Scotch Game: Mieses Variation
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nxc6 bxc6 6. e5
The Scotch Game: Mieses Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C45, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nxc6 bxc6 6. e5. It is a line of the Scotch Game. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 2,544 times by this move order. White won 48%, 6% were drawn and Black won 46%. The most popular continuation is 6… Qe7 (47% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 65; best line 6… Qe7 7. Qe2 Nd5 8. c4 Ba6 9. b3)
- ECO
- C45
- Moves
- 11 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/p1pp1ppp/2p2n2/4P3/8/8/PPP2PPP/RNBQKB1R b KQkq - 0 6- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nxc6 bxc6 6. e5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 914 | |
| 1500-1999 | 925 | |
| 2000+ | 705 | |
| All | 2,544 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6… Qe7 | 1,186 (47%) | |
| 6… Nd5 | 1,174 (46%) | |
| 6… Ne4 | 116 (5%) | |
| 6… Ng8 | 28 (1%) | |
| 6… Ng4 | 24 (1%) | |
| 6… Bb4+ | 7 (0%) | |
| 6… d5 | 2 (0%) | |
| 6… Bc5 | 1 (0%) |
Master games
5,925 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 38%, draw 27%, Black 35%). The strongest:
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2781) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2837) 1/2-1/2 · 9th London Classic 2017 · 2017-12-08
- GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2771) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2839) 1/2-1/2 · Esports World Cup D 2025 · 2025-07-29
- GM Garry Kasparov (2812) – GM Fabiano Caruana (2795) 1/2-1/2 · Ultimate Blitz Challenge · 2016-04-28
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2820) – GM Levon Aronian (2781) 1/2-1/2 · FTX Crypto Cup Prelim · 2021-05-23
- GM So, W. (2822) – GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2772) 0-1 · Vugar Gashimov Mem 2017 · 2017-04-21
Search all games of the Scotch Game: Mieses Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Nana_jede_cevape (2891) – NM Andrey11976 (2793) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- Nana_jede_cevape (2903) – July16Q (2675) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- FM Tictoocchess (2805) – GM Anuar_Is (2714) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Scotch Game: Schmidt Variation 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6
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.