As White

Early Queen Attack (Scholar's Mate)

The Early Queen Attack (Scholar's Mate) is a chess opening for White that starts with 1.e4 e5 2.Qh5.

Hugely popular at very low ratings. It goes for checkmate in 4 moves.

Reviewed on November 6, 2026 · Prepared by Josep Serrano Ballestero

Basic · Elo Under 400

Train this level

  1. Deadly mate · 3...Nf6

    1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Qxf7#

  2. Deadly mate · 4...Bc5

    1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nh6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxh6 gxh6 6.Qxf7#

  3. Deadly mate · 4...d6

    1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nh6 4.d3 d6 5.Bxh6 gxh6 6.Qxf7#

  4. Opponent's mistake · 2...g6

    1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 g6 3.Qxe5+ Be7 4.Qxh8

  5. Opponent's mistake · 6...d6

    1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nc6 3.Bc4 g6 4.Qf3 Nf6 5.Ne2 Bc5 6.d3 d6 7.Bg5 Bg4 8.Qxf6 Qxf6 9.Bxf6

  6. Opponent's mistake · 6...Nd4

    1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nc6 3.Bc4 g6 4.Qf3 Nf6 5.Ne2 Bc5 6.d3 Nd4 7.Nxd4 Bxd4 8.Bg5 O-O 9.Bxf6 Qe8 10.Bg5

  7. Wayward Queen Attack, Kiddie Countergambit · 5.d3 d5

    1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nf6 3.Qxe5+ Qe7 4.Qxe7+ Bxe7 5.d3 d5 6.e5

  8. Wayward Queen Attack, Kiddie Countergambit · 5.d3 O-O

    1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nf6 3.Qxe5+ Qe7 4.Qxe7+ Bxe7 5.d3 O-O 6.Nc3

  9. Wayward Queen Attack, Kiddie Countergambit · 4.d3 d6

    1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nf6 3.Qxe5+ Be7 4.d3 d6 5.Qg3 O-O 6.Be2 Nc6 7.Bh6

  10. Wayward Queen Attack, Kiddie Countergambit · 4.d3 O-O

    1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nf6 3.Qxe5+ Be7 4.d3 O-O 5.Be2 d6 6.Qg3

  11. 5.Ne2 Bg7

    1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nc6 3.Bc4 g6 4.Qf3 Nf6 5.Ne2 Bg7 6.d3 O-O 7.Nbc3 d6 8.a3

  12. 5.Ne2 Bc5

    1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nc6 3.Bc4 g6 4.Qf3 Nf6 5.Ne2 Bc5 6.d3

Intermediate · Elo 400 – 600

Train this level

  1. Deadly mate · 3...Nf6

    1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Qxf7#

  2. Wayward Queen Attack, Kiddie Countergambit · 3.Qxe5+ Qe7

    1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nf6 3.Qxe5+ Qe7 4.Qxe7+ Bxe7 5.d3 O-O 6.Nc3 Nc6 7.a3

  3. Wayward Queen Attack, Kiddie Countergambit · 4.d3 d6

    1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nf6 3.Qxe5+ Be7 4.d3 d6 5.Qg3 O-O 6.Be2 Nc6 7.Bh6

  4. Wayward Queen Attack, Kiddie Countergambit · 4.d3 O-O

    1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nf6 3.Qxe5+ Be7 4.d3 O-O 5.Be2 Re8 6.Qg3 Bd6 7.f4

  5. 3.Bc4 Qf6

    1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nc6 3.Bc4 Qf6 4.Nf3 d6 5.Nc3 Be6 6.Nd5 Bxd5 7.exd5

  6. 7.Nbc3 d6

    1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nc6 3.Bc4 g6 4.Qf3 Nf6 5.Ne2 Bg7 6.d3 O-O 7.Nbc3 d6 8.a3 Bg4 9.Qg3 Qd7 10.Qh4

  7. 7.Nbc3 a6

    1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nc6 3.Bc4 g6 4.Qf3 Nf6 5.Ne2 Bg7 6.d3 O-O 7.Nbc3 a6 8.h4 b5 9.Nd5

  8. 2.Qh5 d6

    1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 d6 3.Bc4 Qe7 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.Qf3 Bg4 6.Qg3

  9. 5.Ne2 d6

    1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nc6 3.Bc4 g6 4.Qf3 Nf6 5.Ne2 d6 6.h3 Bg7 7.d3

Frequently asked questions

Is the Early Queen Attack (Scholar's Mate) good for beginners?

Yes. On OpeningCraft you learn it in these levels: Basic (Elo under 400), Intermediate (Elo 400 – 600). It suits players who like attacks, gambits and open positions.

What traps are there in the Early Queen Attack (Scholar's Mate)?

OpeningCraft teaches 6 traps and opponent mistakes in this opening, for example: Deadly mate (3...Nf6); Deadly mate (4...Bc5); Deadly mate (4...d6).

How many lines of the Early Queen Attack (Scholar's Mate) do you need to learn?

OpeningCraft teaches 19, in blocks of 5. They come from real Lichess games at each rating band, and the traps and opponent mistakes most common at your level come first.

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