Scotch Game 3…exd4 4. Nxd4
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Statistics from Lichess
25,538,213 games: White 50.9% / Draw 5.3% / Black 43.8%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 8,315,1538.3M | ||
| Classical Variation | 7,245,7617.2M | |
| Schmidt Variation | 3,808,9073.8M | |
| 1,525,4991.5M | ||
| 1,520,6911.5M | ||
| 720,452720K | ||
| Steinitz Variation | 715,546716K | |
| 547,902548K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 23, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.07 The position is about equal
Best play: 4... Nf6 5. Nxc6 bxc6 6. Bd3 d5 7. Nc3 Bb4 8. exd5 O-O 9. O-O
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: White scores 53% both under 1400 and at 2200 and up, and 53% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 14M | |
| 1400–1799 | 25.3M | |
| 1800–2199 | 11.7M | |
| 2200 and up | 1M | |
| Masters, over the board | 19K |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Nakamura, H.
- Vachier Lagrave, M. – Carlsen, M.
- So, W. – Carlsen, M.
- Radjabov, T. – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Aronian, L.
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 26, 2026
Overview
Scotch Game (ECO C45, Open Games) is a variation of the Scotch Game, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 (4 moves).
In 25,538,213 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.9%, Black 43.8% and 5.3% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 4…Nxd4, in 33% of those games.
It branches into 5 named variations; the most played are Scotch Game: Classical Variation and Scotch Game: Schmidt Variation. In all, 27 named lines continue from it.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to answer 4. Nxd4
4…Nf6 (Schmidt Variation) scores best for Black: 50.5%, with Black winning 47.5% and White 46.6% of 3.8M games. The most played answer, 4…Nxd4, scores lowest: 42.5% in 8.3M games. Stockfish's first choice is also 4…Nf6.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black'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
This line has stayed between 0.93% and 1.1% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (0.93% in 2025).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1.1% | 376,463 |
| 2017 | 1.0% | 570,104 |
| 2018 | 1.0% | 785,372 |
| 2019 | 1.0% | 1,290,793 |
| 2020 | 1.1% | 3,091,544 |
| 2021 | 1.0% | 4,033,276 |
| 2022 | 0.98% | 3,683,505 |
| 2023 | 0.97% | 3,647,626 |
| 2024 | 0.95% | 3,423,774 |
| 2025 | 0.93% | 3,224,474 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.92% | 1,003,623 |
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 (5)
All 27 named lines that continue from here
No line matches.
- C45 Classical Variation 4 moves
- C45 Ghulam-Kassim Variation 6 moves
- C45 Malaniuk Variation 4 moves
- C45 Schmidt Variation 4 moves
- C45 Steinitz Variation 4 moves
- C45 Scotch Game: Alekhine Gambit 5 moves
- C45 Scotch Game: Blumenfeld Attack 6 moves
- C45 Scotch Game: Braune Variation 5 moves
- C45 Blackburne Attack 7 moves
- C45 Intermezzo Variation 5 moves
- C45 Millennium Variation 6 moves
- C45 Scotch Game: Fraser Variation 5 moves
- C45 Scotch Game: Horwitz Attack 5 moves
- C45 Scotch Game: Meitner Variation 7 moves
- C45 Scotch Game: Mieses Variation 6 moves
- C45 Scotch Game: Paulsen Attack 7 moves
- C45 Scotch Game: Paulsen Variation 5 moves
- C45 Scotch Game: Potter Variation 5 moves
- C45 Steinitz Variation 5 moves
- C45 Scotch Game: Tartakower Variation 6 moves
- C45 Scotch Game 6 moves
- C45 Scotch Game: Gottschall Variation 12 moves
- C45 Scotch Game: Modern Defense 5 moves
- C45 Scotch Game: Paulsen, Gunsberg Defense 7 moves
- C45 Scotch Game: Romanishin Variation 5 moves
- C45 Horwitz Attack, Blackburne Variation 9 moves
- C45 Rosenthal Variation 9 moves
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Scotch Game (C45)”. Lichess data as of 23 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/scotch-game-3