Scotch Game: Vitzthum Attack
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
95,023 games: White 50.2% / Draw 3.3% / Black 46.5%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 46,48746K | ||
| 27,64428K | ||
| 10,34110K | ||
| 7,6247,624 | ||
| 1,2111,211 | ||
| 1,0231,023 | ||
| 293293 | ||
| 116116 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026
Engine evaluation
−1.53 Black is clearly better
Even so, White scores 51.9% here in practice: wins plus half the draws in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500.
Best play: 6... Qe7 7. O-O Ne5 8. Ne6 dxe6 9. Qxe5 f6 10. Qg3 Nf7 11. Nd2
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
Overview
Scotch Game: Vitzthum Attack (ECO C44, Open Games) is a variation of the Scotch Game: Scotch Gambit, Sarratt Variation, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Bc5 5. Ng5 Nh6 6. Qh5 (6 moves).
In 95,023 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.2%, Black 46.5% and 3.3% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 6…O-O, in 49% of those games.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
Write a description or report a mistake
How to play against the Scotch Game: Vitzthum Attack
6…Qf6 scores best for Black: 54.1%, with Black winning 52.3% and White 44.2% of 28K games. The most played, 6…O-O, scores 45.5% in 46K games, and 6…Ne5 scores lowest: 43.7%. Stockfish's first choice is 6…Qe7.
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
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Scotch Game: Vitzthum Attack (C44)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/scotch-game-vitzthum-attack