Chess Basics: The Four-Move Checkmate

The four-move checkmate, commonly known as the Scholar’s mate, is a popular opening strategy among beginner chess players. While this simple sequence can lead to a quick win, it can also be costly when it fails. Players who attempt this checkmate on a well-prepared opponent can land themselves in a bad position and lose valuable material early in the game.

Let’s explore what a successful Scholar’s mate looks like and walk through an example of how it can fail against a strong defense.

How to Checkmate in Four Moves

The Scholar’s mate is a checkmate for White that uses the queen and light-square bishop to attack Black's f7 pawn. Moving the e-pawn on the first turn allows White to bring these pieces out on the next two turns, then swoop in to capture the Black f-pawn and deliver checkmate on the fourth move.

Defending Against the Scholar's Mate

The four-move checkmate is only dangerous for players who don’t know how to recognize and counter it. If a player can successfully fight off this checkmate, they often end up in a better position than their opponent by the time the threat is neutralized. 

In this example, Black forces White to spend numerous turns moving their queen by blocking her access to the f7 pawn from every direction: first by pushing their g-pawn, then by developing their knight to f6. 

As White wastes precious time protecting the queen from capture, Black continues developing their minor pieces. When the Black knight moves to attack White's queen, the situation is already dire. White tries to rescue the queen by delivering check with the bishop, but ultimately must lose the bishop to avoid losing the queen.  

This example shows the benefits of early piece development. Allowing an opponent to take the lead in development can leave players fighting an uphill battle.