Scotch Game 5…Bb4+ 6. Bd2
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
1,966 games: White 55.5% / Draw 4.5% / Black 40.0%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 1,1121,112 | ||
| 519519 | ||
| 208208 | ||
| 4343 | ||
| 2828 | ||
| 2020 | ||
| 1515 | ||
| 1414 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 6, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.37 White is slightly better
Best play: 6... Qxe4+ 7. Be2 Kd8 8. O-O Bxd2 9. Nxd2 Qf5 10. Bd3 Qf4 11. g3
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
Overview
Scotch Game (ECO C45, Open Games) is a variation of the Scotch Game: Horwitz Attack, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Qh4 5. Nb5 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 (6 moves).
In 1,966 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 55.5%, Black 40.0% and 4.5% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 6…Qxe4+, in 57% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are Scotch Game: Horwitz Attack, Blackburne Variation and Scotch Game: Rosenthal Variation.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
Write a description or report a mistake
How to answer 6. Bd2
6…Bc5 scores best for Black: 51.0%, with Black winning 47.6% and White 45.7% of 208 games. The most played answer, 6…Qxe4+, scores lowest: 40.1% in 1,112 games. Stockfish's first choice is 6…Qxe4+.
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
Variations (2)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Scotch Game (C45)”. Lichess data as of 6 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/scotch-game-4