There are multiple ways to win a chess game, and out of these ways, using a four-move checkmate has to be one of the most popular moves through which you can finish a chess game in your favor. This type of move is typically known as the Scholar’s Mate – and almost all intermediate and advanced chess players have used this move or have fallen for the move at some point in their playing time.
Once you know the right technique to defend yourself, this trick becomes quite easy to practice. The Scholar’s Mate follows a basic pattern in which the White advances by 1.e2-e4, and develops the bishop towards c4 to invade the pawn f7. It then develops the Queen to either an f3 or an h5. If the Black fails to defend, the White checkmates the Black with 4.Qxf7#
4 Moves to Win Chess Game
You can do the technique by following these moves:
The First Move
It is a common one in which the basic goal is to evacuate the e2 square so the Queen can be moved to the d1 and the Bishop can be moved to f1 diagonally. If the opponent doesn’t make a response of 1….e5, you can continue with the following moves.
The Second Move
In the 2.Bc4, there is some risk involved as you are not sure whether you will get a 2….d6 as a response or not. Expect this response as it turns into your favor.
The Third Move
For the third move in the Scholar’s Mate, go either with 3.Qh5 or 3.Qf3. Your target should be to threaten the square f7. You will need to be certain that your piece doesn’t get threatened by the opponent. On a general note, the 3.f3 is a relatively safer move as the Queen when moved away from the defensive line can induce danger. The opponent can come up with a 3…..Nc6 or a related move that threatens the Queen or the Bishop of the opponent.
The Fourth Move
The last move in this trick is 4.Qf7#. You can easily beat your opponent through this move if everything is going as expected. You will have to be certain that the Queen captivates the pawn without getting threatened by any other piece than the King. This will result in a checkmate because when the King captures the Queen, it would’ve been automatically caught off guard by the Knight of the opponent.
When to Use the Four-Move Checkmate?
It is clear that these kinds of moves work against your opponent when they are quite at the beginning of their chess career and still learning the basic chess tricks. So, you will need to know first how does the opponent play so you can decide your mode of action for playing the game. To make things concise, you can play this kind of move on anyone who has not practiced the game in a while or who rarely ever played the game. You can also practice this trick on someone who copies your moves in the beginning.
Can you Counter the Scholar’s Mate?
So, now that you have learned about the Scholar’s Mate, one important thing you will notice is that this move is only applicable to novice chess players. That means if you are playing the game with an advanced player, there are high chances your opponent will have already played the trick on you. In this situation, a question arises that can you counter the Scholar’s Mate coming from your enemy? If you can, what are the ways you can defend your chess pieces and exploit your opponent’s use of this mate to ruin your game?
The best answer to this problem is playing the Fool’s Mate, which is an exemplary move to counter the Scholar’s Mate.
What is a Fool’s Mate?
The Fool’s Mate is called the Two Move Checkmate that gets delivered after the least possible moves from the initial chess positions. However, this mate is achievable only by the Black that gives the checkmate on the second move with the queen. The term got its name because it occurs only when the White gets into a chess blunder. This move, however, is not much common in chess, especially among beginner rank players.
Wayward Queen Attack
This is another type of attack that counters the Scholar’s Mate moves. It can intimidate chess players, especially novices, the prospect of the early checkmate and its presence of the opening traps can induce fear in the opponent while playing the game. However, it can be of a great opportunity for the Black when taking the game one move at a time, identifying the opening threats at each move, and preventing those incoming threats. As all of these skills are necessary to play a winning game, your opponent can easily get defeated if they are only a novice.
Another Way to Counter the Scholar’s Mate
Another way one can counter the Scholar’s Mate is through threatening the pawn at e5. As we do it, we develop a piece simultaneously. The queen in the game will get pushed away. Your next move should be Nc6…3.Bc4. You can threaten the checkmate on f7, and take high care as you make the move. Don’t block the bishop through Qe7 and Qf6. Rather, go for 3…g6 and 4.Qf3 as you threaten the checkmate once again. We can develop and defend the piece at the same time. 4..Nf6 is another move you need to make for countering the Scholar’s Mate. The Black comes in a harmonious position and the knight gets in the position to jump to d4. As it harasses the queen, the bishop can go to the g7 by leaving some space for the king to get hidden in the castle. In that case, black gets a slightly better position.
Final Words
The Scholar’s Mate is a nice trick to learn as a great way for opening your chess game. It is easy, and with a quick practice, you can easily wind up the game in as less than four moves.