Punish Scholar's Mate in 2 Moves! [Counter Early Queen Attacks]

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

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[@GMIgorSmirnov]

► Chapters 00:00 Brutally Punish Scholar's Mate in 2 Moves! 00:12 White's early queen attack & Scholar's mate 01:27 3...f5 Rousseau Gambit style 02:02 1) If White plays 4.Qxf5 03:26 2) If White plays 4.exf5 05:10 Deadly Bg4 pin on the knight 07:14 3) If White plays 2.Qh5 instead of 2.Qf3

[@thechessfish]

These wins keep coming earlier and earlier, next video will be "Win Before You Start The Game"

[@davidpatton7298]

Read the title again. Then edit your deep insight.

[@donaldekong4607]

😂😂😂😂

[@patrickhani4607]

Hire a sniper to kil your oponent after his first move

[@deoodolecki2979]

Did you ever see holmes and Watson? Lol. Maybe I should play you in a game of chess? CHECKMATE!! LOL

[@rahulbansal2]

@@deoodolecki2979 I’d like to see Magnus do that

[@rubenco1253]

I watched this and the very first game I played the opponent tries the Scholar's Mate and indeed loses the queen and resigned. I could not believe it haha, thank you for this counter!!

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Recommended videos 🔹Brutally PUNISH Scholar's Mate & Early Queen Attacks - kzbin.info/www/bejne/aJKWqHePa56BgKs 🔹(Rousseau Gambit) The BEST Chess Opening Against 1.e4 - Every Move is a Trap! - kzbin.info/www/bejne/j2eQg4uFnZpjldk

[@maxhay9911]

Awesome video! Is there any chance you would ever do a ‘speed run’ type series on the Rousseau Gambit? I’ve watched your video on it multiple times, but feel like it really solidifies my memory when I see it played over and over, with all the different lines and variations played out.

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Hey Max! Good suggestion.

[@raphaelhudson]

​@@GMIgorSmirnov so I guess the Vienna or kings gambit from white and Rousseau from black. Problem is you can't do that if black plays something other than E5. Unless you seek only black games

[@chukspeter4044]

Please IGOR... it's a massive suggestion

[@ModernDayRenaissanceMan]

​@@GMIgorSmirnovI agree. I learn better when I see the same moves over & over. Like go through with explanation. Then go back & review them all. No chess channels do that. They just skip to the next line. It should be 1) Line 1, explain why, then repeat from start 2) Line 2, explain why repeat from start. 3) Line 3 etc Then a challenge... Can you repeat all 3 lines? Maybe a final review questionnaire... So remember if they go X we do A (line 1) if they go Y we go B (line 2) then if they go Z we go A! (Line 3). You've covered it 3 times in 1 video 3 different ways. Then it's stuck in our head & we can watch your video 5-10 times & it's like 15 times of reviewing & we don't have to waste time learning

[@turcaromina]

I watched a few videos of the same concept but yours was the most easy and concise, thanks.

[@adamk8945]

Amazing! Your way of thinking is incredible!! You consistently enhance my mindset, and improve my skills. Thank you! My friends feel like they’re playing against a different opponent

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

It's really cool you could level up your chess so fast!

[@judemorales4U]

Yes, I need this! Thank you for the video!

[@bejaminorlenko9593]

Great video,thanka

[@spirejfk7879]

This is so Awesome !! Thanks GM! Multiple lessons in this defense!!

[@baraharonovich2926]

That’s good content thank you, Its a really annoying way to open a game. I hope it will deter people from playing and get into actual chess.

[@philj9594]

I understand your feelings, but I also kind of think it's maybe good that so many lower rated players try to win with scholar's mate? I think it's a great learning experience for brand new players to get crushed by scholar's mate a few times, learn how to counter it, and then they walk away with not only how to counter this specific trap, but the concept of traps and learning how to avoid them in general (plus learning to think defensively!). It also just means more wins for us if they try it on us. ;) The only people really losing here in the long run are the players who keep trying to win with scholar mate as that's a sure way to stay sub-800 rated forever.

[@BorfenDa]

This is unbelievable 😭 as soon as i watched the video, i went to play a game and my opponent immediately played this and won their queen 💀 thank you so much!

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Glad this was helpful for you💛

[@davidsprenkle2641]

So what about 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Qf3 f5!? and now the most obvious try: 4.Bxg8!?

[@foresthill8462]

This looks great, thank you 😅😊

[@jamesfortune243]

You're the best chess instructor on KZbin.

[@Aquablecs]

Igor thanks for this video sir. Cheers to you

[@bowxfire5275]

1:38 me too. I mainly play Rousseau gambit as back. Thus I clicked on this video.

[@georgemacdonald8899]

Just used this, thanks!

[@davidlamarca899]

Great moves with clever strategies behind💪👏

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

😁

[@BrandonMCDonald-x3f]

You can recite all the stratagems in the chess world. Like somebody reading off a recipe in a book. But the creative person who can pull out ingredients out and just make good food is the real Chef.

[@judenilanga8897]

My foremost picking! 👍🙌💯

[@drummingspain207]

Really love your content, great work!

[@astro6897]

Very instructive 🤝

[@neiloconnor9349]

Thanks, Igor!!

[@yesyes6970]

Absolutely brilliant and beautiful punishment!

[@SuperBono07]

Hi, How you strategically position your pieces before you attack ?.

[@TheRealAltAccOfMarshalKOTGs]

I like Ngh6 because when someone has the attack premoved it gets them and I get to play the sodium attack as well

[@sandeepverygoodvedeo8693]

Thanks Sir

[@Rearmostbean]

This works so well The d5 pawn push works nearly every time

[@immaru44]

Awesome video as always, I'm wondering if you would do a video or livestream where you playing in 1500 rate or lower and do the analysis from there. would love to see that :)

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Interesting idea! You can check out top GMs playing against regular players in Blitz on KZbin.

[@willmorris8198]

4:25 What if white queen evades the knight by going e3 rather than fully retreating to d1?

[@KublaiKhan2025]

Are you SERIOUS with such a WEAK move??? That puts the queen ON A FORK, knight takes c2 CHECK and next knight takes the queen.

[@willmorris8198]

@@KublaiKhan2025 yes I see that now. Sorry I'm only like 600 lol I'm still learning

[@KublaiKhan2025]

@@willmorris8198 the best way to make progress is to ALWAYS calculate the best moves for the opponent also! For each one of your move, consider 2-3 moves for him.

[@philj9594]

@@KublaiKhan2025 Your reply after the first one is great but come on dude with your first comment! Have you forgotten what it's like to be a beginner at chess? This was an extremely rude way to try and help someone even though you are right. It makes people not want to play chess at all if everyone acts like you. We are all coming from a different place here just trying to enjoy a game together. At the end of the day it's just a game and a hobby for most of us!!!! Life is hard enough without people like you taking a crap on everyone else. *angry grumbling*

[@khinkyawhtwe8603]

NICE AND THANKS

[@nayonchess6210]

Love you sir ❤️

[@afiblacksails23]

When I first experienced the scholars mate I stopped it by playing Qf6 and they backed off knowing it was going to end in a trade with me up a bishop. Was that a blunder on my part and they didn’t punish me or is that viable?

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

It's one of the ways to defend. That said, I prefer a more aggressive approach, where you seek to refute your opponent's attack (instead of just defending).

[@DVineMe]

2:37 Indeed, I can't even believe how many times I've checkmated people in 7 by playing the Pirc and them wanting to kick the knight off of f6 to continue their dumb little play (for those who don't know this is the sequence: 1. e4 d6 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. Qf3 g6 4. d4 Bg7 5. e5 dxe5 6. dxe5 Bg4 7. Qg3 Qd1#). If they play the SM more often than not they're a one trick pony so they will blindly try everything to make it work without the simplest understanding of the game whatsoever.

[@joncaron3429]

Thank you

[@rudradevsingh228]

Igor this is a really helpful video but I noticed that you can play f5 anyway after e4 e5 Qh5 Nc6 Bc4 g6 Qf3. Stockfish says it's completely equal after f5, I wonder if there are any tricks and traps after this position

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Alright, I'll be covering it soon, stay tuned!

[@michaelschweigart3517]

That's actually pretty Kool!

[@MichaelWilliams-mo1vv]

These are top class lessons

[@flashtheoriginal]

Nice one!

[@pierrenagonio]

thanks again :) bdw if I play chess longer I have found that I have similar nmbers of win / lose.

[@nada1988-v1c]

1:46 what if bishop takes the knight? I know the line in normal Rousseau gambit but in this situation it's different? Or worse, goes calling the king out to f7?

[@Lazerator]

can you make a video on the von der lasa gambit

[@christinemairegorra3979]

Thank you so much, my dad keeps on trying Scholar's Mate I did this against him, I won the game

[@ErykKrzeminski]

Nice video, can't wait to try these lines in my games! Thanks!

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Crush 'em all!

[@sonipolakian4256]

Nice video👍👍👍

[@munasagi]

actually at 6:15 you blunder big time, horse e4 black takes with horse, white takes with qeeun the horse taking of pressure and getting a pawn and a horse ahead of that exchange, if you indeed try to catch the horse to attack the qeeun white can exchange the qeeun and exchange the knight for bishop giving white once more victory.

[@KublaiKhan2025]

Are you a BEGINNER?? After Nxe4 Nxe4 and the exchane of queens, the position is EVEN. What rating are you???? You seem to be very WEAK.

[@Jim_Henderson]

It's always nice to see unsound openings punished! It might be worth mentioning that in the position at 6:03, if White does play 11.Nxe4, Black must avoid the blunder 11...Nxe4?? and instead play 11...Nxf3+.

[@smartbeastgaming8913]

How ?? I can’t understand

[@HardLessonsOfLife]

I had the same question: what if white goes 11. Nxe4

[@HardLessonsOfLife]

What happens if white responds with capturing the knight on f3 by pawn on G2.

[@Jim_Henderson]

@@HardLessonsOfLife After 11.Nxe4 Nxf3+, if White plays 12.gxf3, then 12...Qxd1+ 13.Kxd1 Bxf3+ wins a rook.

[@HardLessonsOfLife]

@@Jim_Henderson yes, I agree with you.

[@Βαγγελης-τ4ε]

In the 1st bishop doesn’t have to capture you can like check with queen

[@maxalto]

Where is the link for that video where he addresses Q to E5?

[@andragon2485]

About 2 hours after I watched that video. I got e4,e5, Qf3 and I thought lets lure out the bishop with Knc3 and of course Bc4 is played. Man did my opponent get a beating ;)

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

💪

[@reydemayo8906]

nice counter play by black and refuted the position deadly...nice tutorial.

[@je7578]

I love this channel

[@BizarreGo]

I mean, yes this will work against anyone who is trying to use the scholar's mate. But the reason I clicked at all is that I wanted to see what he does after f5, Bxg8 which looks pretty close to winning for white.

[@dusandobes8823]

Very good question. Stockfish says if Bxg8 then Nd4!

[@userac-xpg]

my favorite defense against the fool's mate (called scholar's mate here) is e4, c5, Bc4, Nf6, Qf3, Ne5 forking whites queen and bishop and also protecting f7. if white goes to h4 with his queen instead of f3 you simply play e6 permanently ending the mate threat followed by Ng6 driving the queen back.

[@psclly]

Fools mate is the mate in 2 by black tho right

[@jahstreet1224]

BRILLIANT ..!!!!!

[@lucaspanto9650]

I played a game straight after watching this and the guy played scholar's mate. I destroyed him

[@michaelr1661]

This definitely is not the most annoying opening. It either has to be Albin counter gambit or 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c5 (don't know the name). Although for black, I'm not sure what I'd pick

[@cikonianiggra1415]

Splendidly.

[@theblart7535]

I really like your videos sir. Well done!

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

🙏

[@Denzel_Plays]

Good stuff!!!!!!

[@Lazerator]

Rousseau gambit, my favorite

[@darthchoco4022]

I started chess about 3 months ago, watching your videos I went from 500 elo to 1250 and I feel like in 3 months I’m making good progress!! Thanks for all your awesome videos, they have won me many games

[@ZarexianMapper]

Thank you very much for this trick. Coincidentally the next chess game I played after this video my opponent tried exactly this attack and I absolutely smashed him (:

[@dibyajyotichatterjee9221]

What if queen moves to e6 checking our king

[@roberthicks5379]

Bishop still takes

[@stuartcarden1371]

Thank you for this. It's been so much fun taking everyone's Queen before breakfast :D

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

😎

[@williamveasey6801]

You didn't cover what happens if bishop takes night.

[@paulmorphy6187]

I've been playing for 30 years and seen it all...I had never seen f5 before, its a fascinating and slightly unintuitive move and lo and behold I had the opportunity to play it tonight...they took f5 with their queen! then followed d5 and Bxd5??....it made me laugh so much!! thankyou

[@streamtvhd1878]

Just trapped one player with this trick 🤣 he clapped for me 🤣 thanks ❤️

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

👍

[@佢]

2:51 Bxf5 exf5 Qxd5

[@ConnyShiva95]

At 6:07 you could maybe tell what happens after Knxe4

[@ConnyShiva95]

At the first moment I need to overthink this

[@gemmken]

if you are under 250 elo and play this against someone, you will feel like a master

[@chessbulletschannel5889]

New idea ❤

[@iantheroman1016]

Another anti-scholar's mate video! I think I watched your two previous videos on it at least 5 times each so I don't know whether to feel happy that I got another weapon against this opening or sad that Ill have to study it until I remember enough of it to actually be able to play it in games. Edit: Okay, I watched the video and the ideas were so genius but also easy to remember, thanks for another excellent video Igor!

[@EarthSurferUSA]

If a beginner falls for that 3 move check mate more than once, he/she should look for something else to do. Once for me. So far, so good. :)

[@LuKiSCraft]

As a 750elo player (noobish), I like to attack F7 with the Knight & Bishop (no queen). This seems to go undetected MUCH more often than the traditional scholar's checkmate (Queen & Bishop). Instead I play the Knight to F7 (takes an extra move) and fork their Rook & Queen. Black can't capture the Knight on F7 b/c it is protected by my Bishop on C4. Queen is only used if they block the Bishop. I also don't 'overcommit' to this, and am able to pivot out of the attack into a normal game if necessary. Don't get tunnel vision when attacking!!!

[@EternalSilverDragon]

Sounds like you would enjoy playing the fried liver attack.

[@LuKiSCraft]

@@EternalSilverDragon Bruh turns out this is what I've been doing the whole time LOL. I see now though that it only works when black moves the Knight to the middle of the board... no wonder my attack has been failing occasionally 🤣

[@philj9594]

Yeah, this is good stuff, but not really comparable to scholar's mate imo although I see why it is tempting to compare them. What you are describing is just a common position if you follow opening principles whereas scholar's is "playing for tricks". The f7/f2 squares are open to numerous tactics due to it being the weakest pawn square on the board (only defended by king). Following opening principles leads to various thematic tactical opportunities, of which attacking f7/f2 is one of many motifs. Hope this made sense. Just a tip, it's often better to take with bishop first as it comes with check and that check can have devastating follow-up moves after they capture the bishop with their king. You can often follow this up with a check from your f3 knight to gain further advantages. The most common follow-up is checking with that knight to win their g4 bishop (previously pinning that knight to your queen) with Ne5+ or Ng5+ winning back your piece with a huge positional advantage. You temporarily sacrifice the bishop for a pawn, but they lose their right to castle and you regain the material with either the knight via the Ne5+ fork or a discovered attack from your queen following either check from your knight (taking with either knight or queen will vary based on position). Just make sure to calculate and ensure it's actually an advantage as obviously you want to have a follow-up to the bishop move or it's not good enough compensation. I would argue however, that even though this doesn't win as much material as your queen and rook fork, the positional advantage is often worth more than the +4 in material. Your pieces are on *way* better squares (your poor knight is stuck in the corner!) and their king is now vulnerable for the remainder of the game. Sometimes you can even set up a mating attack by opening with a Bxf7+ sacrifice (like Legal's mate)! Anyway, keep up the good work. This comment tells me that you are on the right track with your approach to the game. I'm mad impressed that you've picked up on exploiting that square in this way on your own. I had to learn this through courses.

[@ohyeahohyeah1071]

Reminds me of a game I've played a few days back (of course I had already watched your other 2 videos on scholar's mate). The opponent tried scholar's mate on me, and I pulled the UNO reverse card

[@andrewhawkinson3410]

HELL YEAH!

[@cewla3348]

@@andrewhawkinson3410 one time, black tried to play scholar's mate. On move 8. I was about to castle.

[@Kernel15]

6:07 You say Nxe4 loses the knight because of the f6 Knight, but after Nxe4, black can't reply with Nxe4 because white simply plays Qxd4, removing the pin on the f3 Knight, attacking the e4 Knight, and offering a Queen trade. Seems like Nxe4 should be met with Nxf3+ by black, cause all white's options after that suck. If gxf3, Qxd1+, Kxd1 Bxg3+ forking the white King and Rook Qxf3 gives up the Queen for two pieces If Kf1 then Qxd1# If Ke2 then Ng1# and white's Queen falls

[@elektron2kim666]

My favourite situation to defend and the rook chaser/taker is #2.

[@BusterofGlitch]

Anything similar if i play sicillian?

[@hazemfoda3662]

Thank you Igor, I pass 2000 by your great videos

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Congratulations!

[@arsenalfanrichi]

The scariest looking like to my eyes would be E4 e5 bc4 nc6 qf3 f5 bxg8. On the surface it looks like the queen gets trapped but I think it only wins time.

[@nathanthrash5068]

I f I may, the scholar's mate shouldn't be frustrating to play against if it's the easiest strategy to understand.

[@anthony9193]

What can we do if the white bishop captures the black knight?

[@charleneherbert8031]

thank you i'm fed up of these scholar mate kids. Even though im a low elo pretty much 70% of my games are this move

[@beta2029]

How ironic. Afterer i learned this, I now cant find an opponent who plays the scholars mate

[@hi-we2uz]

Ok but what if queen to h5 check and then move the bishop?

[@hi-we2uz]

Oh nvm

[@MrKockabilly]

This is soo good. I hope my chess buddy does not see this.

[@jyrael]

My solution for scholars mate is Nh6 so when they try to checkmate me I can take their queen with my knight.

[@DOCNarss]

I’ll be honest even as a 700 I keep seeing this scholars mate 10 times this week

[@EarthSurferUSA]

Yep, All my games move exactly like that. I am ready to play Magnus for big bucks now.

[@casperthefriendlyghost3156]

Knight to h6 also stops it

[@Kentpogs]

What about pawn to f6? I can't counter pawn to f6

[@KublaiKhan2025]

What timestamp?? Usually it's a VERY weak move and you can just. sacrifice knight on e5 or even on f6.

[@motornade277]

4. b x g8 ?

[@OskaIvanovichSmirnov]

Wow be right back. I have unfinished business with a guy named Nelson.

[@stephennjuru396]

watching this as someone who does that regularly

[@MariusDaniel1229]

This GM is interesting,never heard of him before!

[@Robil63]

'The most annoying opening video you're ever gonna open in "chass"....'

[@nishucreatins3035]

Tq 😂😂because he lost his queen and lost everything

[@edmondhuibonhoa8642]

5 mn 14 s : au lieu de Cf3, c3 pour attaquer le Cd4. Pas de rapide victoire noire. Cf3 mauvais coup.