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  • Lesson 28 of 32
  • Opening principles
  • 4 min

Scholar's Mate: How It Works and How to Stop It

Scholar's mate is the checkmate every beginner meets sooner or later: a queen and a bishop gang up on f7, and the game ends in four moves. It only works against careless defence, so learn what it looks like and how to shut it down.

Step 1 of 5

  1. The four-move mate

    Watch: 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Qh5 Nf6?? 4.Qxf7#. The bishop on c4 and the queen on h5 both aim at f7, and Black's last move, attacking the queen, did nothing to defend it. The queen takes on f7 with the bishop's protection, and it's checkmate.

  2. Why f7?

    At the start of the game, which black piece guards f7, the starred square?

    Question

  3. Spot the mate

    Black has just played 3...Nf6??, attacking your queen. Before you retreat, check what Black's move left undefended.

    Your move

    Checkmate in one move.

  4. Stop it as Black

    Now you are Black, after 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Qh5, and the board has turned round to your side. White's queen and bishop both aim at f7 and threaten Qxf7, checkmate. The natural 3...Nf6, attacking the queen, walks straight into it. Defend f7, or block the queen's path to it.

    Your move

    Stop the mate on f7.

  5. And again

    You are still Black. After 3...g6 the queen retreats to f3 and aims at f7 a second time. Defend again, and this time bring out a piece while you do it.

    Your move

    Stop the mate on f7 again.

What you learned

  • Scholar's mate: queen and bishop attack f7, which only the king guards.
  • As Black, meet Qh5 with g6 or Qe7, and meet Qf3 with Nf6.
  • An early queen attack is easy to stop, and the time it wastes is yours to use.

In this course

Unit 1The pieces

  1. The Chessboard and How to Set Up the Pieces
  2. How the Rook Moves in Chess
  3. How the Bishop Moves in Chess
  4. How the Queen Moves in Chess
  5. How the King Moves in Chess
  6. How the Knight Moves in Chess
  7. How Pawns Move and Capture in Chess
  8. Chess Piece Values: What Each Piece Is Worth

Unit 2Special moves

  1. What Is Check in Chess, and How to Get Out of It
  2. How to Castle in Chess: Kingside and Queenside
  3. En Passant in Chess, Explained on the Board
  4. Pawn Promotion in Chess: Turning a Pawn Into a Queen

Unit 3Winning the game

  1. What Is Checkmate? Learn to Mate in One
  2. Stalemate in Chess: Why It's a Draw
  3. How to Checkmate With a King and Queen

Unit 4Your first tactics

  1. The Fork: Attack Two Pieces at Once
  2. The Pin in Chess: Freeze a Piece in Place
  3. The Skewer in Chess: Attack Through a Piece

Unit 5Checkmate patterns

  1. Back-Rank Mate in Chess: Spot It and Stop It
  2. Smothered Mate in Chess: The Knight's Checkmate
  3. The Ladder Mate: Checkmate With Two Rooks
  4. How to Checkmate With a King and Rook

Unit 6More tactics

  1. Discovered Attack in Chess: Unmask a Hidden Attacker
  2. Double Check in Chess: Two Checks at Once
  3. Removing the Defender in Chess: Take the Guard

Unit 7Opening principles

  1. Control the Centre: A Chess Opening Principle
  2. How to Develop Your Pieces in the Chess Opening
  3. Scholar's Mate: How It Works and How to Stop It
  4. Fool's Mate: The Fastest Checkmate in Chess

Unit 8Endgame basics

  1. The Rule of the Square in Chess Endgames
  2. The Opposition in Chess: King Endgame Basics
  3. King and Pawn vs King: How to Win the Ending

Lessons for every game

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