Scotch Game: Malaniuk Variation
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Bb4+
The Scotch Game: Malaniuk Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C45, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Bb4+. It is a line of the Scotch Game. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 1,726 times by this move order. White won 52%, 5% were drawn and Black won 43%. The most popular continuation is 5. c3 (84% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.49 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 5. c3 Bc5 6. Be3 Bb6 7. Nf5 Bxe3)
- ECO
- C45
- Moves
- 8 plies
- FEN
r1bqk1nr/pppp1ppp/2n5/8/1b1NP3/8/PPP2PPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 1 5- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Bb4+
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 920 | |
| 1500-1999 | 654 | |
| 2000+ | 152 | |
| All | 1,726 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5. c3 | 1,457 (84%) | |
| 5. Bd2 | 136 (8%) | |
| 5. Nc3 | 131 (8%) | |
| 5. Nd2 | 1 (0%) | |
| 5. Ke2 | 1 (0%) |
Master games
1,580 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 36%, draw 25%, Black 39%). The strongest:
- GM So, W. (2810) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2822) 0-1 · 5th Sinquefield Cup 2017 · 2017-08-06
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2786) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2832) 0-1 · chess.com Speed 5m+2spm 2017 · 2018-01-03
- GM Hao Wang (2743) – GM Levon Aronian (2813) 1/2-1/2 · Norway Supreme Masters Blitz 2013 · 2013-05-07
- GM Anish Giri (2780) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2736) 1/2-1/2 · FTX Crypto Cup Prelim · 2021-05-24
- GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2719) – GM Vladimir Kramnik (2784) 0-1 · FIDE World Cup 2013 · 2013-08-28
Search all games of the Scotch Game: Malaniuk Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- TheorySpeedrun (2647) – Mallorca10Barcelona (2676) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- laogun (2620) – DiabloDiabloDiablo (2639) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- IM jeden94 (2520) – DiabloDiabloDiablo (2648) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Scotch Game (3… exd4 4. Nxd4) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4
More Scotch Game lines (all)
- Scotch Game (2… Nc6 3. d4) C44
- Scotch Game (3. d4 exd4) C44
- Scotch Game: Benima Defense C44
- Scotch Game: Cochrane Variation C44
- Scotch Game: Cochrane-Shumov Defense C44
- Scotch Game: Göring Gambit C44
- Scotch Game: Göring Gambit, Bardeleben Variation C44
- Scotch Game: Göring Gambit, Double Pawn Sacrifice C44
- Scotch Game: Göring Gambit, Main Line C44
- Scotch Game: Hanneken Variation C44
- Scotch Game: Haxo Gambit C44
- Scotch Game: Lolli Variation (3. d4 Nxd4) C44
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.