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Lesson 31 is designed for chess beginners to learn the Scotch Game chess opening. It includes 2 chess videos (Video 1: Scotch Game General Information, Video 2: Scotch Game How to Play), the text and explanations on the Scoth Game, and the PGN file to download, replay and see how this opening is played in real.
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I. Scotch Game: Data and Variations
Chess Opening Name: Scotch Game
Type: An Open Game opening (starts with 1.e4 e5)
Moves: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4
ECO Code: C45 (C45 is only Scotch Game)
Scotch Game: General Description
Scotch Game got its name from a correspondence match in 1824 between Edinburgh (Scotland) and London. It is a good sample of an Open Game. Being popular today, the opening was played by Garry Kasparov who considered it as a nice replacement for the multivariation Ruy Lopes.
At the very beginning, White occupies the center by placing his pawn on e4 and knight on d4, which is a challenge for Black to compensate the initial opening's position and break it through at the game opening's phase... The best Black moves to answer Scotch Game are the following 4:
(1) 4... Bc5 (common appr. for 45%), (2) 4... Nf6 (common appr. for 40%), (3) 4... Nxd4 (common appr. for 10%), and (4) 4... Qh4 (common appr. for 5%). Officially, Scotch Game has 21 variations. As today, the most common 4-6 variations are being played for appr. 90% of all the games on Scotch Game.
Scotch Game: Some Variations
• The 4... Bc5 variation, C45:
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5
• Meitner variation, C45:
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Be3 Qf6 6.c3 Nge7 7.Nc2
• Schmidt variation, C45:
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6
• Ghulam Kassim variation, C45:
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nxd4 5.Qxd4 d6 6.Bd3
• Horwitz Attack variation, C45:
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Qh4 5.Nb5
II. Scotch Game: Learn 2 Videos
To understand this chess opening in general, you are recommended to see Video 1: Scotch Game - General Information. To learn the Scotch Game opening in a visible way, click the Play button below:
• If the opening video hasn't shown up, please wait a little.
• If the video stops, drag a little right the player's handle.
To see Video 2: Scotch Game - How to Play, click this link:
See Video 2: Scotch Game - How to Play
Note: You can find Video 2 at the bottom of the page open.
III. Scotch Game: Download PGN File
Find below the Scotch-Game.pgn file to download and learn how this chess opening works in real and see its latest tendencies. To read the file, you will need a PGN Viewer Program. See Lesson 16, which explains you how to download a decent freeware PGN Viewer Program.
Within the Scotch-Game.pgn file, you will find:
• Description, main lines, some variations, and how to play 3 of them.
• 20 chess games played on Scotch Game by chess masters in 2008-2009.
• The computer program's analysis on each game's opening phase, and more...
To see how Scotch Game works in real at the chess master level and download the Scotch Game PGN file, click the following link:
• Download the Scotch-Game.pgn File (12 KB)
Note 1. The above file is to be downloaded from Google Drive. First click the above link to open, then click the download icon to download.
Note 2. To read the above PGN File and see the chess games inside it, you will need a PGN Viewer software. See Lesson 16, which explains how to download a decent freeware PGN Viewer.
You can find more Open Game chess openings to learn:
• Danish Gambit • Petroff Defense • Philidor Defense
• Chess Openings - See All Lessons
The next chess opening to study on this website is the Scotch Gambit (Lesson 32). And on this page you've learned the Scotch Game chess opening ECO C45, which starts with the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4. The Scotch Game is a sample of open game chess openings because it starts with 1.e4 e5...
