Don't Become a Fool in Chess!! # Blog 9(B)
Tricky and Fool's checkmates are the main theme of this article. And we are going to start with the funniest checkmate among of them all
The two move checkmate or the Fool’s mate - Let’s look at these checkmates that are standard 1st-time player mates to learn.
The two move checkmate – The Fool’s mate
This first simple mate (and actually entire GAME) we’re going to learn is titled “Fool’s Mate” because “only a fool would make such moves”! It is the fastest possible checkmate where the entire game lasts only TWO MOVES!
1. f3 e5; 2. g4 Qh4#
 |
| FOOL'S MATE |
We can observe that there are several conditions that need to be for the Fool’s mate to happen:
- White’s g pawn has to be on g4, in order not to be able to block the check of the Black Queen.
- White’s f pawn has to be on f3 or f4, in order for the e1-h4 diagonal to be clear.
- White’s king has to be hemmed in by his own pieces. For instance, if there was no queen or d1 or pawn d2, there would be no checkmate as the king would be able to flee via one of those squares.
The three move checkmate – The Fool’s mate reversed
Only the player playing the White pieces can become a victim of the two move checkmate.
Considering that such a checkmate arises only after a terrible play on White’s part, this checkmate is also known as the Fool’s mate.
1. e4 f6? 2.d4 g5 3.Qh3+# 1-0
Similarities between the two move checkmate and the three move checkmate are quite obvious.
The only main difference is that White has to lose a tempo and wait for Black to weaken himself along the e8-h5 diagonal.
But if you allow yourself to be checkmated in this fashion, you still deserve to be called a Fool!
The four move checkmate – The Scholar’s mate
Scholar’s Mate gets attempted quite a lot in novice play and even some higher ranked players will go for it as a type of fear tactic, so it’s good to learn both what it is and how to stop it.
The moves for a Scholar’s Mate are 1. e4 e5; 2. Qh5 Nc6; 3. Bc4 Nf6; 4. Qxf7#
The f7(f2) is generally recognized as the weakest point in the pawn structure in the opening because the King is the only piece defending it.
Four moves checkmate occurs when the White Queen, supported by the light-squared bishop, checkmates the Black king precisely on the f7 square.
 |
| Scholar Checkmate |
Compared to the Fool’s mate, the Scholar’s mate is more often encountered in practice. Many beginners are attracted to the idea of a quick win and they try to catch their opponent of the guard with the Parham opening.
A word of caution is required. Although you might win some games with the help of the Scholar’s mate, you are relying on a mistake by your opponent, which is hardly an advisable strategy in chess.
Therefore, don’t become fixated on the Scholar’s mate. Any experienced player will be glad to take advantage of your suboptimal opening play.
Quick Smothermate Trap :
A Smothermate is when Checkmate with a Knight when the opponent’s King is blocked in by pieces (and can’t move) that can’t capture said, Knight. Here is a cool little smothermate I saw recently that was very fast…
1. e4 e5; 2. Nf3 Nc6; 3. Bc4 Nd4; 4. Nxe5 Qg5; 5. Nxf7 (forking the Queen and Rook and can’t be captured by the King because it’s protected by a Bishop):
then black resumes- 5. … Qxg2; 6. Rf1 (so it doesn’t get taken) Qxe4+; 7. Be2 (moving the queen there would just result in a queen capture… which, given the circumstances might be the better idea for white at this point) Nf3#
These three fast mates are all possible (and in fact, Scholar’s Mate happens quite frequently in beginning chess players’ games). Now that you know them, you can try them out on your friends, and protect against them when your friends try them on you!
Some more videos on Fools Mate:
Have a topic you’d like me to cover or a question you’d like to ask? send me an e-mail at ashtapadachessschool@gmail.com
” Don’t trust International Masters even when they are suggesting the theory.”
Comments
Post a Comment