Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. Nf3/2...Nc6/3. d4

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Scotch Game
a b c d e f g h
8a8 black rookb8 black kingc8 black bishopd8 black queene8 black kingf8 black bishopg8 black knighth8 black rook8
7a7 black pawnb7 black pawnc7 black pawnd7 black pawne7 black kingf7 black pawng7 black pawnh7 black pawn7
6a6 black kingb6 black kingc6 black knightd6 black kinge6 black kingf6 black kingg6 black kingh6 black king6
5a5 black kingb5 black kingc5 black kingd5 black kinge5 black pawnf5 black kingg5 black kingh5 black king5
4a4 black kingb4 black kingc4 black kingd4 white pawne4 white pawnf4 black kingg4 black kingh4 black king4
3a3 black kingb3 black kingc3 black kingd3 black kinge3 black kingf3 white knightg3 black kingh3 black king3
2a2 white pawnb2 white pawnc2 white pawnd2 black kinge2 black kingf2 white pawng2 white pawnh2 white pawn2
1a1 white rookb1 white knightc1 white bishopd1 white queene1 white kingf1 white bishopg1 black kingh1 white rook1
a b c d e f g h
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN)

r1bqkbnr/pppp1ppp/2n5/4p3/3PP3/5N2/PPP2PPP/RNBQKB1R b

Moves: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4

Scotch Game

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3.d4

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This aggressive move practically forces Black to play 3...exd4 which releases central tension very early. This should lead to a very open game with a lot of space for both players.

A few tries have been made with 3...d6 but this move is considered inferior because of 4.dxe5 dxe5 5.Qxd8+ Kxd8 6.Bc4.

3...Nxd4 is playable: 4.Nxd4 exd4 5.Qxd4 and some good players believe that black nearly equalizes in this line.

Also seen after 3...Nxd4 is 4. Nxe5, after which black will have to move the knight.

Theory table

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For explanation of theory tables, see theory table and for notation, see algebraic notation. 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4

3
Scotch Game ...
exd4		 =
...
d6		 +/-
...
Nxd4		 +/=

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References

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Wikipedia has related information at Scotch Game

  • Nunn's Chess Openings. 1999. John Nunn (Editor), Graham Burgess, John Emms, Joe Gallagher. ISBN 1-8574-4221-0.
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