Fool's mate
The fastest checkmate possible - two moves, exploiting a badly weakened king diagonal.
Fool's mate is the quickest checkmate in chess, requiring only two moves: 1.f3 e5 2.g4?? Qh4#. Black's queen races to h4 and the white king has no escape, because the f3 and g4 pawn moves have stripped away every defensive square on the critical diagonal.
This exact sequence almost never occurs above beginner level because no experienced player pushes both the f- and g-pawns early, but the principle is universal: advancing pawns in front of an uncastled king without a clear plan creates diagonal weaknesses that a queen can exploit immediately. Whenever you see f3 and g4 played together, look for a queen check on the h4-e1 diagonal.
Qh4# - Fool's mate in two moves
Black's queen on h4 delivers checkmate. The white king on e1 cannot escape: d2 is blocked by its own pawn, f2 is covered by the queen, and e2 is also covered by the queen. The g4 and f3 pawn moves opened the h4-e1 diagonal, creating a fatal weakness on move one.
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