- The moves1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4
- Chosen byWhite
- ECOC44–C45
The Scotch Game comes after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4. Instead of putting pressure on e5 as in the Ruy Lopez and the Italian Game, White opens the center at once. Black almost always takes with 3…exd4, and after 4.Nxd4 White has a free position with a knight in the center.
The opening was first mentioned by the Italian Ercole del Rio in 1750. The name comes from a correspondence match between Edinburgh and London in 1824. The Scotch was common in the 1800s but went out of fashion around 1900, because White was thought to release the tension in the center too early. At the end of the 1900s Garry Kasparov brought the opening back to life, for example in his 1990 world championship match against Anatoly Karpov.
The main line, move by move
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nxc6 bxc6 6. e5 Qe7 7. Qe2 Nd5 8. c4 Ba6
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The ideas
White wants to
- Open the center early and give the pieces free play.
- Trade on c6 and exploit Black's doubled pawns in the endgame.
- Avoid the deeply analyzed main lines of the Ruy Lopez.
Black wants to
- Develop with tempo against the knight on d4: 4…Bc5 or 4…Nf6.
- Use the half-open b-file when White trades on c6.
- Strike back with d5 to get a share of the center.
Important variations
Classical Variation: 4…Bc5
Black attacks the knight on d4 with the bishop. After 5.Be3 Qf6 Black presses on d4 and f2, and White supports the knight with c3. A common answer to 7.Bc4 is 7…Ne5, with tempo against the bishop.
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Bc5 5. Be3 Qf6 6. c3 Nge7 7. Bc4 Ne5 8. Be2
Scotch Four Knights: 4…Nf6 5.Nc3
White develops instead of trading at once. After 5…Bb4 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.Bd3 d5 both sides get free play for their pieces.
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Bb4 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bd3 d5 8. exd5 cxd5 9. O-O O-O 10. Bg5 c6
Göring Gambit: 4.c3
White sacrifices a pawn, sometimes two, for quick development, with the same ideas as in the Danish Gambit. Black can accept or decline, for example with 4…d5.
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. c3 dxc3 5. Nxc3
The trap: mate on f2 in eight moves
This isn't a classic trap with a name of its own but a real game: Surya Shekhar Ganguly against Mukhiddin Madaminov at the 2023 World Rapid Championship. Black aims the queen and bishop at f2, the same pattern as in Scholar's Mate but with colors reversed, and White doesn't see it in time. The lesson holds at every level: as long as the king stays in the middle, f2 and f7 are the most vulnerable squares.
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Qf6 5. Nf3 Bb4+ 6. c3 Bc5 7. Bd3 Ne5 8. Nxe5 Qxf2#
8… Qxf2#
Mate. The queen is protected by the bishop on c5, and the king has nowhere to go.
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How it goes in real games
How the games ended once the position had come up on the board, in blitz, rapid and classical games. White wins, draws and Black wins, as a percentage of the games.
| Position | Level | Games | White wins | Draw | Black wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scotch Game 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 | Club players | 43,789,003 | 52% | 5% | 43% |
| Beginners | 49,078,841 | 53% | 4% | 42% | |
| Scotch Game, main line 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nxc6 bxc6 6. e5 Qe7 7. Qe2 Nd5 8. c4 Ba6 | Club players | 154,080 | 45% | 7% | 48% |
| Beginners | 5,975 | 38% | 5% | 57% | |
| Classical Variation: 4…Bc5 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Bc5 5. Be3 Qf6 6. c3 Nge7 7. Bc4 Ne5 8. Be2 | Club players | 51,977 | 50% | 5% | 45% |
| Beginners | 2,304 | 49% | 5% | 47% | |
| Scotch Four Knights: 4…Nf6 5.Nc3 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Bb4 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bd3 d5 8. exd5 cxd5 9. O-O O-O 10. Bg5 c6 | Club players | 223,608 | 45% | 11% | 44% |
| Beginners | 4,358 | 39% | 6% | 54% |
The most common continuations after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4
Club players, share of the games in the position.
- 3…exd4 86% (37,865,648 games)
- 3…d6 5% (2,267,855 games)
- 3…Nf6 2% (991,516 games)
- 3…Nxd4 1% (543,558 games)
- 3…d5 1% (424,244 games)
Source: games on Lichess, fetched October 28, 2026. Club players means games where the players average 1600 or more, beginners games where they average 1000–1599.
Is this opening for you?
The Scotch suits players who play 1.e4 and want an open game without having to learn the huge body of Ruy Lopez theory. The ideas are concrete and easy to understand: the center opens, the pieces come out, and Black's doubled pawns give White something to play for.
For Black it is instructive to face: you learn to develop with tempo and to keep an eye on the weak squares f2 and f7.
Practice the main line
Choose a color and one of the house players. Your opponent follows the main line, and you try to find your moves. If you play something else, you'll see the main line's move, but the game goes on. When the main line ends, you play freely.
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The main line with all the comments as text
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 The Scotch move. White attacks e5 once more and opens lines. 3… exd4 Black has no good way to hold the pawn on e5 and trades. 4. Nxd4 White takes back and has a knight in the center and a pawn on e4. 4… Nf6 Black attacks e4 at once. The other main move is 4…Bc5. 5. Nxc6 White trades knights and gives Black doubled pawns on the c-file. 5… bxc6 Black takes toward the center. The doubled pawn is a long-term weakness, but the b-file opens for the rook. 6. e5 The Mieses Variation, after Jacques Mieses, who played it several times at Hastings in 1895. The pawn chases the knight. 6… Qe7 The queen attacks the pawn and pins it to the king at the same time: 7.exf6 is illegal, because the king would then be in check. 7. Qe2 White protects the pawn and breaks the pin. 7… Nd5 The knight finds a fine square in the center. 8. c4 The knight is chased again. 8… Ba6 Black protects the knight indirectly: the bishop pins the pawn on c4 to the queen on e2. The other main move is 8…Nb6. Many consider this line the sharpest test of the Scotch, and Kasparov has played it many times.
More openings
Italian Game
The bishop to c4 aims at f7. Classical, logical and perfect to learn first.
Ruy Lopez
The bishop to b5 presses on e5 from a distance. The masters' favorite since the 1800s.
Petrov's Defense
Black strikes back at e4 instead of protecting e5. A solid choice that several world champions have trusted.
Evans Gambit
White sacrifices the b-pawn for tempo and the center. Romantic chess from the 1800s.
Every move on this page has been checked against the rules of chess.
Updated November 6, 2026
3. d4
The Scotch move. White attacks e5 once more and opens lines.