Editing Fool's mate (section)

{{Short description|Fastest checkmate in the game of chess}}
{{other uses}}
{{Infobox chess opening 
|openingname = Fool's mate
|image =
{{Chess diagram
| tcenter
| 
|rd|nd|bd|  |kd|bd|nd|rd
|pd|pd|pd|pd|  |pd|pd|pd
|  |  |  |  |pd|  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |pl|qd
|  |  |  |  |  |pl|  |  
|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|  |  |pl
|rl|nl|bl|ql|kl|bl|nl|rl
| Fool's mate: White is checkmated.
}}
|moves = {{Bulleted list
|1.f3 e6 2.g4 Qh4#
|1.f3 e5 2.g4 Qh4#
|1.f4 e6 2.g4 Qh4#
|1.f4 e5 2.g4 Qh4#
|1.g4 e6 2.f3 Qh4#
|1.g4 e6 2.f4 Qh4#
|1.g4 e5 2.f3 Qh4#
|1.g4 e5 2.f4 Qh4#}}
|birth = [[Gioachino Greco]] (c. 1620), via [[Francis Beale (writer)|Francis Beale]] (1656)
|parentopening = [[Barnes Opening]], [[Bird Opening]], or [[Grob's Attack]]
}}
{{Algebraic notation}}

The '''Fool's mate''' is the fastest [[checkmate]] in [[chess]] delivered after the fewest possible moves from the game's starting position.<ref name="Hooper">{{cite book |last1=Hooper |first1=David |author-link1=David Vincent Hooper |last2=Whyld |first2=Kenneth |author-link2=Kenneth Whyld |title=[[The Oxford Companion to Chess]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |edition=2nd |year=1992 |isbn=9780198661641 |page=143}}</ref> It arises from the following moves, or similar:

:1. [[b:Chess Opening Theory/1. f3|f3]] e6
:2. [[b:Chess Opening Theory/1. f3/1...e5/2. g4|g4]]?? [[b:Chess Opening Theory/1. f3/1...e5/2. g4/2...Qh4|Qh4]]{{chessAN|#}}

The mate can be achieved in two moves only by Black, giving checkmate on the second move with the [[queen (chess)|queen]]. Fool's mate received its name because it can occur only if White commits an extraordinary [[Blunder (chess)|blunder]]. Black can be mated in an analogous way, although this requires an additional move, with White's queen delivering checkmate on the third move. Even among rank beginners, this checkmate rarely occurs in practice.

The mate is an illustration of the {{chessgloss|kingside}} weakness shared by both players along the f- and g-{{chessgloss|files}} during the [[Chess opening|opening]] phase of the game. A player may also suffer an early checkmate if the f- and g-pawns are advanced prematurely and the kingside is not properly defended, as shown in historical {{chessgloss|miniature}} games recorded in chess literature.