Scotch Game: Modern Defense
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Qh4 5. Nc3 Bb4
The Scotch Game: Modern Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO C45, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Qh4 5. Nc3 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 857 times by this move order. White won 42%, 5% were drawn and Black won 53%. The most popular continuation is 6. Nxc6 (32% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.73 (Stockfish, depth 46; best line 6. Be2 Qxe4 7. Nb5 Bxc3+ 8. bxc3 Kd8)
- ECO
- C45
- Moves
- 10 plies
- FEN
r1b1k1nr/pppp1ppp/2n5/8/1b1NP2q/2N5/PPP2PPP/R1BQKB1R w KQkq - 3 6- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Qh4 5. Nc3 Bb4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 163 | |
| 1500-1999 | 556 | |
| 2000+ | 138 | |
| All | 857 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6. Nxc6 | 274 (32%) | |
| 6. Qd3 | 192 (22%) | |
| 6. Be2 | 139 (16%) | |
| 6. Nb5 | 71 (8%) | |
| 6. Bd3 | 49 (6%) | |
| 6. Be3 | 29 (3%) | |
| 6. g3 | 26 (3%) | |
| 6. Bd2 | 17 (2%) |
Master games
227 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 49%, draw 14%, Black 37%). The strongest:
- Stoofvlees II b1 (3511) – KomodoDragon 2970.00 (3568) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 23 Premier 2022 · 2022-09-30
- KomodoDragon 2970.00 (3568) – Stoofvlees II b1 (3511) 1-0 · TCEC 23 Premier 2022 · 2022-09-30
- GM Pavel Ponkratov (2623) – GM Samuel Sevian (2660) 1-0 · PNWCC Opening Bl 1.e4 e5 · 2020-12-05
- GM Tamir Nabaty (2638) – GM Simon K Williams (2464) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 6th July · 2021-07-06
- GM Denes Boros (2429) – GM Pavel Ponkratov (2631) 0-1 · Titled Tue 4th Aug 2pm · 2020-08-04
Search all games of the Scotch Game: Modern Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Batman412 (2572) – IM Angelicanmade (2556) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- NM dirty-flag (2515) – joobree (2556) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- Marat1310 (2366) – Chessmaste (2426) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Scotch Game: Steinitz Variation (4… Qh4 5. Nc3) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Qh4 5. Nc3
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.