Scotch Game: Scotch Gambit, Advance Variation
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. e5
The Scotch Game: Scotch Gambit, Advance Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C44, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. 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 6,473 times by this move order. White won 50%, 4% were drawn and Black won 46%. The most popular continuation is 5… d5 (53% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 65; best line 5… d5 6. Bb5 Ne4 7. Nxd4 Bd7 8. Bxc6)
- ECO
- C44
- Moves
- 9 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/pppp1ppp/2n2n2/4P3/2Bp4/5N2/PPP2PPP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 0 5- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. e5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1,899 | |
| 1500-1999 | 3,439 | |
| 2000+ | 1,135 | |
| All | 6,473 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5… d5 | 3,412 (53%) | |
| 5… Ng4 | 1,132 (17%) | |
| 5… Ne4 | 823 (13%) | |
| 5… Qe7 | 601 (9%) | |
| 5… Ng8 | 194 (3%) | |
| 5… Nxe5 | 135 (2%) | |
| 5… Bb4+ | 85 (1%) | |
| 5… Nh5 | 43 (1%) |
Master games
3,165 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 38%, draw 19%, Black 43%). The strongest:
- GM Kirill Shevchenko (2684) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2853) 0-1 · Superbet Rapid 2023 · 2023-05-23
- GM Tigran L. Petrosian (2611) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2851) 0-1 · chess.com QF Blitz 1m+1spm 2016 · 2016-06-23
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2798) – GM Alexander Onischuk (2665) 1-0 · ch-USA 2015 · 2015-04-12
- GM Kirill Shevchenko (2684) – GM Anish Giri (2768) 1/2-1/2 · Superbet Rapid 2023 · 2023-05-22
- GM Kirill Shevchenko (2694) – GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2740) 0-1 · Euro Pairs Blitz Q Open · 2023-06-19
Search all games of the Scotch Game: Scotch Gambit, Advance Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Ante373 (2678) – FM Crew12 (2703) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- Ante373 (2671) – HighQualityO (2681) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- discasting (2610) – FM stanbad1 (2740) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Scotch Game: Scotch Gambit 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4
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.