Scotch Game: Relfsson Gambit
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bb5
The Scotch Game: Relfsson Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO C44, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bb5. 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 365 times by this move order. White won 50%, 5% were drawn and Black won 45%. The most popular continuation is 4… Bc5 (34% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.35 (Stockfish, depth 53; best line 4… Bc5 5. Nbd2 a6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. Nb3)
- ECO
- C44
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/pppp1ppp/2n5/1B6/3pP3/5N2/PPP2PPP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 1 4- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bb5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 147 | |
| 1500-1999 | 179 | |
| 2000+ | 39 | |
| All | 365 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… Bc5 | 124 (34%) | |
| 4… Nf6 | 56 (15%) | |
| 4… a6 | 48 (13%) | |
| 4… Nge7 | 34 (9%) | |
| 4… Bb4+ | 30 (8%) | |
| 4… d6 | 29 (8%) | |
| 4… Qf6 | 13 (4%) | |
| 4… d5 | 9 (2%) |
Master games
73 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 36%, draw 17%, Black 47%). The strongest:
- GM Denes Boros (2401) – GM MarcAndria Maurizzi (2576) 0-1 · Titled Tue 10th Dec Late · 2024-12-10
- IM Daniel Baratosi (2394) – GM Tiberiu-Marian Georgescu (2452) 1/2-1/2 · TCh-ROU Superliga 2015 · 2015-10-08
- FM Samant Aditya S (2433) – IM Moksh Amit Doshi (2396) 0-1 · Titled Tue 15th Feb Early · 2022-02-15
- GM Radoslav Dimitrov (2480) – FM Jan Marn (2341) 1/2-1/2 · Ljubljana Open 2024 · 2024-05-04
- CM Jozsef Jr. Lehocz (2154) – IM Balazs Csonka (2454) 0-1 · Titled Tue 24th Feb 2026 · 2026-02-24
Search all games of the Scotch Game: Relfsson Gambit and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- kasparik_garik (2622) – Zashibeatles_Chess (2670) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- SprengStoff (2537) – Carcelario85 (2473) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 2s
- SprengStoff (2518) – Paralysator (2446) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Scotch Game (3. d4 exd4) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4
More Scotch Game lines (all)
- Scotch Game (2… Nc6 3. d4) 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
- Scotch Game: Lolli Variation (4… exd4 5. Qxd4) 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.