How to Do a Fool’s Mate in Chess as Black or White

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How do you win chess in 4 moves or less? The Fool’s Checkmate!
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The Fool’s Mate is the fastest checkmate in chess and is used to punish a careless opening play from your opponent. Since it’s so dangerous, most people take care to avoid it, and so you won’t often have an opportunity to use it. But since it’s such a threat, it’s important to understand when and how to play it. We’ll explain more about what it is , how to do it , and some related chess moves so you can up your game.

Fool’s Mate Explained

The Fool’s Mate is a 2-move checkmate that takes advantage of an opponent’s careless opening. It involves moving your queen to checkmate your opponent’s king after they expose it by moving their F and G pawns forward, making a diagonal line straight to their king. The move is typically pulled off by black.

Section 1 of 5:

What is the Fool's Mate?

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  1. 1
    The Fool's Mate is the fastest checkmate in chess. It’s a clever strategy that can win you the game in as few as 2 moves. The catch is that it depends on your opponent making a rookie mistake and exposing their king to your queen in their first 2-3 turns, so it’s not likely you’ll get to play it unless you’re a beginner . However, it’s an essential tool in every chess player’s toolkit, according to international chess master Vitaly Neimer.
    • The strategy involves moving your queen on your second move to put their king in checkmate after they’ve exposed him by moving their own F and G pawns forward without considering their defense.
    • It’s called “Fool's Mate” because it’s used to punish foolish opening moves that leave the king vulnerable. It’s important to know if you plan on getting better at chess .
  2. 2
    Fool’s Mates are most easily pulled off by black. In the rules of chess, white will always go first, and this first move is known as an “ opening .” [1] The Fool's Mate is easiest to do when you’re responding to your opponent’s opening moves. As black, it only takes 2 moves. As white, this will take at least 3 moves, or possibly 4 or 5. That said, you can still pull it off as white , but the chances of getting the opportunity are much slimmer.
    • Remember that the Fool's Mate is a quick response that punishes your opponent’s careless mistakes. Don’t count on it to win very many games.
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Section 2 of 5:

Performing a Fool's Mate as Black

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  1. Keep in mind that the Fool's Mate only works if your opponent plays a certain opening where they move their F and G pawns forward! So keep an eye on their pawns. If they use their first moves to expose a diagonal line directly to their king, you’re in business. [2] The most common mistake they’ll make is moving pawns to f3 or f4, then g4.
    • When your opponent makes their first move, watch for them to move one of these pawns. If they do, you may be able to Fool’s Mate them.
  2. When your opponent starts with one of these pawn moves, counter by moving the pawn on e7 two spaces up to e5. This is your first move, and allows your queen to move to a check position next turn.
    • Then, wait to see if they complete the mistake, moving another pawn forward and opening a diagonal line to their king.
  3. Once the diagonal line to their king is open, that’s your chance to strike. Move your queen diagonally so that it puts their king in check (d8 to h4). If they were especially careless, their king will have nowhere to go, meaning it’s checkmate and the game is yours!
    EXPERT TIP

    Vitaly Neimer

    International Chess Master
    Vitaly Neimer is an International Chess Master and Certified Professional Chess Coach with over 15 years of training experience. He has been a part of the United States' Webster SPICE national chess champion team and is also a two-time Israeli national chess champion.
    Vitaly Neimer
    International Chess Master

    Fool's Mate is one of the most basic things you need to learn. It’s going to end up happening to you, so you can either try it yourself, or somebody is going to try it against you. You should learn how to play a Fool's Mate in your first year playing chess.

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Section 3 of 5:

Performing a Fool’s Mate as White

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  1. 1
    Move your E pawn forward. Clear a path for your queen while watching for black to expose their king. As white, the Fool’s Mate takes 1 extra turn (or at least, a half-turn, a.k.a. “ply”), and you must wait to see if your opponent opens up their king to attack. [3] First, move your E pawn up 1 or 2 spaces, making way for your queen.
    • A Fool’s Mate is even rarer as white, but it’s still a great tool to take advantage of careless opponents.
    • Depending on a Fool’s Mate as an opener means abandoning more effective openings, which isn’t recommended.
  2. 2
    Wait for your opponent to move their F and G pawns up. As white, the Fool’s Mate heavily depends on your opponent exposing their king, which is rare and unlikely. To do so, your opponent needs to use their first moves to advance their F and G pawns, which is rare. Still, keep an eye out for it! If they expose their king, that’s your chance.
    • Moving your E pawn already tips them off, so throw out a distraction by moving another pawn, like your D pawn up two spaces, as in a French Defense.
  3. 3
    Move your queen to h5 to complete the mate. Once your opponent has moved your F and G pawns, swoop in to h5 with your queen. You’ll have already cleared the way by moving your E pawn forward, so it should be a straight shot. Remember, though, if your opponent has left themselves open to this as Black, they may have another trick up their sleeve, so move with caution.
    • Unless you do a Fool’s Mate on your third turn as white, your opponent has likely moved other pieces that may be able to counter your play.
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Section 4 of 5:

History of the Fool's Mate

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  1. At least, that’s the earliest we know of it being described. That’s when Francis Beale, an English author and chess player, described it in his book The Royal Game of Chess-Play , which itself was an adaptation of an earlier text. [4] So you could say it’s a move that’s been around for a good long while, which makes it all the more painful if you fall for it.
    • Some sources say the move was mentioned even earlier, in 1618, in Soul’s Famous Game Chesse-Play. [5]
  2. Since the Fool's Mate mostly only punishes mistakes from rookie players, it’s extremely rare, and there aren’t many examples of it happening in tournaments, but players have used the same setup—early checkmating an exposed king on the diagonal—many times. For example:
    • In the 1896 game of Frank Teed vs. Eugene Delmar , white sacrificed their queen to line up a check. Black took the queen, which left black open for a checkmate using white’s bishop in much the same way the Fool's Mate uses a queen. The game was over in 8 moves. [6]
    • In the 1908 game of Josef Krejcik vs. NN , white aggressively attacked black with a knight, causing it to be taken by a pawn, but moving the pawn opened up a checkmate opportunity from a white bishop. [7]
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Section 5 of 5:

Related Moves

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  1. 1
    Scholar’s Mate The Scholar’s Mate is a 4-move checkmate that’s a classic trap. It’s usually performed by white and is done by first moving the F pawn up, then deploying your bishop and queen to c4 and h5, respectively. When black tries to counter, they often leave their king wide open for the queen, or the bishop if they take the queen. [8]
    • Scholar’s Mate can be countered by moving a black pawn to e6, then the queen’s pawn to d5, then another pawn to c5 to build a defensive wall.
  2. 2
    Grob’s Attack Grob’s Attack is a white opening where the g2 pawn is moved to g4 to allow the f1 bishop to deploy. It’s not very popular and hard to win an opening with, though some players love it. [9] It’s notable because if, for some reason, you don’t move your bishop to g2 as white after moving your G pawn, it leaves you wide open to the Fool’s Mate.
  3. The Dutch Defense is a popular opening for players of all skill levels, and involves black moving a pawn to f5 in response to white’s d4 pawn. [10] From there, if black isn’t careful, they risk exposing their king to a move like a late Fool’s Mate, since there’s no pawn to guard the king on the diagonal.
    • Basically, any opening that exposes your king on the diagonal by moving the F pawn leaves a player open to some version of the Fool’s Mate.
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  • Question
    Can I do a Fool's Mate in four moves, or must it be in two moves?
    Donagan
    Top Answerer
    The Fool's Mate consists of two moves (for black). However, you can insert other moves into the sequence, as long as you don't block your own progress.
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  • Question
    What should I do if the opponent does not move as I want him/her to?
    Community Answer
    This is when you begin to understand the meaning of playing chess. That is the mindset of a potentially great player. In time, you will learn how to make decisions based on any opponent's move.
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  • Question
    How can I win with only with my king left and the opponent has 2 queens?
    Donagan
    Top Answerer
    That position will lead to a very quick loss. You would probably resign (give up) long before you get to that position.
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      Tips

      • Avoid trying to do a Fool’s Mate if you know your opponent is familiar with it. If you do, you could be at a disadvantage for the rest of the game as you try to come back from an awkward setup.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://www.uschess.org/index.php/Learn-About-Chess/Learn-to-Play-Chess.html
      2. ↑ https://youtu.be/vEgcP9XM_ak?si=yresl9rx9WCphJEB&t=15
      3. ↑ https://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/foolsmate.html
      4. ↑ https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101075891802&view=2up&seq=20
      5. ↑ https://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/foolsmate.html
      6. ↑ https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1242990
      7. ↑ https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1243009
      8. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WB51ZZwAdeg&t=5s
      9. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t6CN028XqM&t=13s
      1. ↑ https://www.365chess.com/chess-openings/Dutch-Defense

      About This Article

      Article Summary X

      To perform a fool’s mate in chess, you’ll need your opponent to make a couple of fatal mistakes that open up their King to attack. Let’s say you’re playing as black. If white opens with pawn to f3, a weak opening move, you would respond with pawn to e5. This opens up the diagonal for your Queen and sets you up for the fool’s mate if white makes another mistake. If white then moves pawn to g4, another blunder, you would move Queen to h4, checkmate. Your Queen threatens white’s King on the diagonal, and there’s nowhere for white’s King to escape to.

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