Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. Nf3/2...Nc6/3. d4/3...exd4/4. Nxd4

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< Chess Opening Theory‎ | 1. e4‎ | 1...e5‎ | 2. Nf3‎ | 2...Nc6‎ | 3. d4‎ | 3...exd4
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Scotch Game, main line
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 kingf5 black kingg5 black kingh5 black king5
4a4 black kingb4 black kingc4 black kingd4 white knighte4 white pawnf4 black kingg4 black kingh4 black king4
3a3 black kingb3 black kingc3 black kingd3 black kinge3 black kingf3 black kingg3 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/2n5/8/3NP3/8/PPP2PPP/RNBQKB1R b

Moves: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4

Scotch Game, main line

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Black has now an opportunity to take the initiative that should not be wasted.

Three main weapons are available.

With 4...Bc5 (Classical variation), Black attacks white's central knight on d4 and forces White to either move it or protect it. Black should expect replies like Be3, Nxc6, or Nb3.
4...Nf6 (Schmidt variation). Black puts immediate attacking pressure on white's e4 pawn, asking them what they intend to do with it.
4...Qh4 (Steinitz variation) is more aggressive. Black immediately attempts to win white's e- pawn outright and indeed can practically win it by force. However, doing so costs him development time and white is thought to get more than enough compensation after 5.Nc3 Bb4 6.Be2 Qxe4 7.Nb5 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 Kd8 9.0-0.

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 exd4 4. Nxd4

4
Classical variation ...
Bc5 		=
Schmidt variation ...
Nf6 		=
Steinitz Variation ...
Qh4 		=

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References

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