Scotch Game

Scotch Game
abcdefgh
8
a8 black rook
c8 black bishop
d8 black queen
e8 black king
f8 black bishop
g8 black knight
h8 black rook
a7 black pawn
b7 black pawn
c7 black pawn
d7 black pawn
f7 black pawn
g7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
c6 black knight
e5 black pawn
d4 white pawn
e4 white pawn
f3 white knight
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
c2 white pawn
f2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
h2 white pawn
a1 white rook
b1 white knight
c1 white bishop
d1 white queen
e1 white king
f1 white bishop
h1 white rook
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
Moves1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4
ECOC44–C45
Origin1750
Named afterScotland
ParentKing's Knight Opening
Synonym(s)Scotch Opening

The Scotch Game, or Scotch Opening, is a chess opening that begins with the moves:

1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nc6
3. d4

Ercole del Rio, in his 1750 treatise Sopra il giuoco degli Scacchi, Osservazioni pratiche d’anonimo Autore Modenese ("On the game of Chess, practical Observations by an anonymous Modenese Author"), was the first author to mention what is now called the Scotch Game.[1] The opening received its name from a correspondence match in 1824 between Edinburgh and London. Popular in the 19th century, by 1900 the Scotch had lost favour among top players because it was thought to release the central tension too early and allow Black to equalise without difficulty. In the 20th century grandmasters Garry Kasparov and Jan Timman helped to re-popularise the Scotch when they used it as a surprise weapon to avoid the well-analysed Ruy Lopez.

  1. ^ Harry Golombek, Chess: A History, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1976, pp. 117–18.