore. However, if they respond with 2...Nc6, you can keep going!
After 2...Nc6, you have to bring your queen out to attack the f7-pawn. You can do that with 3.Qf3 or 3.Qh5. Bringing your queen to h5 is usually the best option, though!
If Black doesn't know what you're doing, there's a good chance they'll play 3...Nf6 to develop their knight and attack your queen. If that happens, you can pat yourself in the back because you'll be able to win the game in the next move!
After 3...Nf6, you can use your queen to capture the f7-pawn and checkmate the black king!
How To Defend Against Scholar's Mate
Almost everyone who plays chess has fallen victim to the Scholar's Mate. However, you can defend against it easily once you know what's coming.
The easiest way to avoid losing to that checkmate is by playing 2...Nf6. If you do that, you can capture your opponent's queen if it goes to h5. If the queen goes to f3, your knight will block its attack on f7.
However, let's say you played 2...Nc6, and your opponent played 3.Qh5. There are still plenty of options to defend yourself! You can move your queen and play 3...Qe7 or 3...Qf6.
Besides moving your queen, you can also play 3...g6. Your pawn will block the queen's attack on f7, attack the queen, and open a square for you to fianchetto your bishop.
Show Off Your Mating Skills
Now that you know what the Scholar's Mate is, it's time for you to show off your skills. Read the instructions to solve each of the puzzles below:
Puzzle 01: What are White's most common moves to deliver the Scholar's Mate?
Puzzle 02: As Black, what is the quickest way for you to defend against this four-move checkmate?
Wrapping Up
You now know what the Scholar's Mate is, how you can use it to win the game in four moves, and how to defend against it! Head over to our Lessons page to get even better at chess so you can beat your friends.
Now that you know about Scholar’s Mate, do you want to learn about another cool checkmate? Check out our three-move checkmate article.