Chess opening · ECO C44
Scotch Game
In the Scotch Game White does not wait. 3.d4 attacks e5 right away, and after 3...exd4 4.Nxd4 the center is open, White has a knight on d4 and a pawn on e4, and Black has no pawn on a central square. Black answers by hitting the d4 knight or the e4 pawn, and the game turns on fast development.
- Rank by weighted share
- #29 of 159
Key moves
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4
- 3. d4The pawn attacks e5, which is guarded only by the c6 knight. Black usually takes. Holding e5 with ...d6 keeps the pawn but leaves Black with less room for the pieces.
Black's main replies to 4.Nxd4
4...Bc5 develops with a threat to the d4 knight and is the start of the Classical Variation. 4...Nf6 attacks e4 instead. 4...Qh4 also hits e4, using the queen early to put White's center under fire.
White can also skip 4.Nxd4 and play 4.Bc4, the Scotch Gambit, where the bishop comes out first and the black pawn on d4 is left alone for now.
The pawn on e5 after 4...Nf6
When Black attacks e4 with the knight, White can trade on c6 and push the e-pawn to e5. The pawn gains space and drives the knight off f6, while Black gets a half-open b-file but doubled c-pawns. The black queen often lands on e7, where it blocks the f8 bishop.
Trading on c6 and pushing e5
3... exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nxc6 bxc6 6. e5 Qe7 7. Qe2 Nd5 8. c4 Ba6
The queens face each other on the e-file with the e5 pawn between them. White's c4 hits the d5 knight, but Black's bishop on a6 pins the c4 pawn to the queen on e2: if White takes on d5, ...Bxe2 picks up the queen.
Top replies by rating
Taking with exd4 leads every complete band, and its share rises from 42 below 1200 to 94 at 1800 to 1999. The d6 reply sits second in each of those bands.
| Rating | Top | Second | Third |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1200 | exd4 42% | d6 22% | Nf6 8% |
| 1200–1399 | exd4 57% | d6 16% | Nf6 5% |
| 1400–1599 | exd4 76% | d6 9% | Nf6 3% |
| 1600–1799 | exd4 88% | d6 6% | Bd6 1% |
| 1800–1999 | exd4 94% | d6 4% | Nxd4 1% |
| 2000 and up | exd4 93% | d6 7% | – |
Related openings
Try it on the board. The first coached game and three analyses are free.