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Checkmates

Scholar's Mate: Know It, Don't Rely on It

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Scholar's Mate is the four-move checkmate every beginner meets sooner or later: queen and bishop both aim at f7 (or f2), the one square only the king defends at the start of the game, and if the defender doesn't react, the queen lands there supported by the bishop. Game over on move four.

You should know how to deliver it, because recognizing the pattern is exactly how you learn to STOP it. But don't build your chess on it: against anyone who defends f7 in time, the early queen gets chased around with tempo and you end up behind in development. Learn it, use it once, then grow out of it.

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Queen on h5 and bishop on c4 both aim at f7. Black just played Nf6, attacking the queen but ignoring the threat.

Black ignored the threat. Deliver the four-move mate.

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