CHECK MATE TRICKS

Fool's Mate is the fastest checkmate possible in chess, and it occurs after only two moves! Don't
worry, you can't be forced into this checkmate unless you make two bad moves in a row. In order for
Fool's mate to be performed, White must move their g-pawn up two squares and
their f-pawn up one or two squares in the first two consecutive moves. These
two moves fatally weaken the e1-h4 diagonal, which Black can move their
queen to after moving their e-pawn on the first move.This is called Fool's mate
for a reason—White must make two foolish moves in a row in order for Black to
conduct this checkmate.Some of you may be wondering if this same mating pattern can be used
with the white pieces, and the answer is "yes!" Black can lose in an identical fashion to Fool's Mate, but
it takes an extra move. If Black moves their f-pawn up one or two squares and then moves their g-pawn
up two squares, White can deliver checkmate on move three in what could be referred to as the
"Reversed Fool's Mate":So how can one avoid Fool's mate? All you have to do is keep
your f-pawn on f2 (or f7) at the beginning of the game. Before a game even
begins, the squares f2 and f7 are the weakest squares on
the chessboard because they are only protected by the king. If you move your f-
pawn early, you are only inviting dangerous attacks!

Scholar's Mate
Scholar's Mate is usually one of the first checkmates that players learn or
experience. The concept is simple: White targets the f7-square with both their
queen and bishop early, in hopes of delivering checkmate in four moves. In
order to perform this checkmate, you must start with 1.e4. This allows both the
light-squared bishop and queen to develop on the following moves. After 1.e4,
White can develop the queen or the bishop. The bishop will always arrive at the
c4-square, as it targets f7 from this square. The queen can go to either h5 or f3
to target the f7-squareHow can you defend against Scholar's mate? Once White
has attacked the f7-square with their queen, you simply defend the f7 square
with Qe7 or Qf6 or block the queen's attack with g7-g6 (if White's queen is on
h5).

Dutch Defense (Fool's Mate Pattern)

The Dutch Defense is an offbeat opening choice but it is employed by players at
all levels, from beginners to grandmasters. There are more than a couple of fast
checkmates to know in this opening, including the five-move mate below. The
Dutch Defense begins with 1...f5 in response to 1.d4: As you can see, 1...f5
takes control of the e4-square early but weakens Black's kingside. If Black is not
careful then they can get checkmated early, Just like we saw in the Fool's Mate
section, if a player moves their f-pawn early (which is done on move one in the
Dutch) as well as their g-pawn, then they are asking for trouble!
Englund Gambit
1.d4 e5

The Englund Gambit is an opening for Black against White's 1.d4. Although
similar in appearance to the Budapest Gambit, the Englund is not a sound
opening and, therefore, not popular among stronger players. However, the
Englund Gambit does contain traps that can catch many players off guard
and result in quick wins.The Englund Gambit starts after the moves 1.d4
e5. Black's idea is to develop their queenside knight to c6, hitting the e5-
pawn and following it up by either focusing on development or setting up a
trap ,With this opening, the game can end quickly if White falls for one of
Black's traps. However, Black will be positionally lost if White knows how to deal
with their opponent's threats..

Main Variations Of The Englund Gambit

After Black plays the Englund Gambit, White can decline it by playing 2.d5,
transpose to the Center Game with 2.e4, or accept it. The most critical lines
happen after White takes the free black pawn with 2.dxe5. Black then plays for
a quick win by setting up traps or chooses to play quietly. Below you can learn
more about the two critical traps of the opening and its quieter variation:

Englund Gambit Traps

Black sets up the Englund Gambit traps with the moves 1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 Nc6
3.Nf3 Qe7. From there, White can go wrong in a few different ways if they don't
know how to respond to Black's threats. Below you can see the most common
traps after the moves mentioned above: If White plays the correct 5.Bd2, their
position will be superior to Black's in all continuations. The main line continues
with 5...Bb4 6.Rb1:

Englund Gambit With 6...Nb4

After 1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 Qe7 4.Bf4 Qb4+ 5.Bd2 Qxb2 6.Nc3, Black can
deviate from the main line and try one last trap with 6...Nb4. With this move,
Black threatens a winning fork with 7...Nxc2+. White's right response is 5.Nd4,
defending the c2-pawn and once more getting a better position.

Englund Gambit With 3...d6

Black can also try a quieter line with no traps after White accepts their gambit.
This variation begins after 1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 d6, when Black
reinforces their intention of sacrificing a pawn. The idea behind Black's third
move is that if White plays 4.exd6, they can respond with 4...Bxd6, developing a
piece and gaining a tempo.

However, White's best continuation refutes 3...d6 and once more results in a
better position for the first player. White can play the intermediate
move 4.Bg5+, virtually forcing Black to respond with 4...f6, losing a pawn with
no compensation,

Bird's Opening
The Bird's Opening is an aggressive flank opening for White. Championed by
the English master Henry Bird, this opening is not popular among the
masters of today. However, despite its offbeat quality, the Bird's opening is
playable and could be a good surprise weapon for club-level players. The
opening also has very little theory, so it can be a good option for players who
don't want to study heavy theory. The Bird's Opening starts after 1.f4, when
White opens with a flank pawn instead of the more traditional center push of the
d- or e-pawns. White's strategy consists of controlling the dark squares on the
center of the board. The f-pawn controls the e5-square right away, while a
future e2-e3 or c2-c3 push will help White to get a grip of the d4-square.

The king’s gambit

The King's Gambit happens after 1.e4 e5 2.f4 and it's the fourth most
popular move after Black plays 1...e5. White's idea is to gambit a pawn
to build a strong center after diverting Black's e5-pawn to f4. If Black
accepts the pawn sacrifice, White has two main plans: attack the weak
f7-square or play d2-d4 and develop their pieces to active squares.
One of the disadvantages of the King's Gambit is that Black has many
ways of playing against it. Any player who knows theory can get good
positions with Black by "defusing" the gambit whether they decide to
accept or decline it.

King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit

If you want to respond to White's aggressive opening by escalating the

aggression, you can opt for the Falkbeer Countergambit. As stated above, it
arises after 1.e4 e5 2.f4 d5. Black's idea is to open up the center and explore
the weakness White created around their king after the f2-f4 push.
King's Gambit Accepted: Fischer Defense

This variation became famous after Fischer published an article titled "A Bust to
the King's Gambit." If you want to accept the gambit and White chooses to
develop the g1-knight, this is a great way to get a good position. The variation
goes 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 d6, and Black will usually play the g7-g5 push to
keep the f4-pawn or build pressure on the kingside. With 381 games in our
database, White wins 35%, draws 15%, and Black wins 50%.

1. Control the center squares – d4-e4-d5-e5.

2. Develop your minor pieces toward the center – piece activity is the key.
Centralized piece control more squares.
3. (King Safety)
4. Connect your rooks. There should be no pieces between your Rooks.

The objective of development is about improving the value of your pieces by

increasing the importance of their roles (Piece Activity). Well-developed pieces
have more fire-power than undeveloped pieces and they do more in helping you gain
control.

Now we will look at 5 practical things you can do to help you achieve your development
objective.

They are:

1. Give priority to your least active pieces.

 Which piece needs to be developed (which piece is the least active)?

 Where should it go (where can its role be maximized)?

1. Exchange your least active pieces for your opponent’s active pieces.
2. Restrict the development of your opponent’s pieces.
3. Neutralize your opponent’s best piece.
4. Secure strong squares for your pieces.

Don’t help your opponent develop.

There are 2 common mistakes whereby you will simply be helping your opponent to
develop:

1. Making a weak threat that can easily be blocked

 2. Making an exchange that helps your opponent to develop a piece

Pre Move Checklist:

1. Make sure all your pieces are safe.

2. Look for forcing move: Checks, captures, threats. You want to look at ALL forcing
moves (even the bad ones) this will force you look at, and see the entire board.
3. If there are no forcing moves, you then want to remove any of your opponent’s
pieces from your side of the board.
4. If your opponent doesn’t have any of his pieces on your side of the board, then
you want to improve the position of your least active piece.
5. After each move by your opponent, ask yourself: "What is my opponent trying to
do?"