Scholar's Mate

Stockfish 16.1 · runs in your browser

Play Qxf7#, then try to capture White's queen with the black king from e8 to f7. The bishop protects f7, so the board refuses it.

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Scholar's Mate attacks f7 with a queen and bishop. In this example, 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Qh5 Nf6 allows Qxf7#. It works only when Black permits the attack; replay the position to see why this move is mate.

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Scholar's Mate is a four-move pattern against f7, the pawn in front of Black's king bishop. At the start, Black's king is its only defender. In this replay White plays e4, Bc4 and Qh5, pointing both bishop and queen at f7. Black answers with ...e5, ...Nc6 and then ...Nf6. That last move develops a knight but does not stop the immediate capture. Play Qxf7# and watch the queen take the pawn with bishop support.

Why can Black's king not take the queen on f7? After Qxf7#, try dragging the king from e8 to f7. The board refuses it because the bishop on c4 protects the queen's square. Black also has no legal way to block the queen's check or move the king to safety in this position. This is one line in which Black allows the mate, not a forced win for White. The same attacking shape can arise with another move order, but you must check the actual board.

When defending, notice the queen and bishop lining up before making an automatic developing move. Black can meet the threat with a move that protects f7 or challenges the queen; for example, ...g6 attacks a queen on h5 in a suitable position. Verify the specific move is legal in your game before relying on it. When attacking, do not assume a queen capture is safe merely because a pattern has a name. Count the defenders of the target square and the legal replies after the capture.

Rules and examples

FIDE Laws of Chess, Article 5.1.1, governs the mate; Wikipedia documents this named pattern and its prevention.

Rules: FIDE Laws of Chess, effective 1 January 2023. https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/E012023

Rule replay: python-chess 1.11.2 (GPL-3.0-or-later). The shared browser engine retains its Stockfish GPL-3.0 notice. No engine score is claimed by these demonstrations.

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A move on the board

r1bqkb1r/pppp1ppp/2n2n2/4p2Q/2B1P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNB1K1NR w KQkq - 4 4

r1bqkb1r/pppp1Qpp/2n2n2/4p3/2B1P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNB1K1NR b KQkq - 0 4

Qxf7#White's queen captures on f7 with bishop support and delivers checkmate.

White's queen captures on f7 with bishop support and delivers checkmate.

Original teaching example replayed with python-chess 1.11.2, 2026-10-23.

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