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The Fool's Mate
​from The Queen of Katwe

by Tim Crothers
Phiona remembers almost nothing about the game, except the outcome. Joseph Asaba can recall every single move.

It occurred sometime in 2006. Phiona has been at the chess project for several months. She isn't sure how many games she played and lost without every winning, saying that the number is too high to count.

Phiona was anxious ass she sat down across the board from Joseph, who had specifically requested her as an opponent because he expected to beat her, and winners at the project are usually allowed to keep playing on a board until they are defeated. Phiona had played against Joseph a few times before and he had always won within a few moves. How could he do that? It seemed like magic to her. It wasn't. It was the Fool's Mate.


The Scholar's Mate
​(Referred to in The Queen of Katwe as the Fool's Mate)


Joseph had learned the Fool's Mate from Katende and it was his favorite tactic. He used it in every game he played. So again in this game against Phiona, Joseph employed his customary opening, maneuvering his bishop and queen into position. He thought the trap was set as usual.
But this time, Phiona responded by moving her queen directly in front of her king. Joseph had never seen that before, but he still jumped at the opportunity to capture Phiona's pawn with his queen. Phiona then took Joseph's queen and his bishop, while forfeiting her queen and pawn, an advantageous swap.

Phiona's Response to the Scholar's Mate

After the Fool's Mate failed, Joseph didn't know what to do next. He was never comfortable in the middlegame because he rarely had to play it.

​

The Traditional Fool's Mate

       Although the above Scholar's Mate is a trap played on students new to the game, the traditional Fool's Mate discussed by chess enthusiasts requires the player to open up the kingside with pawn advances to create a clear line of sight for the attacking Queen.

      Because this opening very rarely happens, over time the Scholar's Mate has also been called the Fool's Mate due to being a trick that can usually only be played once on an unsuspecting player to "fool" him or her.

      If they do not succeed, both the Fool's Mate and the Scholar's Mate cause the attacking Queen to be out in the open where a series of pawn advances and knight and bishop moves can put her at risk.

Picture
Scholarly Pursuits Always Reveal Knowledge
​​SPARK Mission:
To provide students with experiences and foundational skills necessary to pursue knowledge, develop character, and strengthen personal motivation to engage and persist in more rigorous academic challenges.

Website Updated: 27 September 2019

Webpage maintained by the Scholarly Pursuits Always Reveal Knowledge (SPARK) classes of Richland School District Two, Columbia, South Carolina.
Please direct queries to Mr. Kevin Durden.
  • SPARK Overview
    • SPARK Goals >
      • 6 Cs of Education--Golinkoff & Hirsh-Pasek
      • Collaboration
      • Communication
      • Content
      • Critical Thinking
      • Creative Innovation
      • Confidence
      • SPARK Curriculum Framework
      • SPARK Assessment
      • Mindsets
      • The Renzulli Model
    • About Mr. Durden
  • 4th Grade
    • SPARKed!
    • Jumpstart! Word Play >
      • Analogies
      • Idioms
      • Phonetics
      • Spelling
      • Vocabulary and Word Work
    • Word Power! Latin Roots >
      • Latin Study Tools
      • Latin Stems Video Library
      • A Game of Stems
    • Literature Ladder >
      • Share and Request Writing
      • Expository-Informative Writing
      • Narrative-Storytelling Writing
      • Persuasive-Argument Writing
      • Poetry Month!
    • Critical Thinking Practices >
      • A History of Numbers
      • Algebra: Restoring by Balancing >
        • Algebra Patterns and Formulas
        • Algebra Variables and Expressions
      • Benjamin Franklin's Magic Squares
      • Logic Puzzles >
        • Logic Puzzles Coaching
      • Perimeter Magic Polygons
      • PI Day
      • A Game of Asteroids
      • Critical Mathematical Thinking
    • Digital, Collaborative Investigations >
      • Digital Projects Spring 2017
      • Digital Projects Fall 2016
      • SPARK Research Checklist
      • SPARK Digital Research
      • SPARK: Getting More Out of Google
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      • SPARK Digital Presentation Tools
      • 4th Grade Digital Exemplars
      • 5th Grade Digital Exemplars
      • SPARK Student Website Design
      • NEW GOOGLE SITES! Tutorial
    • Mindsets Moments
  • Breakout EDU
    • Breakout EDU Coaching
    • Breakout EDU Codes and Ciphers
    • Breakout EDU Timers
  • e-Reading
  • Extra Time
    • SC MESAS Contest
    • Healthy Soils Poster Contest
    • Poetry Contest: Young Minds Dreaming
    • Actors and Actresses >
      • People Smart: Multiple Intelligences
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      • Recitations and Readers' Theater
    • Artists >
      • Art & Images
      • Amazing Artists: Multiple Intelligences
    • Authors at Play >
      • Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence
      • The Art of Cursive Handwriting
      • Kids in Print (Jan 10-11)
      • Letters About Literature (Jan 3-4)
      • Narrative Writing Challenges
      • Paragraph of the Week
      • Poetry
    • Go >
      • Go--Math is Fun
      • Go Puzzles
      • Go Strategies and Tactics
      • Go in Art and Film
      • American Go Foundation
    • Chess >
      • Chess Advice for New Players
      • ChessKid.com
      • Chess.com
      • Chess: The Scholar's Mate
      • Chess in Art and Film
      • Chess Puzzles and Mathematics >
        • Chess: A Difference of Opinions
      • ​A Chess Novice Challenged Magnus Carlsen
      • The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played >
        • Rook on 7th Rank: Capablanca-Tartakower, ​New York 1924
        • The King Is a Strong Piece: Tal – Lissitzin, Leningrad 1956
        • Knight in Center: Boleslavsky – Lissitzin, Moscow 1956
        • Aggressive Rook in the Ending Tarrasch – Thorold, Manchester 1890
        • Passed Pawn: Akiba Rubinstein vs Oldrich Duras Vienna 1908
        • Mighty Knights: Mattison – Nimzovich, Carlsbad 1929
        • Finesse Ending: Rafael Domenech vs Salomon Flohr B44 Sicilian Taimanov Rosas 1935
        • Pawn Phalanx: Tigran V Petrosian vs Kozali Montevideo 1954
        • Passed Pawns: Fischer-Berliner 1960
        • Rook and Pawn Ending: Smyslov – Reshevsky, Moscow 1948
        • King in the Center: Tartakover-Frentz, Paris 1933
        • Shifting Attacks: Reshevsky-Najdorf, Dallas, 1957
    • Computer Coding, Gaming, and Making >
      • botLogic
      • Code.org
      • Game Design and Makers
      • Logic and Brain Games: Multiple Intelligences
      • SCRATCH
      • Snapp
      • Stencyl
    • GeoBee and GeoGuessr
    • Kinesthetics: Sports and Activity
    • Music >
      • Music Library
      • Music Smart: Multiple Intelligences
    • Renzulli Learning Guidelines
    • Renzulli Learning Online
    • Self-Paced Math Review >
      • Khan Academy (Self=Paced Math Skills and More)
      • The Beauty of Mathematics
      • Coordinate Grids, Geometric Forms
      • Data and Graphing
      • Decimals and Percents
      • Division
      • Exponents and Scientific Notation
      • Fraction Operations
      • Geometric Forms
      • Greg Tang Math
      • Measurement and Scale
      • Multiplication
      • Pi!
      • Nature Smart: Multiple Intelligences
      • Right Triangles and Pythagoras
    • Mensa Kids
    • Reflect and Recharge
    • World Languages >
      • Duolingo