Scotch GameC44
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4. White pushes the d-pawn on move three to open up the middle of the board straight away.
Move by move
3. d4: pawn to d 4
- White: e4, pawn to e 4.
- Black: e5, pawn to e 5.
- White: Nf3, knight to f 3.
- Black: Nc6, knight to c 6.
- White: d4, pawn to d 4.
What each side wants
⚪ White: After 3...exd4 4.Nxd4, your knight sits in the middle. Bring the rest out fast.
⚫ Black: Take on d4, then hit back at the middle with ...Nf6 or ...Bc5.
White made the last move, so after this it is Black's turn.
You will also hear it called the Scotch.
Three things every opening does
The Scotch Game follows the three ideas strong players use in every opening. Get a pawn or two into the middle of the board, because pieces in the middle can reach more squares. Bring out your knights and bishops before you move the queen a lot, so she is not chased around. And castle early, so your king is tucked behind a wall of pawns and your rook joins the game. When you forget the moves, those three ideas will still help you find a good one.
Try it
Play it against Peabody on Play, then solve today's puzzle. Openings that start the same way:
- Italian Game
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 - Giuoco Piano
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 - Two Knights Defense
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 - Fried Liver Attack
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Nxd5 6. Nxf7 - Evans Gambit
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 - Ruy Lopez
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5
Name, code and moves from the Lichess openings list (CC0), checked . The words are Peabody's own, and every move on this page is checked by Peabody's chess engine.