Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Max Lange Attack
The Max Lange Attack is an opening named after the German master Max Lange, who suggested it in 1854. Read the guide
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Statistics from Lichess
1,454,705 games: White 60.3% / Draw 3.1% / Black 36.6%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Max Lange Attack | 1,214,0581.2M | |
| Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Walbrodt-Baird Gambit | 135,313135K | |
| 43,52744K | ||
| 27,65328K | ||
| 12,33612K | ||
| 5,4745,474 | ||
| 3,4183,418 | ||
| 3,3363,336 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.19 The position is about equal
Best play: 6. e5 d5 7. exf6 dxc4 8. fxg7 Rg8 9. Bg5 Be7 10. Bxe7 Kxe7
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
The stronger the players, the worse this line does for Black: Black scores 44% under 1400, 41% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 284K | |
| 1400–1799 | 944K | |
| 1800–2199 | 815K | |
| 2200 and up | 75K | |
| Masters, over the board | 231 |
Master games
- Short, N. D. – Fressinet, L.
- Robson, R. – Dominguez Perez, L.
- Azarov, S. – Kamsky, G.
- Jones, G. C. – Bruzon Batista, L.
- Zelcic, R. – Bosiocic, M.
Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 27, 2026
Description
The Max Lange Attack is an opening named after the German master Max Lange, who suggested it in 1854. It can arise from several openings, including the Two Knights Defense, the Scotch Gambit, Petrov's Defense, the Bishop's Opening and the Giuoco Piano. This page has the Scotch Gambit order, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Nf6 5.O-O Bc5, one move before the attack itself, 6.e5.
The idea
White gives up the d4-pawn, castles and then attacks the f6-knight with e5. Black usually hits back in the centre with ...d5, and the play becomes complex.
Main lines
The other common move order is 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.O-O Bc5 6.e5. After 6.e5 Black has two main replies.
- 6...d5 is the more common. The main line continues 7.exf6 dxc4 8.Re1+ Be6 9.Ng5 Qd5 10.Nc3 Qf5 11.Nce4 O-O-O with complex play.
- 6...Ng4 is playable but rarely seen.
Two traps sit in the main line. After 9.Ng5, taking with 9...Qxf6 runs into 10.Nxe6 fxe6 11.Qh5+ followed by 12.Qxc5. And after 10.Nc3, the greedy 10...dxc3 loses to 11.Qxd5, since 11...Bxd5 is illegal: the bishop on e6 is pinned against the king by the rook on e1.
White also has alternatives. After 6...d5 the critical 7.Bb5 leads to play with strong ideas for both sides, usually with a slight edge for White. Lev Gutman and Stefan Bücker analysed 8.fxg7 Rg8 9.Bg5 in the magazine Kaissiber and consider it good for White. Black usually answers 9...Be7 10.Bxe7 Kxe7.
Who should play it
The Max Lange is for players on both sides who know the lines: one wrong move in the main line can lose at once, as the traps above show. The game H. Vatter vs. John Nunn, 1986, followed the main line up to 11...O-O-O.
The numbers
On Lichess White wins 60.3% of the 1.5 million games and Black 36.6%. Below 1400 the margin is smaller, 54.8% against 42.7%. Between 1400 and 2199 White wins about 60% and Black about 37%, and from 2200 up 56.3% against 38.8%. In 231 master games over the board White won 39.4%, Black 34.6%, and 26.0% were drawn.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Max Lange Attack
The most played answer, 6. e5 (Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Max Lange Attack), also scores best for White: 63.3%, with White winning 61.8% and Black 35.1% of 1.2M games. Of the main answers, 6. c3 scores lowest: 57.6%. Stockfish's first choice is also 6. e5.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings
Popularity by year
The Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Max Lange Attack peaked in 2020 at 0.072% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.047% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.054% | 19,190 |
| 2017 | 0.06% | 33,212 |
| 2018 | 0.064% | 50,138 |
| 2019 | 0.062% | 77,636 |
| 2020 | 0.072% | 211,504 |
| 2021 | 0.061% | 238,900 |
| 2022 | 0.057% | 213,712 |
| 2023 | 0.053% | 198,414 |
| 2024 | 0.05% | 179,511 |
| 2025 | 0.047% | 164,064 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.045% | 49,181 |
Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling
Variations (1)
Transpositions
Sources
- History and theory: adapted from the Wikipedia article Max Lange Attack, version of 13 October 2026, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Results: Lichess opening explorer, figures collected from September to November 2026.
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Max Lange Attack (C56)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-scotch-gambit-max-lange-attack