Scotch Game

The idea

After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6, White strikes with 3.d4 straight away. After 3...exd4, White usually takes back with the knight, 4.Nxd4, and has a pawn on e4 against no black pawn in the center.

White's pieces get open lines and Black's pieces get active squares too, so the game is open from the start. White can also gambit the pawn with 4.Bc4 (the Scotch Gambit) or 4.c3 (the Göring Gambit).

Plans for White

Use the central knight and the e4 pawn: develop quickly with Be3, Nc3, Bc4 or Bd3, and castle. White's small advantage is the extra space in the center, so keep the e4 pawn healthy and look for e5 when it helps.

Plans for Black

Hit the knight on d4 straight away, with ...Bc5 or ...Nf6, or with the queen. Black's pieces are free, and challenging White's center with ...d5 is often the freeing move.

Watch out for

For Black, loose pieces in the open position. In the Classical Variation, 4...Bc5 5.Be3 Nf6?? loses a piece to 6.Nxc6 and 7.Bxc5 (see that page).

For White, the e4 pawn. With Black's knight able to reach f6 and the queen able to come to h4, e4 can be attacked quickly, so keep it defended.

History

The Scotch was common in the 19th century, but by 1900 it had declined in popularity. Garry Kasparov led a revival of the Scotch in the late 20th century.