How to Perform a Fool's Mate Move in Chess

A fool's mate is a move used in chess to checkmate an inexperienced opponent in just a few moves. It's the fastest possible checkmate in chess, but it requires some real nerve on your part, and some real blunderheadedness on the part of your opponent. Here are some tips to perform the fool's mate move in chess.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Begin the fool's mate maneuver by moving the king's pawn up two squares. In algebraic chess notation, this move is referred to as "E2 to E4."

2. Move the king's bishop diagonally to the right side of the board, from F1 to C4. The bishop will be moving through the space created when you moved your king's pawn up. Your bishop is now in position to attack your opponent's king-side bishop's pawn at F7.

3. Advance the queen. Now move your queen at D1 to F3. This will put her in a position to also attack your opponent's king-side bishop pawn.

4. Take the bishop's pawn at F7 with your queen. If you performed the fool's mate correctly, and your opponent didn't block it, it should be a checkmate. Announce "checkmate" to your partner and be ready to run or hide, as the case may be.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't attempt to perform the fool's mate on anyone with any chess experience, or you may find yourself losing the game very fast. The fool's mate is a maneuver that only the most novice of chess players fall for.