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ScotchGame
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

TheScotchGame,orScotchOpening,isachess
openingthatbeginswiththemoves:
1.e4e5
2.Nf3Nc6
3.d4

ScotchGame
a

ErcoledelRio,inhis1750treatiseSoprailgiuocodegli
Scacchi,OsservazionipratichedanonimoAutore
Modenese("OnthegameofChess,practical
ObservationsbyananonymousModeneseAuthor"),was
thefirstauthortomentionwhatisnowcalledtheScotch
Game.[1]Theopeningreceiveditsnamefroma
correspondencematchin1824betweenEdinburghand
London.Popularinthe19thcentury,by1900theScotch
hadlostfavouramongtopplayersbecauseitwasthought
toreleasethecentraltensiontooearlyandallowBlackto
equalisewithoutdifficulty.Morerecently,grandmasters
GarryKasparovandJanTimmanhelpedtorepopularize
theScotchwhentheyuseditasasurpriseweaponto
avoidthewellanalysedRuyLopez.

1
a

Moves

1.e4e52.Nf3Nc63.d4

ECO

C44C45

Origin

1750

Namedafter

Scotland

Parent

OpenGame

Contents
1 Analysis
2 Mainvariations
2.1 Mainline:4.Nxd4
2.1.1 ClassicalVariation:4...Bc5
2.1.2 SchmidtVariation:4...Nf6
2.1.3 SteinitzVariation:4...Qh4!?
2.2 ScotchGambit:4.Bc4
2.3 GringGambit:4.c3
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2.3.1 4...d5
2.3.2 Otherwaysofdeclining
2.3.3 Onepawngambit:4...dxc35.Nxc3
2.3.4 Doublepawngambit:4...dxc35.Bc4
3 Seealso
4 References
5 Furtherreading
6 Externallinks

Analysis
WhiteaimstodominatethecentrebyexchanginghisdpawnforBlack'sepawn.Blackusuallyplays
3...exd4,ashehasnogoodwaytomaintainhispawnone5(thissamepositioncanbereachedby
transpositionfromtheCentreGame1.e4e52.d4exd43.Nf3Nc6).After3...d6,Whiteisbetterafter4.dxe5
dxe55.Qxd8+Kxd86.Bc4,orhemaysimplyplay4.Bb5,when4...exd45.Nxd4Bd7transposestothe
SteinitzDefenseintheRuyLopez.
3...Nxd4ispossible,thoughrarelyplayedtodaybystrongplayers.Itwaspopularinthe19thcentury,and
receivesfivecolumnsofanalysisinFreeboroughandRanken'sopeningmanualChessOpeningsAncient
andModern(3rded.1896p.53).Itisoftendescribedtodayasastrategicerror,sinceafter4.Nxd4exd4
5.Qxd4(5.Bc4istheNapoleonGambit)White'squeenstandsonacentralsquare,andisnotdevelopedtoo
earlysinceitcannotbechasedawayveryeffectively(5...c5?isaseriouslyweakeningmovethatblocks
Black'sking'sbishop).Nonetheless,theEncyclopaediaofChessOpenings(volume3,3rdedition1997,
p.251n.28,referringtop.252line1)concludesthatBlackequaliseswith5...Ne76.Bc4Nc67.Qd5Qf6
8.00Ne59.Be2c610.Qb3Ng611.f4Bc5+12.Kh1d6.Similarly,HaraldKeilhackconcludesinKnighton
theLeft:1.Nc3(p.21)thatalthough...Nxd4isa"nonline"thesedays,ifBlackcontinuesperfectlyitisnot
clearthatWhitegetsevenasmalladvantage.Keilhackanalyses5.Qxd4d66.Nc3Nf67.Bc4Be78.0000
9.Bg5c610.a4Qa511.Bh4andnowafter11...Qe5or11...Be6,"Whitehasatmostthisindescribable
nothingnesswhichistheadvantageofthefirstmove."(Id.p.25)TheEncyclopaediaofChessOpenings
alsoconcludesthatBlackequalisesafterthealternative4.Nxe5Ne65.Bc4Nf66.Nc3Be77.00008.Be3
d68.Nd3Nxe410.Nxe4d5(p.251n.28).
Aftertheusual3...exd4,Whitecanrespondwiththemainline4.Nxd4orcanplayagambitbyoffering
Blackoneortwopawnsinexchangeforrapiddevelopment.

Mainvariations
After1.e4e52.Nf3Nc63.d4exd4,themostimportantcontinuationsare:
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4.Nxd4(Mainline)
4...Bc5(ClassicalVariation)
4...Nf6(SchmidtVariation)
4...Qh4!?(SteinitzVariation)
4...Qf6
4...Nxd4?!
4...Bb4+?!
4.Bc4(ScotchGambit)
4.c3(GringGambit)
4.Bb5

Mainline:4.Nxd4
Inthemainlineafter4.Nxd4,Blackhastwomajoroptions.Either
4...Bc5or4...Nf6offersBlackgoodchancesforanequalgame.
ClassicalVariation:4...Bc5

5
After4...Bc5Whitehas5.Nxc6,5.Be3,or5.Nb3.After5.Nxc6play
almostalwayscontinues5...Qf6(Blackdoesnotloseapieceonc6
4
becauseheisthreateningmatewith6...Qxf2)6.Qd2dxc67.Nc3.On
3
5.Be3playalmostalwayscontinues5...Qf66.c3Nge77.Bc4(as
2
proposedbyIMGaryLaneinWinningwiththeScotch){many
1
seventhmovealternativesforwhitearepossiblehere.7.g3for
a b c d e f g h
example}00{7...Ne5ismoreoftenplayedthancastlesafter7.Bc4.
Mainline(4.Nxd4)
Playusuallycontinues8.Be2Qg6(although8...d5isalsopossible)
9.00Here,blackhastheoptionoftakingtheunprotectedpawnone4
butitisconsidered"poisoned"}[2]8.00Bb6wherethepositionisroughlyequal.On5.Nb3playalmost
alwayscontinues5...Bb66.a4a67.Nc3.AnotherplanforWhiteistoplay6.Nc3,followedby(insome
order)Qe2,Be3,h4andcastlinglong.

5
4
3
2
1

SchmidtVariation:4...Nf6
After4...Nf6Whitehas5.Nxc6(theMiesesVariation)or5.Nc3(theScotchFourKnightsGame).After
5.Nc3almostalwaysplayedis5...Bb46.Nxc6bxc67.Bd3d58.exd5cxd59.000010.Bg5c6.After
5.Nxc6bxc66.e5Qe77.Qe2Nd58.c4isalsoverycommon.Wherethesemainlinesend,thefirstreal
openingdecisionsaremade,whicharetoospecificforthissurvey.
SteinitzVariation:4...Qh4!?
Steinitz's4...Qh4!?almostwinsapawnbyforce,butWhitegetsaleadindevelopmentandattacking
chancesascompensation.Asof2005,White'smostsuccessfullinehasbeen5.Nc3Bb46.Be2Qxe47.Nb5
Bxc3+8.bxc3Kd89.00,whenBlack'sawkwardlyplacedkinghasgenerallyprovenmoresignificantthan
hisextrapawn.

ScotchGambit:4.Bc4
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Insteadof4.Nxd4,Whitehastwowaystoofferagambit.TheScotch
Gambit(whichisthelinerecommendedbyGMLevAlburtinhis
bookChessOpeningsforWhite,Explained)startswith4.Bc4.Black
cantransposeintotheTwoKnightsDefensewith4...Nf6orhecan
continuetheScotchwith4...Bc55.c3andnow5...Nf6willtranspose
intoasafevariationoftheGiuocoPiano.Blackcaninsteadacceptthe
gambitwith5...dxc3butthisisriskierbecauseWhitewillgainalead
indevelopment.Apossiblecontinuationis6.Nxc3(themain
alternative,favouredbyGrandmasterSveshnikov,is6.Bxf7+Kxf7
7.Qd5+followedby8.Qxc5)6...d67.Bg5(7.Qb3isdubiousas
7...Qd78Nd5Nge79Qc3001000Nxd5!11exd5Ne512Nxe5
dxe513.Qxe5Bd6isgoodforBlack,but7.00mayalsobegood)
7...Nge78.00009.Nd5.

1
a

ScotchGambit(4.Bc4)

GringGambit:4.c3
TheGringGambitisarelativeoftheDanishGambitthatstartswith
a b c d e f g h
4.c3.Whitesacrificesoneortwopawnsinreturnforaleadin
8
8
development,andtypicallyfollowsupbyputtingpressureonf7with
7
7
Bc4,Qb3andsometimesNg5,whileNc3d5isanothercommon
6
6
motif.TheOxfordCompaniontoChessnotesthatthegambitwas
firstplayedathighlevelsbyHowardStauntoninthe1840s,andthe
5
5
[3]
earliestgamewithitwasprobablyplayedin1843. Thefirstgame
4
4
withthegambitacceptedmaybeMeekvsMorphy,NewYork
3
3
[4]
1857. CarlTheodorGringintroduceditintomasterplayin1872,
2
2
butwhileGring'snameismostoftenassociatedwiththeonepawn
1
1
gambit(5.Nxc3)Gringinvariablyusedthedoublepawngambit
a b c d e f g h
with5.Bc4.ThegambithasbeenplayedbyLjubomirLjubojevi,
GringGambit(4.c3)
DavidBronstein,FrankMarshall,andJonathanPenrose.Incasual
gamesAlexanderAlekhineoftentransposedtoitviathemoveorder
1.e4e52.d4exd43.c3dxc34.Nxc3,when...Nc6forBlackandNf3forWhiteoftenfollowed.Ingeneral,
theopeningisunpopularatmasterlevelbutismorepopularatclublevel.Itisrecommendedtostudythe
GringGambitinconnectionwiththeDanish.
4...d5
BlackcanequalisebytransposingtotheDanishdeclinedwith4...d5,whenthecriticallineruns5.exd5
Qxd56.cxd4Bg47.Be2Bb4+8.Nc3Bxf39.Bxf3Qc4(or6...Bb4+7.Nc3Bg48.Be2Bxf39.Bxf3Qc4,
leadingtothesameposition),oftenreferredtoastheCapablancaVariationinviewofthestrengthof
Black'sconceptinthegameMarshallCapablanca,LakeHopatcong1926.[5]Thisline(whichcanalsoarise
fromtheChigorinDefensetotheQueen'sGambit),[6]forcingWhitetoeitherexchangequeensorforgothe
righttocastlewiththerisky10.Be3,detersmanyplayersfromemployingthisgambit.Equalendgames
resultaftereither10.Qb3Qxb311.axb3Nge7or10.Bxc6+bxc611.Qe2+Qxe2+12.Kxe2Ne7.IfBlack
avoidssteeringforCapablanca'sending,e.g.with6...Nf6or7...000intheabovelines,thenWhiteobtains

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goodpieceplayinreturnfortheisolateddpawn.Whitecandeviatewith6...Bg47.Nc3,withtheideaof
meeting7...Bb4with8.a3(or6...Bb4+7.Nc3Bg48.a3)[7]ortherare5.Bd3,[8]neitherofwhichpromisean
advantagebutwhichavoidthoseendings.
Otherwaysofdeclining
Blackcanalsodeclinewith4...Nf6,transposingtoalineofthePonzianiOpening.Thecontinuation5.e5
Ne4wasendorsedbyDangerousWeapons,1.e4e5(EverymanChess,2008)butTimHardingconsiders
5...Nd5abettertryforequality,[9]whenWhitecancontinue6.Bb5a67.Ba4Nb68.Bb3,6.Qb3,6.Bc4or
6.cxd4.Anotherpossibilityis4...Nge7intending5...d5,whenthecriticalcontinuationis5.Bc4d56.exd5
Nxd57.00.AccordingtoIMJohnWatsonBlackmaybeabletoequalisewith7...Be7.[10]However,
decliningwith4...d3allowsWhitesomeadvantageafter5.Bxd3d66.Bf4Be77.h3Nf68.Nbd2Bd79.Qc2
accordingtoBatsfordChessOpenings2.
Onepawngambit:4...dxc35.Nxc3
IfBlackacceptsthegambitwith4...dxc3,Whitecancommittosacrificingonlyonepawnwith5.Nxc3.
Black'smostcriticalresponseisgenerallyconsideredtobe5...Bb4,[11]whenWhitedoesnotgetenough
compensationafter6.Bc4d67.00Bxc38.bxc3Nf6!,when9.Ba3Bg4isinsufficientand9.e5Nxe5
10.Nxe5dxe511.Qb3(11.Qxd8+Kxd812.Bxf7Ke7isalsogoodforBlack)11...Qe712.Ba3c5doesnot
giveenoughcompensationfortwopawns.Whitecandeviatewith7.Qb3,whentheoldmainlineruns
7...Qe78.00Bxc3,andhere9.Qxc3givesWhitegoodcompensation.ThusbothJohnWatsonandUSCF
masterMarkMorssrecommend7...Bxc3+,inordertomeet8.Qxc3with8...Qf6!whenWhitelosestoo
muchtimewiththequeen.ThusWhiteoftencontinues8.bxc3when8...Qe79.00Nf6canbemetby10.e5
(transposingbacktolinesarisingfrom7.00Bxc38.bxc3Nf69.e5,thoughtheseareinsufficientforWhite)
ortherelativelyunexplored10.Bg5.OtherdeviationsforWhiteinclude7.Ng5and6.Bg5.[12]
Black'smainalternativeis5...d6whichusuallyleadstocomplicationsandapproximatelyequalchances
after6.Bc4Nf67.Qb3Qd78.Ng5Ne59.Bb5c610.f4,or7.Ng5Ne58.Bb3h69.f4.5...Bc5isalso
playable,transposingtotheScotchGambitafter6.Bc4butcuttingouttheBxf7+possibility.5...Nf66.Bc4
cantransposebackto5...d6linesafter6...d6,orBlackcanattempttotransposeto5...Bb4lineswith6...Bb4
butthisallows7.e5d58.exf6dxc49.Qxd8+Nxd810.fxg7Rg811.Bh6.
Doublepawngambit:4...dxc35.Bc4
AlternativelyWhitecantransposeintotheDanishbyofferingasecondpawnwith5.Bc4cxb26.Bxb2,an
approachwhichJohnEmmsconsidersfarmoredangerousforBlack.IfBlackdoesnotacceptthesecond
pawnwith5...cxb2,thenWhitecanavoidBlack'smostcriticalresponseto5.Nxc3(5...Bb46.Bc4d6).For
instance,after5...d6,White'sbestis6.Nxc3,transposingbacktothe5.Nxc3d6line.5...Nf66.Nxc3
transposestothe5.Nxc3Nf6line,5...Bb4iswellmetby6.00or6.bxc3(transposingtotheScotch
Gambit),5...Bc5alsotransposestotheScotchGambitwhile5...Be7?!(whichiswellmetby6.Qd5)
transposestotheHungarianDefense.
ThusBlack'smostcriticalresponseistotakethesecondpawnwith5...cxb26.Bxb2.UnlikeintheDanish
proper,havingcommittedthequeen'sknighttoc6Blackcannotsafelymeet6.Bxb2with6...d5.[13]Instead,
playoftencontinues6...d67.00Be68.Bxe6fxe69.Qb3Qd7or7.Qb3Qd78.Bc3Nh6.6...Bb4+isthe
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mainalternativeforBlack,whereuponanapproachwithqueensidecastlingisconsidereddangerousfor
Black,e.g.7.Nc3Nf68.Qc2d69.000.

Seealso
Listofchessopenings
Listofchessopeningsnamedafterplaces

References
Notes
1. HarryGolombek,Chess:AHistory,G.P.PutnamsSons,1976,pp.11718.
2. ChessOpeningsfromSwedishChessTVprogram"ChessTV"Episode336(http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=_NQGifnXnD8&feature=relmfu)
3. StauntonNN,Match1843(http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1336950).ChessGames.com.
Retrievedon20110415.
4. MeekMorphy,NewYork1857(http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1336453).ChessGames.com.
Retrievedon20110415.
5. MarshallCapablanca,LakeHopatcong1926(http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1095134).
ChessGames.com.Retrievedon20100909.
6. Gambits(http://www.chesscafe.com/skittles/skittles385.htm).Chesscafe.com.Retrievedon20100910.
7. Daviesvs.DanishDynamite(http://www.chesscafe.com/text/mueller61.pdf).ChessCafe.com.Retrievedon2010
0910.
8. StateofPlay(http://www.chesscafe.com/text/lane113.pdf).ChessCafe.com.Retrievedon20100910.
9. PonzianiOpening:OtherCriticalLines(http://www.chesscafe.com/text/kibitz172.pdf).ChessCafe.com.
Retrievedon20100910.
10. JohnWatsonreviewofDanishDynamite(http://www.chess.co.uk/twic/johnwatsonreviews/danishdynamite).
TheWorldInChess.Retrievedon20100910.
11. MarkMorss:TheImportanceoftheOpenGametheGoeringGambit
(http://www.correspondencechess.com/campbell/hard/h990201.htm).TheCampbellReport.Retrievedon2010
0910.
12. SteinitzfortheDefense(http://www.chesscafe.com/text/mcgrew16.pdf).ChessCafe.com.Retrievedon201009
10.
13. DanishPastry(http://www.chesscafe.com/text/mcgrew15.pdf).ChessCafe.com.Retrievedon20100910.

Bibliography
Lane,Gary(1993).WinningwiththeScotch.HenryHolt&Co.ISBN0805029400.
Lane,Gary.(2005).TheScotchGameExplained,Batsford,ISBN0713489405.

Furtherreading
Alburt,Lev(2007).ChessOpeningsforWhite,Explained.ChessInformationandResearchCenter.
ISBN9781889323206.
Wells,Peter(1998).TheScotchGame.Sterling.ISBN9780713484663.
Gutman,Lev(2001).4...Qh4intheScotchGame.Batsford.ISBN0713486074.
Barsky,Vladimir(2009).TheScotchGameforWhite.ChessStars.ISBN9789548782739.
Botterill,G.S.Harding,Tim(1977).TheScotch.B.T.BatsfordLtd.
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Externallinks
TheGamesoftheMatchofChessPlayedBetweenThe
LondonandTheEdinburghChessClubsIn1824,1825,1826,
1827and1828(http://books.google.co.nz/books?

TheWikibookChess
OpeningTheoryhasapage
onthetopicof:Scotch
Game

id=kbYUAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=edinburgh+chess+club&source=bl&ots=tj05A8n7I
Z&sig=VeA5WnWvHkD_fS2JKH5T0DGCh0g&hl=en&sa=X&ei=osw3UJ32GMaPiAfJ7YC4DA&
sqi=2&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=edinburgh%20chess%20club&f=false)
HistoryoftheScotchattheEdinburghChessClub
(http://www.edinburghchessclub.co.uk/ecchist2.htm)
Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scotch_Game&oldid=694605131"
Categories: Chessopenings 1824inchess
Thispagewaslastmodifiedon10December2015,at08:50.
TextisavailableundertheCreativeCommonsAttributionShareAlikeLicenseadditionaltermsmay
apply.Byusingthissite,youagreetotheTermsofUseandPrivacyPolicy.Wikipediaisa
registeredtrademarkoftheWikimediaFoundation,Inc.,anonprofitorganization.

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