How To Crush the Scholars Mate
@AlbusDumbledore6 explained how to defend against the Scholar's Mate. Although he got most of the key points, the explanation isn't as clear cut as it can be.
The Scholar's Mate is a checkmate achieved by combining the bishop and the queen in a simple attack against the enemy king. The Scholar's Mate starts when white plays Qh5, or the Wayward Queen Attack.
After Black defends the pawn with the natural Nc6, White then decided to get his bishop in the game and threaten a simple checkmate.
Only an absolute beginner would play Nf6, which develops a piece at the cost of checkmate. Instead, Black should play g6, protecting checkmate and forcing the white queen to move.
White's queen is forced to move to f3. All other move lose to a basic tactic.
After Qf3, White's best move is the simple Nf6, which protects the checkmate on f7.
A frustrated beginner would play Qb3, threatening to take the pawn on f7. However, this move is a horrible blunder that loses the game. By playing Qb3, White's queen and bishop are on the same diagonal. By moving the Queen off the a2-f7 diagonal, Black would win a bishop. That is why Black plays Nd4.
If White gets greedy and takes the pawn on f7, Black would then play Ke7, and white is forced to move his queen to c4. After b5, the white queen is forced off the a2-f7 diagonal, and Black should win the game.
White's best move is to play Qd3 after Nd4. However, this still loses the game after d5.
Key Takeaways
White lost because he carelessly moved his queen and bishop in the hopes of checkmate. Black then protected the checkmate threat and then attacked the queen at the right time, losing the game for white. White would be much better off following opening principals like developing your pieces and controlling the center. White could have also played c3 instead of Qb3, preventing Nd4.