Caissa Codex
C45

Scotch Game: Classical Variation, Blackburne Attack

Chess diagram: Scotch Game: Classical Variation, Blackburne Attack after 7. Qd2

Type a move and press Enter: e4, Nf3, O-O, or from and to squares like g1f3 (e7e8q to promote). The board is also played with the mouse.

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Statistics from Lichess

38,701 games: White 48.5% / Draw 5.7% / Black 45.8%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
12,95813K
6,5436,543
5,6685,668
5,1275,127
2,5522,552
1,1261,126
1,0311,031
893893

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026

Engine evaluation

0.00 The position is about equal

Best play: 7... d5 8. Nb5 Bxe3 9. fxe3 O-O 10. Nxc7 dxe4 11. Nxa8 Rd8 12. Qc2

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

Overview

Scotch Game: Classical Variation, Blackburne Attack (ECO C45, Open Games) is a variation of the Scotch Game: Classical Variation, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Bc5 5. Be3 Qf6 6. c3 Nge7 7. Qd2 (7 moves).

In 38,701 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.5%, Black 45.8% and 5.7% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 7…O-O, in 33% of those games.

It continues into one named variation, Scotch Game: Gottschall Variation.

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How to play against the Scotch Game: Classical Variation, Blackburne Attack

7…d5 scores best for Black: 51.1%, with Black winning 48.2% and White 46.0% of 5,127 games. The most played answer, 7…O-O, scores lowest: 46.7% in 13K games. Stockfish's first choice is also 7…d5.

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 (1)

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 5. Be3 Qf6 6. c3 Nge7 7. Qd2, the position after Scotch Game: Classical Variation also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Scotch Game: Classical Variation, Blackburne Attack (C45)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/scotch-game-classical-variation-blackburne-attack

https://chesscodex.org/openings/scotch-game-classical-variation-blackburne-attack