Caissa Codex
C44

Scotch Game: Hanneken Variation

Chess diagram: Scotch Game: Hanneken Variation after 9…Nxe5

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Statistics from Lichess

183 games: White 53.0% / Draw 4.9% / Black 42.1%

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Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
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Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 27, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.09 The position is about equal

Best play: 10. Bxe5 d5 11. Be2 Re8 12. Bc3 Bd6 13. Nd2 h6 14. Ngf3 a6

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

Overview

Scotch Game: Hanneken Variation (ECO C44, Open Games) is a variation of the Scotch Game: Scotch Gambit, London Defense, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Bb4+ 5. c3 dxc3 6. O-O cxb2 7. Bxb2 Nf6 8. Ng5 O-O 9. e5 Nxe5 (9 moves).

In 183 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 53.0%, Black 42.1% and 4.9% were drawn. White's most played move here is 10. Bxe5, in 99% of those games.

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Other lines from the same position

Instead of 5. c3 dxc3 6. O-O cxb2 7. Bxb2 Nf6 8. Ng5 O-O 9. e5 Nxe5, the position after Scotch Game: Scotch Gambit, London Defense also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Scotch Game: Hanneken Variation (C44)”. Lichess data as of 27 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/scotch-game-hanneken-variation

https://chesscodex.org/openings/scotch-game-hanneken-variation