|
Many beginning chess players lose a game to Scholar's
Mate in their first or second tournament, and then learn
how to stop it. But at the December Knights Quest
tournament, I saw a game in the Under 600 section where
one player found a way to keep trying to get Scholar's
Mate even after his opponent stopped it in the first 4
moves. I want to share this example with Renaissance
Knights players, parents, and readers, so everyone can
learn how to defend against this trick too.
The game began 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Bc5 3.Bc4. With the good
move Nf3, you think White doesn't have to worry about
Black playing for Scholar's Mate!
But Black found a sneaky way to try. He played 3...g5.
The idea is to play the pawn to g4 next to attack the
knight on f3, make it move, then play the Black queen to
f6 or h4 to go for Scholar's Mate with Qxf2.
White did not realize Black's plan, and made a
developing move that is usually good, but doesn't defend
against Scholar's Mate: 4.Nc3 g4 5.Nxe5 Qh4.
Here White did see the threat of Qxf2 Scholar's Mate,
and played 6.g3. But Black still did not give up on
Scholar's Mate, and played 6...Qh3.
White made another developing move that is usually good
but doesn't defend against Scholar's Mate: 7.d3.
Now Black played 7...Qg2 threatening Qxf2 Scholar's Mate
and also threatening to capture the unprotected rook on
h1.
White tried to run away with his king and protect his
rook with his queen: he played 8.Ke2. Unfortunately for
him, now 8...Qxf2 was still checkmate because White's
pawn on d3 and queen on d1 block his king's escape.
This is a good learning experience for everyone to pay
attention to. White was not a bad player, he is a good
player who has won trophies in the Under 600 section
before. He just didn't know how to defend against this
sneaky version of Scholar's Mate. Let's take a look at
what White should play instead to defend himself and
stop this trick:
First, right away after 3...g5, White can simply castle!
4.O-O is an excellent move. Now the rook on f1 is
defending the pawn on f2, and there will be no Scholar's
Mate. Black cannot threaten checkmate on h2 so quickly
or easily, and if he tries with moves like 4...g4 5.Nxe5
Bd6 6.Nxf7 Qh4, White can defend safely and easily with
7.g3. So, this is yet another good reason to castle
early in the game!
Next, after 4.Nc3 g4 5.Nxe5 Qh4, White can play 6.d4 to
block the Black bishop from f2. With no bishop
protection, there is no Scholar's Mate by the queen. Now
White has both center pawns, both knights, and a bishop
developed, while Black's bishop has to move away from
the pawn attack and the Black queen has no support from
other pieces. White has excellent chances to win the
game now, and Black is in big trouble. This idea of pawn
to d4 to block the bishop on c5 is also a good idea to
know for many different situations in the opening -- as
long as you have enough protection for the d4 square,
which White does here: If the Black bishop takes the
pawn, the White queen takes the bishop back safely.
Finally, after 6.g3 Qh3 7.d3 Qg2, this is White's last
chance to defend. White needs to play 8.Rf1 to stop the
checkmate on f2 and save his rook at the same time. It's
too bad that White can't castle on the kingside now, but
he can still develop his queenside pieces and then
castle on the queenside to be safer. This is not quite
as good as the first two ways to defend, but it is still
a good position for White, and remember: Any position is
better than getting checkmated!
You may wonder what happens if White tries this trick
against Black. Let's take a look:
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Qf3 Nf6 4.g4.
Once again, castling is the best defense! 4...O-O. After
5.g5, Black's knight has to retreat with 5...Ne8, but he
is safe because his castled rook on f8 defends f7.
Another example is 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.g4 Bc5 4.g5 Nxe4
5.Qf3. Now castling is not a good defense because the
White queen can take the unprotected Black knight on e4.
Black could play 5...Nxg5, which defends f7 for the
moment and attacks the White queen too. But I prefer to
push the d-pawn into the center to block the White
bishop: 5...d5. Now White only has one little trick:
6.Bxd5 Qxd5 7.d3 and Black has to watch out for the pin:
Don't play 7...Nxf2 and lose your queen to 8.Qxd5! As
long as Black doesn't lose his queen like this, he will
be ok. There may be some wild and crazy back-and-forth
piece captures for the next few moves, but Black won't
have a bad position as long as he or she keeps the queen
or trades it for the White queen. For example 7...Bxf2+
8.Ke2 Bxg1 9.dxe4 Qc4+! and next move Black can retreat
the bishop on g1 to safety and have an extra bishop. Add
extra protection to f7 on the move after that with
castling or Be6, and Black will have a great position
and White will be in big trouble.
The good part is, once you learn these ways to defend
yourself, you will start winning all the games against
the players who try tricks like pawn to g4 or g5,
because you will get to the positions where THEY, not
you, are in big trouble. You will more than make up for
the one or two games you lost to a sneaky Scholar's Mate
the first one or two times somebody tried it against
you.
I wish everyone the best of luck that plays chess the
right way and develops their pieces and learns how to
stop all the Scholar's Mate tricks and punishes their
sneaky opponents who try them!
|
