The Scotch Game: A White Repertoire

By Alexei Bezgodov and Vladimir Barsky

Tried and True for More than Two Centuries

The Scotch Game is a solid opening that has been tried and tested in practice by some of the strongest chessplayers in the world for more than two centuries. The idea behind the Scotch Game is simple and easily understandable. White eliminates – in a purely mechanical fashion – Black’s e5-pawn which initially impedes his ambition to dominate in the center.

This is very appealing for White, as he controls the direction of the struggle’s development, while Black can only try to keep pace. Furthermore, there are relatively simple schemes in the white repertoire in which it is enough to remember the main plans of both sides and typical maneuvers.

This is the second edition of Vladimir Barsky’s book that first appeared in 2009. The new edition consists of seven chapters dealing with the core ideas and variations of the Scotch, supplemented by 79 Illustrative Games. The authors not only present detailed analysis of all lines but are also careful to discuss the ideas behind the opening. If you already play the Scotch, you need this book. If you don’t, find out what you have been missing.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Russell Enterprises, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781949859782

Alexei Bezgodov

Grandmaster Alexei Bezgodov won the Russian Championship in 1993, and finished second in 1999.He is the author of many books, including The Art of the Tarrasch Defense, The Liberated Bishop Defense, Extreme Caro-Kann, The Double Queen’s Gambit, and Defend like Petrosian.

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Introduction

The Scotch Game is a solid positional opening, and has been used by both world-class players and amateurs for two centuries. It became widely popular after the 1824-28 correspondence match between the Edinburgh and London Chess Clubs. It is entirely possible that this opening was used even before that, but these games were published in the magazines and guidebooks of the time and then indexed in the computer databases some 150 years later. The Scottish players, who had White, won the game, and the opening was named in their honor. Interestingly, the line 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4, currently known as the Scotch Gambit, occurred in two more games of that match. Edinburgh was White in one game, Black in the other and scored 1½ points.

The idea behind the Scotch Game is simple and clear: White methodically eliminates the e5-pawn that prevents him from dominating in the center. After the exchange on d4, the resulting structure is advantageous for White, because he still has a pawn in the center, while his opponent does not. White controls more space, opens diagonals for both his bishops, and can quickly and comfortably develop his pieces.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4

This structure does have a certain flaw: to trade the d4-pawn, White spends an important tempo. Now, both sides are equal in their development (both have a knight out), but it is Black to move. However, the initiative is a very subtle thing. It can evaporate very quickly, while White’s more tangible positional pluses – space advantage, dominance in the center – remain.

According to classical opening theory, which was advocated, for instance, by the famous grandmaster and world championship candidate Paul Keres (1916-1975), the e5-pawn should not be traded (3.d4), but rather attacked with 3.Bb5; in other words, the only correct opening where White can count on getting an advantage is the Ruy Lopez. Prominent grandmaster and theoretician Evgeny Sveshnikov (1950–2021) also shared this point of view. However, he often used to put his bishop on c4 on the third move, or, even more often, played 3.d4, and in his later years he played the Vienna Game quite a few times. Why?

Theory, and any pure science for that matter, is a fascinating activity for a small group of people who are so inclined, but in practice, we all have to solve much more mundane tasks every day. Can you say, in all honesty, that you know how to get an advantage for White in the Marshall Attack? Do you have some killer novelties in the Open Ruy Lopez? Or perhaps you know a clear way to win in the Berlin endgame or the Jaenisch Gambit? If your surname is not Carlsen, Caruana, or Nepomniachtchi, I really doubt that! The theory of the Ruy Lopez is enormous, theoretical discussions are being held in every tournament and are quite diverse (we have not even mentioned the systems with the bishop going to c5, the Chigorin system, the Breyer, the Zaitsev, etc.) How to remember all that? Where can a simple amateur find so much time and energy?

The Scotch Game is attractive for White because he gets to choose the preferred direction of the struggle, and Black is forced to adjust. And it is not some one-time gambit: the opening is based on a solid positional foundation. Here, you can choose relatively simple schemes for your White repertoire in which it is enough to remember the basic plans and typical maneuvers for both sides. Of course, the Scotch, like any other modern opening, has some sharp lines with tempo-for-tempo play. One needs to put in some effort to know all the subtleties, but, on the other hand, you will get a great opportunity to catch your less-prepared opponent unawares and get a serious advantage around move 12 or 15.

The reputation of the Scotch as a harmless, peaceful opening remains in the distant past. In the early 1990s, before his last world championship match with Anatoly Karpov, world champion Garry Kasparov included this opening in his repertoire and used it for almost a decade. The result is impressive: Kasparov played the Scotch in 20 tournament games, winning 12 of them and drawing the others.

World champions have almost always been trendsetters in the opening theory, and, following in Kasparov’s footsteps, Sergei Rublevsky, Alexander Morozevich, Vasily Ivanchuk, Teimour Radjabov, Emil Sutovsky, and others included the Scotch in their repertoire. Later, their ranks were joined by Magnus Carlsen (possibly at the advice of Kasparov, who worked with him for a time), Ian Nepomniachtchi, Dmitry Andreikin, Anish Giri, Hikaru Nakamura, Andrei Esipenko and many others. Today, the Scotch is seen in almost every big tournament, not to mention in countless online battles.

It is important to point out that not every player gets around to choosing and adopting a reliable defensive line against the Scotch. Of course, most of the attention is now diverted to the Ruy Lopez and the equally fashionable Italian Game. A lot of new games are played with these openings, with many new ideas, and one needs to be constantly aware of new developments. In such circumstances, not every player would have enough time and energy even to refresh his existing knowledge, let alone absorb something new. And this might lead even an experienced and knowledgeable player to a quick catastrophe in the Scotch – it is impossible to keep everything in one’s head at the same time! And this is another important practical resource for White in this dangerous opening.

The book you now hold in your hands consists of seven chapters devoted to various move orders. Every chapter contains comprehensive learning material and illustrative games. To adopt a particular system, it is enough to study the main lines, without going much into the details, and look through the games – this will not take much time. After that, you can start using the opening in faster games in your club or online. Having played a dozen or so games in the Scotch, proceed to delve into the theoretical section again and compare your play with the authors’ recommendations – perhaps you will want to correct something. Using such a method, the process of learning a new opening will be quick and enjoyable.

Before ending this introduction and getting to the concrete lines, let us remind you of the aphorism of the legendary Danish grandmaster Bent Larsen: Long analysis, wrong analysis. To be honest, shorter lines can also be wrong, even though modern technologies allow us to minimize the number of mistakes. The analyses and theoretical calculations in this book do not of course exhaust the rich contents of the Scotch Game. Check them, refute them, come up with ideas on your own!

The authors sincerely hope that The Scotch Game: A Repertoire for White will enable you to hone your skill in independent opening work. Let this important and interesting part of chess be pleasant for you and may it bring you many beautiful tournament victories.

Alexei Bezgodov

Vladimir Barsky

March 2023

Chapter 1

Black in the Danger Zone

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4

3...exd4

This is, of course, the main move. It occurs twenty times more often than all others combined. Still, from time to time, Black tries other continuations. Most of them do not need any special training. It is enough for White to just naturally develop his pieces, guided by common sense. Still, to give you the most complete picture possible, we shall show you some lines, even though they are dubious or simply losing for Black.

(1) 3...f6? 4.Bc4 Nge7 5.dxe5 fxe5 6.0-0 is obviously bad – it is unclear how Black is supposed to finish his development. The a2-g8 diagonal is irrevocably weakened, and it takes too long and is too difficult to get the king to the queenside.

(2) The absurd counter-strike 3...f5? is no better, leaving White with an extra pawn and a large positional advantage. 4.exf5 e4 5.Ne5 Nf6 6.g4! h5 (Kuitert-Smits, Leiden 1997) 7.Ng6 Rh7 8.g5 Ng8 (8...Ng4 9.Nxf8 Kxf8 10.h3Q) 9.d5 Nce7 10.d6 cxd6 11.Qxd6 . White has other good continuations as well.

(3) The move 3...Bd6?!, which also occasionally goes into some players’ heads, also leaves a painful impression. White can simply trade on e5 twice and seize the center with his pawns, for instance: 4.dxe5 Nxe5 5.Nxe5 Bxe5 6.f4 Bd6 7.Bc4 f6 8.0-0 Ne7 9.e5!? (9.Be3!? ) 9...Bc5+ 10.Kh1 d5 11.exf6 gxf6 12.Qh5+ Ng6 (Lahaye-Helvensteijn, Hengelo 1996) 13.f5! dxc4 (or 13...Bxf5 14.Qxf5 dxc4 15.Qxc5) 14.fxg6, with a decisive advantage.

(4) After 3...Qe7?!, one good reply is 4.d5 Nb8 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bd3 . Black’s position is cramped – it is not simple for him to get his pieces to comfortable positions and obtain at least some counterplay.

(5) 3...Qf6 also does not fare any better after 4.d5 Nd4 (4...Nce7 is probably objectively stronger, but then it is very hard for Black to develop his kingside) 5.Nxd4 exd4 6.Bd3 Bb4+ 7.Bd2 Bd6 8.0-0 Qh4 9.f4 – White’s advantage in the center is overwhelming, and his opponent’s d4-pawn is weak (Pcola-Babicky, Zilina 1997).

(6) Should Black go on a collision course with 3...d5?!, he will be left with a poor position.

4.Nxe5!. Interestingly, after other continuations, Black is quite comfortable.

4...Nxe5 (4...dxe4 5.Bb5! Nge7 6.Nc3 ; 5...Bd7 6.Bxc6 ; then White successfully attacks the e4-pawn) 5.dxe5 dxe4 (Agreeing to a sad endgame; the gambit 5...d4 is insufficient, at the very least because of 6.c3 Bc5 7.Bc4 Qh4 [Sevenou-Buffard, France 1999] 8.0-0 ) 6.Qxd8+ Kxd8 7.Bc4 Ke7 8.Nc3 Be6 9.Bb3 Bxb3 10.axb3 Ke6 11.Nxe4 Kxe5 12.Ng3 . Here, 12.Ng5 is also possible, with a real advantage.

(7) After 3...Nxd4, it is simplest for White to play 4.Nxd4 exd4 5.Qxd4, transposing into the main line 3...exd4 4.Nxd4 Nxd4 5.Qxd4. 4.Nxe5 is worse on account of 4...Ne6!, when the position is just about level.

(8) 3...d6. By making this move, Black essentially avoids any opening discussions and voluntarily accepts a worse position.

Here, White can opt for a comfortable position without queens with 4.dxe5.

Another good move is 4.Bb5, transposing into the Steinitz system of the Ruy Lopez, which is considered good for White in this most unsophisticated version. The subtlety of this variation lies in the fact that if Black tries to defuse the central tension immediately with 4...exd4, White can capture the pawn with the queen – 5.Qxd4, and after 5...Bd7 6.Bxc6 Bxc6 7.Nc3, the centralized queen is very strong. White castles long and prepares a pawn attack on the kingside. Here we can probably conclude our small detour into the Ruy Lopez.

4...Nxe5 (Black thinks that a knight trade would make the defense a bit easier; after 4...dxe5 5.Qxd8+ Kxd8 6.Bc4 f6 7.Be3 Bg4 8.Nbd2 Nge7 9.0-0-0 Nc8 (Kovac-Mestrovic, Radenci 1998) 10.h3 Bd7 11.a3 Nd6 12.Bd5+-, White has a solid advantage in the endgame) 5.Nxe5 dxe5 6.Qxd8+ Kxd8 7.Bc4 f6 (in theory, trading the light-square bishops is good for Black, but to do that he will have to double his pawns: 7...Be6 8.Bxe6 fxe6 9.Be3 Nf6 10.f3 Nd7 11.Nd2 – Black’s position is solid, but he has no prospects) 8.Be3 Bd6 9.Nc3 c6 10.0-0-0 Kc7 11.a3 Ne7 12.Rd2 Ng6 13.Rhd1 Be7 (Jimenez-Solis, Cenfotec 2003) 14.f3 . In this endgame, it is White who plays for two results: if Black shows enough tenacity and perseverance and makes no mistakes, he will probably save a half-point. However it is unlikely that anyone would voluntarily go in for such a position with Black.

A short discussion of 4...Bg4

It is sensible to avoid tactics and play 5.Bb5!? dxe5 6.Qxd8+ Rxd8 7.Bxc6 bxc6 8.Be3! f6 (8...Bd6 9.Nfd2 Ne7 10.Nc3 leads to a similar result) 9.Nbd2 a6 10.0-0-0 Bd6 11.Nb3 Be6 12.Nfd2 Ne7 13.c4 or 13.Na5 Rd7 14.Ndb3 (14.Ndc4) 14...h5 15.Nb7 Kf7 16.N3c5 . With such positional weaknesses, even the bishop pair cannot help Black defend.

(9) 3...Nf6 4.dxe5 Nxe4 5.Bc4 is quite dubious. White threatens to win material, so Black does not have much of a choice.

Black loses a pawn and gets a poor position after 5...d6 6.Bxf7+! Kxf7 7.Qd5+ Be6 8.Qxe4 h6 9.Nc3 dxe5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Qxe5 Bd6 12.Qh5 Kg8 13.Be3 .

And after 5...Nc5 6.Qe2 Be7 7.Nc3 0-0 8.Be3 Na5 9.0-0-0 Nxc4 10.Qxc4 b6 11.Nd5 , his achievements are not exactly great, either. The reader should note that in such positions the plan involving queenside castling is good for White, mostly because of Black’s lag in development.

A succinct conclusion: It is best for Black not to get too original but simply take on d4 with the pawn. We now have the basic tabiya of the Scotch Game.

4.Nxd4

In the first chapter, we shall study the relatively rare continuations:

(A) 4...Nxd4; (B) 4...Nge7; and (C) 4...d5.

The first two variations are similar in the sense that Black wants to defuse the tension on d4 and avoid incurring doubled pawns on the c-file. The third line is an attempt to cut the Gordian knot and immediately resolve all the opening problems by trading the d7-pawn for the e4-pawn. However, None of these continuations promise full equality.

(A) 4...Nxd4 5.Qxd4 Qf6

This continuation can be called an imposed trade. It is rather straightforward and very simple and clear: Black wants to trade everything he can and only then develop his other pieces. What if White takes on f6? Then Black can develop his knight with tempo and seize the initiative in the opening.

This book’s main purpose is to be read by people who play chess for fun, rather than for chess professionals. Some like to attack, some prefer quiet, and deliberate endgame play. There is no universal recipe, Play this, this and this, and you will win in most cases. A common situation in an unresolved position is, You can play this, or you can play that; the choice will depend one’s style, mood, even one’s state of health.

Here, we see one such situation: White can go for an endgame or leave the queens on the board. Both plans promise him a small advantage. It depends on one’s taste which one to prefer.

Let’s look at the alternatives:

(1) 5...Ne7 6.Nc3 Nc6 7.Qd2 leads to variation (B), with transposition of moves.

(2) The following game ended in a disaster for Black: 5...c6 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.Bg5 Be7 8.e5 Nh5? (of course, 8...Nd5 was better, but after 9.Bxe7 Nxe7 10.0-0-0 , the backward pawn on d7 is bothersome for Black, and it is not easy for him to develop the c8-bishop) 9.Bxe7 Qxe7 10.g4!

Again proving the correctness of Dr. Tarrasch’s maxim, A knight on the rim is grim. And it is doubly disgraceful if this knight is lost. 10...c5 11.Qe3 and White won a piece (Schuster-Dibowski, Germany 1999).

(3) 5...Qe7?! is too passive. For instance, 6.Nc3 c6 (covering the d5-square, preventing the c3-knight’s invasion) 7.Be3 d6 8.0-0-0 Qe5 (Chagnaud-Beghdadi, France 1997). Black has neglected his development so much – all his pieces, except for the queen, are still on the starting squares – that White had an opportunity to obtain a big advantage with a simple combination: 9.Qxe5+ dxe5 10.Nb5! cxb5 11.Bxb5+ Ke7 12.Bc5+ Kf6 13.Bxf8 Ne7 14.Bxe7+ Kxe7 15.Rd3 , with a healthy extra pawn.

(4) 5...c5 creates unnecessary weaknesses in Black’s camp. The simplest reply for White here is 6.Qe5+ Qe7 (not 6...Be7 7.Qxg7; 6...Ne7 7.Na3! is also quite poor – the knight goes to d6 through c4 or b5: 7...d6 8.Bb5+ Bd7 9.Nc4! and White wins material thanks to the threat of smothered mate; this beautiful line is worth remembering) 7.Qxe7+ Bxe7 8.Nc3 Nf6 9.e5 (9.Bf4 is also good, but the pawn move is even more resolute: the black pieces are pushed back to poor positions and lose their coordination) 9...Ng4 10.Nd5 Bd8 11.Bf4 g5 12.Bg3 a6 13.0-0-0 y (Simeoni-Michelena, Ars 1995). As in some other lines that we have already looked at, Black has problems with the d7-pawn and queenside development.

(5) Black likely cannot afford experiments such as 5...b6.

Simple central play gives White an obvious advantage: 6.Nc3 Bb7 (6...Bc5? 7.Qxg7) 7.Bf4 Nf6 8.0-0-0 Bc5 (after 8...Be7 [Prekratic-Imsirovic, Osijek 2005], White has the unpleasant 9.Be2!, with the threat e4-e5. For example, 9...d6 10.e5! dxe5 11.Qxe5 Qc8 12.Rhe1, with an unstoppable attack on the black king that’s stuck in the center. 9...Bc5 is more resilient, but even here, after 10.Qd3 0-0 11.e5 Ne8 12.Ne4, black has nothing to