The Fool’s Mate, also known as the Scholar’s Mate, or Two-Move Checkmate, is the quickest possible checkmate in chess. There are a few variations; a prime example consists of the moves:
- f3 e5
- g4?? Qh4#
The pattern can have slight variations; for example White might open with 1. f4 instead of 1. f3 or move the g-pawn first, and Black might play 1. … e6 instead of 1. … e5.
The Fool’s Mate received its name because it can only occur if White plays extraordinarily weakly. Even among rank beginners, the mate almost never occurs in practice.
Nevertheless, the Fool’s Mate principle is known by different names around the world:
- In French, Turkish, German, Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese: Shepherd’s Mate
- In Russian: Children’s Mate
- In Italian: Barber’s Mate
- In Persian, Greek and Arabic: Napoleon’s Plan
- In Polish: Scholar’s Mate
- In Danish, Hungarian, Slovenian and Hebrew: Shoemaker’s Mate
- In Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian and sometimes in Danish: School Mate
The Fool’s Mate has also occasionally been given other names in English, such as Schoolboy’s Mate and Blitzkrieg (German for ‘lightning war’, meaning a very short and quick engagement).
See other: Chess Traps
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