Scotch Game: Tartakower Variation
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nxc6 bxc6 6. Nd2
The Scotch Game: Tartakower 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. Nd2. 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 76 times by this move order. White won 53%, 2% were drawn and Black won 45%. The most popular continuation is 6… Bc5 (41% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.10 (Stockfish, depth 42; best line 6… Bc5 7. Nb3 Nxe4 8. Nxc5 Nxc5 9. Be3)
- ECO
- C45
- Moves
- 11 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/p1pp1ppp/2p2n2/8/4P3/8/PPPN1PPP/R1BQKB1R b KQkq - 1 6- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nxc6 bxc6 6. Nd2
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 17 | |
| 1500-1999 | 19 | |
| 2000+ | 40 | |
| All | 76 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6… Bc5 | 31 (41%) | |
| 6… d5 | 28 (37%) | |
| 6… Bb4 | 8 (11%) | |
| 6… Qe7 | 2 (3%) | |
| 6… Bd6 | 2 (3%) | |
| 6… Be7 | 2 (3%) | |
| 6… Bb7 | 1 (1%) | |
| 6… a5 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
567 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 41%, draw 31%, Black 28%). The strongest:
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2768) – GM So, W. (2771) 1/2-1/2 · CGC KO 2022 · 2022-11-05
- GM Levon Aronian (2737) – GM So, W. (2745) 1/2-1/2 · Saint Louis Blitz 2025 · 2025-08-15
- GM Levon Aronian (2737) – GM So, W. (2745) 1/2-1/2 · Saint Louis Rapid 2025 · 2025-08-12
- GM Nihal Sarin (2670) – GM Liren Ding (2811) 1/2-1/2 · chess.com SpeedChess 2022 · 2022-12-09
- GM Levon Aronian (2737) – GM Leinier Dominguez Perez (2738) 1-0 · Saint Louis Blitz 2025 · 2025-08-15
Search all games of the Scotch Game: Tartakower Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Nana_jede_cevape (2879) – NM Andrey11976 (2804) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- JelenaZ (2607) – kuhmft (2856) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- GM Elda64 (2728) – July16Q (2652) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 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.