Schäfermatt
The Schäfermatt , Schustermatt or Schäferzug is a classic matt motif in the opening phase of a game of chess .
designation
The shepherd's mat, often also referred to as the shepherd's train, is called in English school mate ("scholar's mate") and in Russian child mate ("Детский мат"). The nickname "Schäfermatt", which is supposed to express the quick surprise of a beginner, comes from the French: Coup du berger ("Schäferzug"). A short film by French director Jacques Rivette made in 1956 alludes to the concept of chess in the title Le coup du berger .
The matte motif
In Schäfermatt, a white queen mates on f7. It is covered by a bishop on c4. In this way White takes advantage of the weakness of the f7 pawn , which in the basic position is only defended by the black king . If White leaves the initiative to the opponent , Black can for his part aim for a shepherd mate by attacking point f2 with the queen and bishop (from c5).
Game example
The classic move sequence is 1. e2 – e4 e7 – e5 2. Qd1 – h5 (attacks the e5 pawn) 2.… Nb8 – c6 (covers the pawn) 3. Bf1 – c4. If Black now makes a “normal” move with 3.… Ng8 – f6 that develops a piece and attacks the queen, he is checkmated with 4. Qh5xf7. If, on the other hand, Black plays 3.… g7 – g6, he has nothing to fear. It would also be a serious mistake to play 2.… g7 – g6 in the second move, as White could then win a rook with 3. Qh5xe5 + followed by 4. Qe5xh8.
Meaning in practice
The shepherd mate is an opening trap that is often used in chess literature as an example of a quick mate attack. It is the shortest possible mate after the fool's mate and 1. e4 e5 2. Qh5 Ke7 3. Qxe5 # as well as the shortest sequence of moves that can lead to a loss if you make “classic” opening moves without paying attention to the opponent's threats . If, on the other hand, the opponent fends off the threat, the player who tries to checkmate has no particular advantages from his early queen move, but development disadvantages, since Black can now take the initiative. The early ladies outing turns out to be a waste of time. After 1. e2 – e4 e7 – e5, the move 2. Qd1 – h5 ( Parham's attack ) is therefore rarely played.
literature
- László Orbán: Chess for Beginners . 3. Edition. Humboldt, Baden-Baden 2007, ISBN 3-89994-821-1 , chapter “Das Schäfermatt”, pp. 252–271.
Individual evidence
- ↑ László Orbán: Chess for Beginners . P. 252; Friedrich Wilhelm von Mauvillon: Instructions for learning to play chess , Essen 1827, p. 16