what is the fewest number of moves to win a game of chess?

Answer 1

The fewest moves to win is 2. This is called fools mate.

A similar quick ending is the Scholars mate which ends in 4 moves.

Answer 2

The fewest number of moves necessary for a checkmate is 2, which several other people have answered correctly. However, there have been several 'wins' at chess with zero moves. The most famous is probably Game 2 of the 1972 World Championship match between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky. Fischer lost Game 2 in zero moves, when he refused to play over a dispute in playing conditions. Game 2 consisted of Spassky activating Fischer's clock. Fischer did not show up for the game. Fischer's time expired resulting in his famous zero move loss to Spassky.

Answer 3

TWO moves. Baring in mind that this means 1 for each player.

It goes 1 f4 (or f3) e5 (e6) 2 g4 Qh4#

Fool's mate is given to this type of mate in the first few moves. Scholar's mate is much more often seen in games between players and is usually won in 4 moves.

1 e4 e5 2 Bc4 Nc3 3 Qh5 Nf6 4 Qxf7# Obviously black can make other moves but if they interfere with the conclusion it wont be scholars mate anymore. The secret is the f7 square which at the beginning is only defended by the king.

Answer 4

4

Answer 5

6

Answer 6

Fool's mate is the quickest possible checkmate in the game of chess. It consists of the moves (in algebraic notation)

1.f3 e5
2.g4 Qh4#
leading to the position shown. There are a few slight variations on the pattern — White might play f4 instead of f3 or move the g-pawn before the f-pawn, and Black may play e6 instead of e5.

Even among rank beginners, the mate almost never occurs in practice, but is notable as being the shortest possible game ending in checkmate. Shorter games have occurred in the professional world when a player resigns, agrees to a draw, or forfeits due to not showing up.

More generally, the term fool's mate is applied to all similar mates early in the game; for example, 1.e4 g5 2.Nc3 f6 3.Qh5# - the pattern of the simplest fool's mate is maintained: black advances his f and g-pawns, allowing a queen mate along the unblocked diagonal. One such fool's mate is widely reported to have occurred in a possibly apocryphal 1959 game between Masefield (or Mayfield, depending on the source consulted) and Trinka (or Trinks or Trent) which lasted just three moves: 1.e4 g5 2.Nc3 f5 3.Qh5# (variants on these moves also exist; see numbers 3295, 4493 and 4506 in Edward Winter's Chess Notes[1]).

The same basic mating pattern may also occur later in the game. There is, for instance, a well-known trap in the Dutch Defence which occurred in 1896 between Frank Melville Teed and Eugene Delmar that runs 1.d4 f5 2.Bg5 h6 3.Bf4 g5 4.Bg3 f4; it seems that Black has won the bishop, but now comes 5.e3 (threatening Qh5#, the basic Fool's mate idea) 5...h5 6.Bd3?! (6.Be2 is probably better, but this move sets a trap) 6...Rh6? (defending against Bg6#, but...) 7.Qxh5+! Rxh5 8.Bg6#.

Even more generally, the term "Fool's mate" is used in chess variants for the shortest possible mate, especially those which bear a resemblance to the orthodox chess fool's mate. Fool's mate in progressive chess, for example, is 1.e4 2.f6 g5 3.Qh5#.

Answer 7

It's called Fools Mate. It consists of 3 moves from each player, totaling 6 moves.

Answer 8

2 moves

Answer 9

The fewest I have ever heard of is three moves for you two moves for the opponent and they must do just the right moves to fall into this trap.

Answer 10

In a real game, your opponent can lose with only 2 moves. It is a sabatage play, but it techically exhists. To win, you have to be black. Here are the moves:

1. WH, F2:F4 : BL, E7:E5
2. WH, G2:G4 : BL, D8:H4 CHECKMATE BLACK!

Don't believe me? Break out the chess board and test it. This is the fastest legitimate checkmate possible.