Scholar's Mate (the 4-move mate)
Scholar's mate is the classic beginner trap: White aims the queen and bishop at the f7 square — the weakest point in Black's camp — and mates in four moves if Black is not careful.
After 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Qh5 Nf6?? 4.Qxf7# — the queen, defended by the bishop, mates on f7.
How it works
The f7 pawn is defended only by the king at the start of the game. By pointing both the bishop (on c4) and the queen (to h5 or f3) at it, White threatens Qxf7#.
How to defend as Black
Meet Qh5 with ...g6 (hitting the queen), then develop with ...Nf6. Never leave f7 defended by the king alone. Knowing this pattern neutralises the trap completely.
Practice this pattern
Real positions where a scholar's mate (the 4-move mate) wins — tap a puzzle to solve it, or train the theme endlessly.