Scotch Game: Classical Variation
The Classical Variation of the Scotch Game (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5) puts immediate pressure on White's centralised knight, which at first is defended only by the queen. Read the guide
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Statistics from Lichess
7,329,137 games: White 49.6% / Draw 5.0% / Black 45.3%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 3,113,5143.1M | ||
| 2,799,8222.8M | ||
| Scotch Game: Potter Variation | 821,216821K | |
| 354,024354K | ||
| 153,188153K | ||
| 60,05560K | ||
| 11,39511K | ||
| 4,1684,168 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 2, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.26 The position is about equal
Best play: 5. Be3 Qf6 6. c3 Nge7 7. Bc4 O-O 8. O-O b6 9. a3 a5
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 50% under 1400, 46% at 2200 and up and 46% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 2M | |
| 1400–1799 | 5.3M | |
| 1800–2199 | 3.9M | |
| 2200 and up | 379K | |
| Masters, over the board | 7,306 |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Nakamura, H.
- Vachier Lagrave, M. – Carlsen, M.
- Radjabov, T. – Carlsen, M.
- Nepomniachtchi, I. – Carlsen, M.
- Kasparov, G. – Caruana, F.
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
Description
The Classical Variation of the Scotch Game (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5) puts immediate pressure on White's centralised knight, which at first is defended only by the queen. White has to exchange it, defend it or move it.
The idea
Black develops the bishop with tempo and after 5.Be3 almost always adds a third attacker on d4 with ...Qf6. White's main choices are 5.Be3, reinforcing the knight, 5.Nb3, moving it while attacking the bishop, and 5.Nxc6, exchanging.
Main lines
- 5.Be3 Qf6 6.c3 Nge7, the traditional line. 7.Bc4 is the most notable seventh move, met strongly by 7...Ne5; Alexey Sokolsky's 1940s analysis claimed equality after 7...Ne5 and 8...Qg6, so 7.Bc4 fell out of fashion until Garry Kasparov and others revived it in the 1990s. 7.Qd2 is the Blackburne Attack, and 6...Qg6 the Millennium Variation. Black must avoid 5...Nf6??, which loses the bishop to 6.Nxc6 and 7.Bxc5.
- 5.Nb3 Bb6, the Potter Variation, named after William Norwood Potter and revived with success in the 2000s by Vassily Ivanchuk and Magnus Carlsen. White usually continues 6.Nc3 with Qe2, Be3 or Bg5 and long castling.
- 5.Nxc6 Qf6, the Intermezzo Variation: Black's in-between move threatens mate on f2, so White cannot save the knight and Black can recapture on c6 with the d-pawn, avoiding an isolated pawn. White usually defends with 6.Qd2 or 6.Qf3.
- 5.Nf5 is another way to move the knight; after 5...d5 6.Nxg7+ Kf8 Black loses the right to castle but gets a big lead in development.
Strengths and weaknesses
Strengths
- Active development with direct pressure on d4.
- After 5.Nxc6 the in-between move 5...Qf6 lets Black avoid an isolated pawn.
Weaknesses
- In the Potter Variation White moves the knight to safety with tempo on the bishop.
- Some natural moves are mistakes: after 5.Be3, 5...Nf6?? loses the bishop, and 5...d6? leaves Black with tripled c-pawns after 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.Bxc5 dxc5.
Who should play it
The Classical Variation suits Black players who want active piece play against the Scotch and are ready to learn concrete lines after 5.Be3, 5.Nb3 and 5.Nxc6.
The numbers
On Lichess the results are close under 1400 (47.9% for White against 48.2%), but White leads from there on: 49.3% against 46.5% at 1400–1799, 49.7% against 45.1% at 1800–2199 and 50.7% against 42.2% from 2200 up. In about 7,300 master games White won 32.2%, Black 23.9%, and 43.9% were drawn.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the Scotch Game: Classical Variation
The most played answer, 5. Be3, also scores best for White: 54.7%, with White winning 52.1% and Black 42.7% of 3.1M games. Of the main answers, 5. Nxc6 scores lowest: 49.6%. Stockfish's first choice is also 5. Be3.
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 Scotch Game: Classical Variation peaked in 2018 at 0.33% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.27% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.31% | 111,808 |
| 2017 | 0.32% | 178,615 |
| 2018 | 0.33% | 256,002 |
| 2019 | 0.32% | 396,054 |
| 2020 | 0.31% | 906,785 |
| 2021 | 0.28% | 1,103,458 |
| 2022 | 0.27% | 1,020,883 |
| 2023 | 0.27% | 1,021,203 |
| 2024 | 0.27% | 982,959 |
| 2025 | 0.27% | 934,797 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.27% | 294,281 |
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 (7)
- C45 Blumenfeld Attack 5. Be3 Qf6 6. Nb5
- C45 Blackburne Attack 5. Be3 Qf6 6. c3 Nge7 7. Qd2
- C45 Intermezzo Variation 5. Nxc6 Qf6
- C45 Millennium Variation 5. Be3 Qf6 6. c3 Qg6
- C45 Meitner Variation 5. Be3 Qf6 6. c3 Nge7 7. Nc2
- C45 Paulsen Attack 5. Be3 Qf6 6. c3 Nge7 7. Bb5
- C45 Potter Variation 5. Nb3
All 10 named lines that continue from here
- C45 Scotch Game: Blumenfeld Attack 6 moves
- C45 Blackburne Attack 7 moves
- C45 Intermezzo Variation 5 moves
- C45 Millennium Variation 6 moves
- C45 Scotch Game: Meitner Variation 7 moves
- C45 Scotch Game: Paulsen Attack 7 moves
- C45 Scotch Game: Potter Variation 5 moves
- C45 Scotch Game: Gottschall Variation 12 moves
- C45 Scotch Game: Paulsen, Gunsberg Defense 7 moves
- C45 Scotch Game: Romanishin Variation 5 moves
Sources
- History and theory: adapted from the Wikipedia article Scotch Game, version of 2 November 2026, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Results: Lichess opening explorer, figures collected from September to November 2026.
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Scotch Game: Classical Variation (C45)”. Lichess data as of 2 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/scotch-game-classical-variation