Editing Fool's mate (section)

===White to mate in three moves===
{{Chess diagram
| tright
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|rd|nd|bd|qd|kd|bd|nd|rd
|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|  |  |pd
|  |  |  |  |  |pd|  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |pd|  
|  |  |  |pl|pl|  |  |  
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|pl|pl|pl|  |  |pl|pl|pl
|rl|nl|bl|ql|kl|bl|nl|rl
|A problem with White to mate instead, given by Fischer and Polgár.
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White can achieve a checkmate similar to fool's mate.  When the roles are reversed, however, White requires an extra third turn or half-move, known in [[computer chess]] as a [[Ply (game theory)|ply]].  In both cases, the principle is the same: a player advances their f- and g-pawns such that the opponent's queen can mate along the unblocked diagonal. A board position illustrating White's version of fool's mate—with White to mate—was given as a problem in ''[[Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess]]'', and also as an early example in a compendium of problems by [[László Polgár]].<ref name="Polgár">{{cite book |last=Polgár |first=László  |title=Chess: 5334 Problems, Combinations, and Games |year=1994 |publisher=Tess Press |page=57 |isbn=9781579121303}}  Problem No. 14.</ref> The solution in Fischer's book bore the comment "Black foolishly weakened his King's defenses. This game took three moves!!"<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fischer |first1=Bobby |last2=Margulies |first2=Stuart |last3=Mosenfelder |first3=Donn |title=Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess |year=1972 |publisher=Bantam |pages=95–96 |isbn=9780553263152}} Problem No. 73.</ref>  One possible sequence leading to the position is '''1. e4 g5 2. d4 f6{{chesspunc|??}} 3. Qh5{{chessAN|#}}'''. 

A possibly apocryphal variant of the fool's mate has been reported by several sources.  The 1959 game '''1. e4 g5 2. Nc3 f5?? 3. Qh5#''' has been attributed to Masefield and Trinka, although the first player's name has also been reported as Mayfield or Mansfield and the second player's name as Trinks or Trent.<ref>{{cite book |author=Mike Fox and Richard James |title=The Even More Complete Chess Addict |publisher=Faber and Faber |year=1993 |pages=177}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Winter, Edward |author-link=Edward G. Winter |title=Chess Facts and Fables |publisher=McFarland & Co. |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7864-2310-1 |pages=253–254}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/winter25.html#4491._Rousseau_and_chess_C.N.s_4401_ |title=Chess Notes 4493. Short game |author=Edward G. Winter |author-link=Edward G. Winter |date=August 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/winter25.html#4503._N_for_knight |title=Chess Notes 4506. Short game (C.N. 4493) |author=Edward G. Winter |author-link=Edward G. Winter |date=August 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1= Averbakh |first1= Yuri Lvovich |last2= Beilin |first2= Mikhail Abramovich |author-link=Yuri Averbakh |script-title=ru:Путешествие в шахматное королевство |year = 1972 |publisher = Fizkultura i sport |language = ru |page = 227}}</ref> Further, a similar mate can occur in [[Bird's Opening#From's Gambit|From's Gambit]]: '''1. f4 e5 2. g3{{chesspunc|?}} exf4 {{nowrap|3. gxf4?? Qh4#}}'''.

There are other possible three-move mates for White, such as '''1. e4 e5 2. Qh5 Ke7?? 3. Qxe5#'''. The total number is 347.<ref>{{cite web |title=A079485 - OEIS |url=https://oeis.org/A079485 |website=The On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences |access-date=23 August 2023}}</ref>

Even if White has a [[Handicap (chess)|handicap]] of queen odds, there is a possible three-move mate for White, such as '''1. e4 f6 2. Be2 g5?? 3. Bh5#'''.

{{Chess diagram
| tright
|
|rd|nd|bd|qd|kd|bd|nd|rd
|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|  |  |pd
|  |  |  |  |  |pd|  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |pd|bl
|  |  |  |  |pl|  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|pl|pl|pl|pl|  |pl|pl|pl
|rl|nl|bl|  |kl|  |nl|rl
|White with queen odds checkmates in three moves.
}}