Scholars mate : where does the name originate from?

[John Upham]

Whilst adding explanations for the 1000+ odd questions in the CoM database (something to do for today at least!) it occurred to me that I did not know the origins of the term Scholar's mate for 1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Qxf7#

Wikipedia informs me :

"In some areas, including France, Turkey, Germany, and the Netherlands, as well as Spain, Portugal, and Latin America, scholar's mate is known as shepherd's mate. In Italy it is known as barber's mate, in Iran, Greece and most of the Arab world as Napoleon's Plan, in Russia as children's mate and in Poland (where fool's mate is known as scholar's mate), Denmark, Hungary, Slovenia, and Israel as shoemaker's mate. In Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark, it is known as school mate. It has also occasionally been given other names in English-speaking countries, such as schoolboy's mate and Blitzkrieg; German for "lightning war", meaning a very short and very quick engagement (Kidder 1960)."

Anyone able to help me out with an explanation?

[Richard James]

Hooper & Whyld quote Arthur Saul (The Famous Game of Chesse-play (1614)): "it is a scholler's mate, but there is no man of judgement in Chesse-play will take such a mate; it may be called also a treacherous mate; for otherwise it were unpossible a King should be delivered into the hands of his enemyes, without the loss of some men, unlesse the ... Kings power would make sleepe a defence for treason, and so suffer their King to be taken before they would take any knowledge thereof."

[Michael Jones]

If one takes "scholar" to mean a school pupil rather than anyone at a higher level of academic study, I can guess where it might come from!

[Gavin Strachan]

I think if it had only just been discovered recently then it would probably be called dipsticks mate (if u were being polite). I read in schiller (sic) book a game on unusual openings I think and if memory serves correct someone tried to do it v Kasparov in a simul and got a draw.