How many moves is Scholar’s Mate?

Four moves by White: 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nc6 3. Qh5 Nf6?? 4. Qxf7#. Black helps by not defending f7.

What is the fastest checkmate in chess?

Fool’s Mate, 1. f3 e5 2. g4 Qh4#. Black mates on the second move, but only because White has opened the diagonal to the king with two weakening pawn moves.

Can Black play Scholar’s Mate too?

Yes. The same idea works against White’s f2 square, which is also guarded only by the king at the start. White defends it the same way.

Is Scholar’s Mate a good opening to play?

Not against anyone who knows it. Once f7 is defended, White’s queen becomes a target and Black develops pieces while chasing it.

Scholar's Mate and how to stop it

Updated 14 October 2026

Scholar's Mate is a four-move checkmate: 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nc6 3. Qh5 Nf6?? 4. Qxf7#. White's queen and bishop both aim at f7, a square only Black's king defends. To stop it, defend f7 first, with 3... g6 or 3... Qe7, then chase the queen away with moves that develop your pieces, such as ...Nf6.

The moves

Scholar's Mate takes four moves by White, and it works only if Black ignores the threat to f7 for one move.

1. e4 e5: both sides open the centre. This also opens a path for White's queen and bishop.
2. Bc4 Nc6: the bishop aims at f7.
3. Qh5: the queen joins the attack on f7. White now threatens Qxf7, which would be mate.
3... Nf6??: Black attacks the queen but doesn't defend f7.
4. Qxf7#: the queen takes on f7, protected by the bishop, so the king can't take her back. Checkmate.

After 3. Qh5, Black to move. Queen and bishop both attack f7.

After 4. Qxf7#. The queen is protected by the bishop on c4, so the king can't capture it.

White can play the same moves in a different order and reach the same position: 1. e4 e5 2. Qh5 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6?? 4. Qxf7#. The defence is the same either way.

Why f7 is the weak spot

At the start of the game, f7 is defended only by Black's king, so two attackers are enough to win it. The same is true of f2 for White. Every other pawn in Black's starting row is protected by at least one piece besides the king.

How to stop Scholar's Mate

Defend f7 first, then attack the queen with moves that also develop your pieces. In the position after 3. Qh5, Black has three good ways to cover f7:

3... g6 attacks the queen straight away. After the usual 3... g6 4. Qf3 Nf6, the knight on f6 stands between White's queen and f7, and Black has two knights out.
3... Qe7 guards f7 with the queen. Next, ...Nf6 attacks White's queen and develops a piece at the same time. The cost is that the queen blocks the f8 bishop for a while.
3... Qf6 also guards f7, but it takes the f6 square the knight would like, so Black's development is slower than after the other two.

After 3... g6. The pawn attacks the queen and blocks her diagonal to f7.

After 4. Qf3 Nf6. The knight shuts the f-file, so f7 is safe again.

Try it: defend f7

Black to move after 3. Qh5. Your queen is selected: e7 and f6 both guard f7. Reset and try the pawn from g7 to g6 as well.

Two details that catch people out

If White puts the queen on f3 instead of h5, the answer is simpler: after 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nc6 3. Qf3 Nf6, the knight on f6 blocks the queen's path to f7, and f7 is attacked only by the bishop.

And 3... g6 is safe only because the knight on c6 already guards e5. If Black has played 2... Bc5 instead, then after 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Bc5 3. Qh5 g6?? 4. Qxe5+, White's queen checks the king and attacks the rook on h8 at the same time. In that position, 3... Qe7 is the safe defence.

Fool's Mate: the fastest checkmate

Fool's Mate is the shortest possible game ending in checkmate: 1. f3 e5 2. g4 Qh4#, two moves by each side. White's f- and g-pawn moves open the diagonal from h4 to the king on e1, and nothing can block it.

Fool's Mate. Black's queen checks along the h4–e1 diagonal, and White has no way to block or escape.

The lesson from both mates is the same: in the first few moves, be careful with the pawns in front of your king, and look at every square your opponent's queen and bishops are aiming at.

Should you play Scholar's Mate yourself?

It wins against players who don't know it, but against anyone who defends f7 it leaves White's queen out early and behind in development. In the 3... g6 line above, White's queen has already moved twice while Black has brought out two knights. The queen lesson explains why she is better kept back for the first few moves.

Questions people ask

How many moves is Scholar’s Mate?: Four moves by White: 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nc6 3. Qh5 Nf6?? 4. Qxf7#. Black helps by not defending f7.
What is the fastest checkmate in chess?: Fool’s Mate, 1. f3 e5 2. g4 Qh4#. Black mates on the second move, but only because White has opened the diagonal to the king with two weakening pawn moves.
Can Black play Scholar’s Mate too?: Yes. The same idea works against White’s f2 square, which is also guarded only by the king at the start. White defends it the same way.
Is Scholar’s Mate a good opening to play?: Not against anyone who knows it. Once f7 is defended, White’s queen becomes a target and Black develops pieces while chasing it.