Scholar's Mate Puzzle

Scholar's Mate is the most famous early checkmate in chess, delivered in just four moves. The queen and bishop coordinate to attack the f7 square, the weakest point in Black's starting position. In this position, Black has failed to defend f7, and White can finish the game in a single move.

The Position

White to move. White to move and checkmate in one.

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

Tags: Checkmate, Mate in 1

How to Solve It

  1. Identify the target square: f7 is defended only by the Black king.
  2. Notice that the White queen on h5 attacks f7, and the bishop on c4 also attacks f7.
  3. The queen captures the pawn on f7, supported by the bishop. It's checkmate because the king cannot escape to any safe square.
  4. The answer is Qxf7#.

Solution

The winning move is Qxf7#.

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