First thing first, what do you mean by white building tempo???
Anyway, i don't think it really matters, use scholar's mate if you can but two things:
1) Only a real amateur will fall for this
2)If you only care about using this against players of ur level, i don't see how u will improve
Nice idea to play against beginners as they are not likely to know about that trap, but it dont work against anyone who has either been cought with it and learned from it or has already been tought it, and anyone of course who has understood some fundementals in chess properly...
Sometimes i have used it against a new player i havnt met and hasnt got a rating to indicate how good they really are to test there skill. I normaly use the bishop first before queen so i dont take any really stupid risks....
Don't forget the scholars mate kind of fails once the f3/f6 knight comes out, since it guards all possible approach squares to f2/f7. except for really screwy openings, no one is going to fall for that.
an solving tactical puzzles help stengthen your tactics
great i idea to use against the newbies
Scholar's Mate is exactly that - for scholars. In other words, It is part of the learning process.
Once you have learned how to NOT fall into the trap, your next step is to figure out how your opponent will react if you try it.
It is a sort of reverse psychology, but once you have realised that no serious player will ever use it or fall for it, THAT is the time when you need to day to yourself "Hey! I need another way to win!"
This philosophy is what drives you to "move" your pieces!
Dr Akiko Ito CERN
If white's building tempo, can black use the Scholar's Mate?