chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

, the fool's mate is the

checkmate Checkmate (often shortened to mate) is any game position in chess and other chess-like games in which a player's king is in check (threatened with ) and there is no possible escape. Checkmating the opponent wins the game. In chess, the king is ...

delivered after the fewest possible moves from the game's starting position. It arises from the following moves, or similar: :1. f3 e6 :2. g4 Qh4# The fool's mate can be achieved only by Black, giving checkmate on the second move with the

queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

. The fool's mate received its name because it can occur only if White commits an extraordinary blunder. Even among rank beginners, this checkmate rarely occurs in practice. The mate is an illustration of the weakness shared by both players along the f- and g-s during the

opening Opening may refer to: * Al-Fatiha, "The Opening", the first chapter of the Qur'an * The Opening (album), live album by Mal Waldron * Backgammon opening * Chess opening * A title sequence or opening credits * , a term from contract bridge * , ...

phase of the game. Black can be mated in a complementary situation, although this requires an additional move. A player may also suffer an early checkmate if the f- and g-pawns are advanced prematurely and the kingside is not properly defended, as shown in historical games recorded in chess literature.

Example

The fool's mate was named and described in ''The Royal Game of Chess-Play'', a 1656 text by Francis Beale that adapted the work of the early chess writer

Gioachino Greco Gioachino Greco (c. 1600 – c. 1634) ( ελληνικά/greek: Τζοακίνο Γκρέκο), surnamed Cusentino and more frequently ''il Calabrese'', was an Italian chess player and writer. He recorded some of the earliest chess games kno ...

. Prior to the mid-19th century, there was not a prevailing convention as to whether White or Black moved first; according to Beale, the matter was to be decided in some prior contest or decision of the players' choice. In Beale's example, Black was the player to move first, with each player making two moves to various squares or "houses", after which White achieved checkmate. Beale's example can be paraphrased in modern terms (shown above), where White always moves first, algebraic notation is used, and Black delivers the fastest possible mate after each player makes two moves: :1. f3 e6 :2. g4 Qh4 There are eight distinct ways in which the fool's mate can be reached. In the sequence there are three independent points where one of two options may be chosen, resulting in

2^3 = 8

possibilities. White may alternate the order of movement of the f- and g-pawns, Black may play either e6 or e5, allowing the queen to move, and White may move their f-pawn to f3 or f4. Hooper and Whyld expressed this generalized sequence as 1. g4 e5 (or e6) 2. f3 (or f4) Qh4#.

Variations

Mating patterns similar to the fool's mate can occur early in the game. Such patterns in historical games illustrate the weakness alongside the e1–h4 and e8–h5 diagonals early in the game. White can mate Black using a pattern that resembles the fool's mate, though it takes an extra turn.

White to mate in three moves

White can achieve a checkmate similar to the fool's mate. When the roles are reversed, however, White requires an extra third turn or half-move, known in

computer chess Computer chess includes both hardware (dedicated computers) and software capable of playing chess. Computer chess provides opportunities for players to practice even in the absence of human opponents, and also provides opportunities for analysi ...

as a

ply Ply, Pli, Plies or Plying may refer to: Common uses * Ply (layer), typically of paper or wood ** Plywood, made of layers of wood ** Tire ply, a layer of cords embedded in the rubber of a tire Places * Plymouth railway station, England, station ...

. In both cases, the principle is the same: a player advances their f- and g-pawns such that the opponent's queen can mate along the unblocked diagonal. A board position illustrating White's version of the fool's mate—with White to mate—was given as a problem in ''

Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess ''Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess'' is a chess puzzle book written by Bobby Fischer and co-authored by Stuart Margulies and Donn Mosenfelder, originally published in 1966. It is one of the best-selling chess books of all time, with over one million c ...

'', and also as an early example in a compendium of problems by

László Polgár László Polgár (born 11 May 1946) is a Hungarian chess teacher and educational psychologist. He is the father of the famous Polgár sisters: Zsuzsa, Zsófia, and Judit, whom he raised to be chess prodigies, with Judit and Zsuzsa becoming ...

. Problem No. 14. The solution in Fischer's book bore the comment "Black foolishly weakened his King's defenses. This game took three moves!!" One possible sequence leading to the position is 1. e4 g5 2. d4 f6 3. Qh5. A possibly apocryphal variant of the fool's mate has been reported by several sources. The 1959 game 1. e4 g5 2. Nc3 f5?? 3. Qh5# has been attributed to Masefield and Trinka, although the first player's name has also been reported as Mayfield or Mansfield and the second player's name as Trinks or Trent. Further, a similar mate can occur in

From's Gambit Bird's Opening (or the Dutch Attack) is a chess opening characterised by the move: :1. f4 Bird's is a standard flank opening. White's strategic ideas involve control of the e5-square, offering good attacking chances at the expense of slightly w ...

: 1. f4 e5 2. g3 exf4 . There is another possible three-move mate for White: 1. e4 e5 2. Qh5 Ke7 3. Qxe5.

Teed vs. Delmar

A well-known in the

Dutch Defence The Dutch Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. d4 f5 Black's 1...f5 stakes a claim to the e4-square and envisions an attack in the middlegame on White's ; however, it also weakens Black's kingside to an extent (especia ...

occurred in the game Frank Melville Teed–

Eugene Delmar Eugene Delmar (September 12, 1841, New York – February 22, 1909, New York), was one of the leading United States chess masters of the 19th century and the four-time New York State champion in 1890, 1891, 1895 and 1897. He won a match against Ro ...

, 1896: :1. d4 f5 2. Bg5 h6 3. Bh4 g5 4. Bg3 f4 It seems that Black has won the

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, but now comes ... :5. e3 Threatening Qh5#. :5... h5 6. Bd3 Probably better is 6.Be2, but the move played sets a trap. :6... Rh6 Defending against Bg6#, but ... :7. Qxh5+ White sacrifices his queen to draw the black rook away from its control of g6. :7... Rxh5 8. Bg6#

Greco vs. NN

A similar trap occurred in a game published by

in 1625: :1. e4 b6 :2. d4 Bb7 :3. Bd3 f5? :4. exf5 Bxg2? :5. Qh5+ g6 :6. fxg6 Nf6?? Opening up a

flight square In chess, a flight square or escape square is a safe square to which a piece, especially a king, can move if it is threatened. Providing one's piece with flight squares can prevent the opponent from winning material or delivering checkmate. For e ...

for the king at f8 with 6...Bg7 would have prolonged the game. White still wins with 7.Qf5! Nf6 8.Bh6 Bxh6 9.gxh7 Bxh1 (9...e6 opens another flight square at e7; then White checks with 10.Qg6+ Ke7) 10.Qg6+ Kf8 11.Qxh6+ Kf7 12.Nh3, but much slower than in the game. :7. gxh7+! Nxh5 8. Bg6

References