The Scotch Game is one of the most direct open games. After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 White strikes in the centre at once, wasting no time on slow preparation. All the main branches are gathered here: the classical Scotch with the Schmidt (Mieses), Classical and Steinitz variations, plus the Scotch Gambit and the Goering Gambit. At each branching point, choose which line to play.
The dimmed moves are the rest of the main line, and the dots mark branching points. Click any move to jump to that position.
The thin arrow on the board shows the next move.
You can also play the move on the board: pick the piece up and put it on the square.
The starting position. Choose your moves - at a branching point several continuations are available.
The name stuck after the Edinburgh-London correspondence match (1824-1828), in which the Scottish team used 3.d4 successfully. After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 White opens the centre at once.
The main idea is to lose no time and get free piece play at once. After 3...exd4 4.Nxd4 White has comfortable development and space, while Black has to place his pieces carefully to equalise.
The Scotch is simpler and more concrete than the Ruy Lopez: less subtle manoeuvring, more straightforward fighting for the centre. Its return to top-level chess in the 1990s is down to Garry Kasparov, who used it at the highest level.
After 3...exd4 White has a choice. The usual 4.Nxd4 wins the pawn back and leads to the classical Scotch. But you can gambit instead: 4.Bc4 (the Scotch Gambit) or 4.c3 (the Goering Gambit), sacrificing a pawn for a lead in development.
Black has three main answers to 4.Nxd4: the classical 4...Bc5 pressing on the d4 knight, the flexible 4...Nf6 (the Schmidt Variation), and the provocative 4...Qh4 (the Steinitz Variation), attacking the e4 pawn at once.
The Scotch is the most direct way to escape Ruy Lopez theory. With 3.d4 White opens the centre at once: 3...exd4 4.Nxd4, and the pieces come out to free squares with no lengthy manoeuvring. The opening's virtue is that it has more clear plans than lines to remember.
After 4...Nf6 the main route is 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.e5: Black's knight is pushed back, and the damaged queenside pawn structure gives White a long-term target for the endgame. After 4...Bc5 you play 5.Nb3 or 5.Be3, consolidating and relieving the pressure on d4 and f2.
There is a gambit route too - 4.c3 (the Goering Gambit): for a pawn White gets fast development and open lines. A good choice for fast games, though objectively Black holds with precise play.
The main thing is not to let White finish developing in peace with extra space. The move 4...Bc5 creates pressure at once: the bishop eyes d4 and f2, and White has to spend time on 5.Nb3 or 5.Be3.
The second main route is 4...Nf6, and after 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.e5 the good move is 6...Qe7 7.Qe2 Nd5. Black's pawn structure is damaged, but the pieces are active and White's extra centre easily becomes weak. This position has been tested at the highest level - it holds.
What to avoid: passive retreats and trying to hold everything. The Scotch punishes slowness - Black needs either counterplay in the centre or concrete pressure against the advanced pawns.
The typical set-ups this opening leads to - learn them, and the plan follows by itself.
The centre has been exchanged, White has a knight on d4 and a free game. Black has to choose between 4...Bc5 pressing on f2 and 4...Nf6 hitting the e4 pawn.
The most critical line: White has the e5 pawn and more space, Black has doubled pawns but the two bishops and a sound position.
These are the main named variations. Click any one of them and it loads straight onto the board above, where you can play it out move by move. The trainer itself holds more lines than this: it also covers main-line continuations and transpositions that have no name of their own.
What to avoid, and what catches an unprepared opponent.
The queen attacks both f2 and the c6 knight at once. White has to give the knight back, losing tempi, and Black gets an excellent game. The right moves are 5.Nb3 or 5.Be3.
A common mistake for White: trading the d4 knight on c6 just because you can. It shores up Black's centre with a pawn and hands him the b-file - only trade when e4-e5 follows.
Traps in other openings - the 12 most common opening traps.
From the correspondence match between the Edinburgh and London chess clubs in 1824-1828, in which the Scottish team used 3.d4 successfully. The name stuck to the opening.
Neither better nor worse - simply different. The Scotch opens the centre at once and leads to clear, concrete play, while the Ruy Lopez leads to long positional manoeuvring. The Scotch is often chosen to steer the opponent away from the deep theory of the Spanish.
At club level and in fast games, certainly: for the pawn White gets a strong initiative and a dangerous attack. At the top level Black knows how to give the material back neatly, so the gambit is rarer there.
You can, but 3...exd4 is the most critical and popular answer. Declining hands White the centre and space for nothing, which is why almost everyone plays 3...exd4.
Want the tactics that decide these positions? Start with the 12 most common opening traps and tactics for beginners. If you are just starting out, read the rules of chess and how to set up the board.
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