Fool's Mate

The Fool's Mate is the shortest checkmate in chess. After 1. f3 e5 2. g4, the black queen reaches h4 along the e1–h4 diagonal that White's two pawn moves have opened. Francis Beale named it in The Royal Game of Chess-Play (1656), his adaptation of Greco. Eight move orders produce the pattern: White may play f3 or f4 and may push the g-pawn first, and Black may use ...e5 or ...e6. It almost never occurs in practice.