Scotch Game

The idea

After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4, White has a knight in the center and an open game. Black's main answers are 4...Bc5, the Classical, which hits the knight on d4, and 4...Nf6, which attacks e4. In the second line White often plays Nxc6 followed by e5, chasing Black's knight and gaining space.

The plans are clear. White develops fast, castles, and uses the half-open lines and the extra space in the center. Black aims for active pieces and a ...d5 break to free the game. Gambit versions exist too: 4.Bc4 or 4.c3 offer a pawn for a lead in development.

Open and direct. The Scotch gives less room for long maneuvering than the Ruy Lopez and leads to clear, tactical positions early. It takes its name from a correspondence match between Edinburgh and London in the 1820s, and it came back into top-level fashion in the 1990s.

Players who want an active 1.e4 e5 system with less theory than the Ruy Lopez and fewer slow positions than the Italian.

After 4...Bc5, look after your knight on d4: Black's queen can come to f6 and gang up on it with the bishop. Be3 and c3 are the usual guards.

The main line, move by move

1. 1.e4 · White puts a pawn in the center and frees the queen and the bishop on f1. It is the most popular first move of all.
2. 1...e5 · Black claims an equal share of the center and opens lines for the queen and the bishop on f8.
3. 2.Nf3 · The knight develops toward the center and attacks the pawn on e5 right away, so Black must defend it.
4. 2...Nc6 · Black guards e5 with the knight and develops a piece at the same time. It is the most natural reply.
5. 3.d4 · White hits e5 with a pawn at once and opens the center. This is the Scotch Game, which aims for free, active piece play.
6. 3...exd4 · Black takes the pawn rather than guard e5 with ...d6, which would leave Black's pieces cramped. The center is open now, and White must decide how and when to win back the pawn on d4.
7. 4.Nxd4 · White wins the pawn back with the knight, which stands well in the center. White now has more space and an easy game to develop.
8. 4...Bc5 · Black develops the bishop with a threat: it attacks the knight on d4, which only the queen guards. White usually answers with Be3, Nb3 or Nxc6.

Next moves in book

• 3...Nxd4 · Lolli Variation
• 3...exd4 · Scotch Game

Related openings

• Ruy Lopez C60–C99 · 200 named lines
• Italian Game C50–C59 · 156 named lines
• Four Knights Game C47–C50 · 40 named lines
• Petrov's Defense C42–C43 · 43 named lines