Scotch Game: Steinitz Variation (4… Qh4 5. Nc3)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Qh4 5. Nc3
The Scotch Game: Steinitz Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C45, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Qh4 5. Nc3. It is a line of the Scotch Game. Black is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 944 times by this move order. White won 43%, 5% were drawn and Black won 52%. The most popular continuation is 5… Bb4 (91% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.86 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 5… Bb4 6. Be2 Qxe4 7. Nb5 Bxc3+ 8. bxc3)
- ECO
- C45
- Moves
- 9 plies
- FEN
r1b1kbnr/pppp1ppp/2n5/8/3NP2q/2N5/PPP2PPP/R1BQKB1R b KQkq - 2 5- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Qh4 5. Nc3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 204 | |
| 1500-1999 | 597 | |
| 2000+ | 143 | |
| All | 944 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5… Bb4 Modern Defense | 857 (91%) | |
| 5… Bc5 | 60 (6%) | |
| 5… Nf6 | 12 (1%) | |
| 5… Nxd4 | 8 (1%) | |
| 5… Nge7 | 2 (0%) | |
| 5… Ne5 | 2 (0%) | |
| 5… Qxe4+ | 1 (0%) | |
| 5… Bd6 | 1 (0%) |
Master games
8 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 63%, draw 24%, Black 13%). The strongest:
- CM Sergio Hernandez Leon (2109) – GM Simon K Williams (2444) 1-0 · Titled Tue 22nd Jul Early · 2025-07-22
- FM Mukhiddin Madaminov (2328) – CM Arvids Andrejevs (2224) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 1st Feb A · 2022-02-01
- Siddharth Singh (2123) – FM Ronan Le Goff (2286) 0-1 · Titled Tue 19th Mar Early · 2024-03-19
- Simon Spacapan (1986) – Bostjan Benko (1963) 1/2-1/2 · 27th TCh-SLO 2017 · 2017-10-22
- Aizhan Alymbai kyzy (1908) – WFM Ahlam Makhlouf (1419) 1-0 · Djerba Women Online 2020 · 2020-06-14
Search all games of the Scotch Game: Steinitz Variation 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. Nxd4 Qh4) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Qh4
Continuations
- Scotch Game: Modern Defense C45 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Qh4 5. Nc3 Bb4
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.