The Four Move Checkmate
There are several ways of bagging yourself that chess winning. Some methods may be a bit longer, but others may be short. This article guides you on how to win chess in 4 moves with the least time that you may take. The four-move checkmate proves to be helpful for both the pros and the beginners in the world of chess.
Let’s dive deeper:
How to Win Chess in Four Moves
The four-move checkmate has one general name known as the Scholar’s mate. Most chess players acquire that special feeling of accomplishment every time they succeed in a four-move chess win. The scholar’s mate lies among the top when it comes to ranking the best chess moves for immediate winnings.
This move usually impresses folks since it is quick, unlike most other winning techniques. Remember that you must be playing white to perform this move successfully. This also then implies that white makes the first move. The steps below guide you to correctly mastering how to beat someone in chess in 4 moves:
- Start With Your King’s Pawn
Move the e-pawn two sections ahead (1.e4). This special maneuver has been a favorite for many chess grandmasters, including Bobby Fischer, who holds the world championship. Creating an opening using your king’s pawn allows you to move the queen together with the white square bishop.
The white square bishop and the queen are the most important pieces when choosing to win chess in 4 moves. For such a reason, creating that special opening for them proves to be more than helpful in the final results.
The black variation brings about several responses. In most cases, this variation usually brings about a “closed game.” This result is the best example of one of the most common responses that may come with a black bishop. A simpler explanation of this situation is an e4-pawn getting head to head with an e5-pawn.
- Bring Your White Square Bishop Out
After completing the first move, you must move the bishop up to c4. You should also remember that the four-move checkmate is an attack between your queen and the bishop. The technical annotation for this move is 2.Bc4.
For that reason, you need a strategy. Targeting the f-pawn of your opponent is the best setup for the plan, even though it is just halfway. You may also choose to place your queen in the first place (2.Qh5). Although this move has advantages, it may alert your opponent, and a response may come in.
The most obvious response from black may be from the night or bishop. The annotation for this response is (2…Nc6) for the knight and (2…Bc5) for the bishop.
- Move the Queen Into Position
Regarding the chess win in 4 moves, moving the Queen into perfect position is the third most vital move. The annotation for this move is 3.Qh5. By successfully making this move, your queen and the bishop will target the opponent’s pawn at f7.
In most cases, the black opponent who is unfamiliar with the game of pigeon chess may bring the knight forward, attempting to create a threat to the queen. The opponent may make such a move thinking that your queen is somehow vulnerable. The annotation for such an attempt is 3…Nf6.
Once your opponent makes this move, you may now move your pawn at the 7-square and successfully get a checkmate on the following direct action.
- Perform a Checkmate With the F7 Pawn
Once your queen takes the f7 pawn of your opponent, they will immediately be on a checkmate. During this time, your bishop will be defending your queen as all the other chess pieces get to protect your king.
Tips to Consider When Performing the Scholar’s Mate
You are always bound to impress people with the four-move checkmate if you follow all the steps. A few tips and tricks also come in to make your scholar’s mate succeed quicker and simpler. Below are the tips that you need to consider:
- Be super accurate as you develop your pieces in each step. You may lose victory chances if you move your bishop or queen to the wrong squares. The worst-case scenario is that you may even lose your queen in such a process.
- Always protect the queen as you make your moves, in that you should not go much further away, especially if you are moving the bishop.
What are the Four Annotations for Scholar’s Mate
Like all the other normal moves in chess, the four-move checkmate also has special annotations. Below are the four scholars mate annotations:
- E4, e5
- Qh5, Nc6
- Bc4, Nf6
- #Qxf7 Checkmate.
How to Avoid the Scholar’s Mate
There are several cases where your opponent may already be familiar with the four-move checkmate technique. In such a situation, you need to have the skills to defend yourself against their moves. As you are already familiar with the process of executing the scholar’s mate technique, you should now be aware that stopping it is not that difficult.
To successfully defend yourself against the scholar’s mate, you must follow three main steps. Below are the three Scholar’s mate prevention steps to consider:
- Check the Pawn Attacking the White Queen
You must be keen and see which pawn is attempting to attack the queen. In most cases, it usually turns out to be the f7 pawn. However, you should never rush to your decision without being sure by confirming.
By capturing the f7 pawn, there will be a massive problem for the white queen due to the lack of defense by its bishop. Your B8 Knight should defend the e5 pawn since the queen will be posing an attack in such a case. Read our article and find out the Knight Moves in Chess.
- Stop the Deadly Mate Threat
You need to know how to stop this kind of threat. You need to find a way of controlling the white queen from capturing f7. To successfully prevent this scenario, you must move the g7 pawn ahead by only one square. Such a move will block the attacking queen’s path and make her retreat or die.
- Know The Player Who is Persistent
At this time, the white makes an attack from a different angle to the f7. To prevent this attack effectively, the black must prevent the threat by creating a blockage. This blockage may be successful by moving the g8 knight to f6. All you need to do is block the queen. Securing the queen assures you of always preventing a loss from the four-move checkmate.
Counter Defense Against the Four Move Checkmate
Creating a defense mechanism against an opponent performing the four-move checkmate isn’t that difficult if you have ideas about this game plan. You may consider using several tactics if you notice your opponent bringing out their bishop or queen in their white squares sooner than usual.
In case you see the attacking lines making some form of intersections with your f-pawn, be sure to follow the steps below for a successful defense:
- Use a G-Pawn to Block the Opponent’s Queen
Letting forward your g-pawn brings out the most strong defense against the four-move checkmate. The g-pawn usually threatens the opponent’s queen and makes them move to a section away.
This move also opens up for the bishop to move through the fianchetto while paving the way for the kingside castling. Your opponent finds themselves in a terrible position when you deploy the g-pawn, thus giving you a lot of advantage.
- Let Out Your Queen One Space Diagonally
Bringing out your queen is another excellent move to block a four-move checkmate. In case you make a move by one space, she may, in turn, defend your e-pawn and f-pawn as well. However, when checking deeper, this counter-defense move is not as strong as creating a blockage with the g-pawn because this move develops the queen much sooner than usual in the game.
If the queen comes out sooner when performing this counterdefense move, it will block the bishop in the black square. Such a scenario may result in a problem as the game goes further.
- Bring Your Queen Two Spaces Diagonally
Moving the queen by two spaces diagonally successfully blocks the four-move checkmate. The queen may also be able to defend your e-pawn and f-pawn when it moves in one area. So in such a case, the single move may still be beneficial.
If the queen moves in one space, it may be beneficial but comes together with other problems. One of the main problems with such a move is that you will have developed your queen much earlier. Another one is that the queen may create a blockage to your knight from the kingside, preventing it from making any move.
Why is This Move Not Recommended in Chess Tournaments
In most cases, the four-move checkmate technique is only good when playing chess for fun with your friends. This move rarely applies in official tournaments due to some specific reasons. For instance, this move can significantly backfire if you play with a much stronger opponent.
In professional chess competitions, making one straight attack is one of the biggest mistakes you can find yourself making. To be on the safe side during a chess competition, you need to begin by developing the pieces step by step.
If you need to play the four-move checkmate during a severe competition, you need to be aware of the opening lineup that leads up to ten moves ahead. In such a case, you may cross your fingers and hope your opponent does not survive further in case they survived the first several moves.
If you keep going with the four-move checkmate even after the 10th move, you may risk losing the game. That scenario comes by because, at this time, your opponent may have learned all the moves you are making and created an attack on the next one.
In Conclusion
Learning how to checkmate in four moves saves time and shows some form of fanciness every time you play chess. The fancy part comes by due to its fun and trickiness. The move always captures some form of attention from people watching the game.