Scotch Game: Vitzthum Attack
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Bc5 5. Ng5 Nh6 6. Qh5
The Scotch Game: Vitzthum Attack is a chess opening classified as ECO C44, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Bc5 5. Ng5 Nh6 6. Qh5. 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 94 times by this move order. White won 52%, 1% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 6… O-O (46% of games).
Engine evaluation: −1.13 (Stockfish, depth 32; best line 6… Qe7 7. O-O Ne5 8. Ne6 dxe6 9. Qxe5)
- ECO
- C44
- Moves
- 11 plies
- FEN
r1bqk2r/pppp1ppp/2n4n/2b3NQ/2BpP3/8/PPP2PPP/RNB1K2R b KQkq - 5 6- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Bc5 5. Ng5 Nh6 6. Qh5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 27 | |
| 1500-1999 | 52 | |
| 2000+ | 15 | |
| All | 94 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6… O-O | 43 (46%) | |
| 6… Qf6 | 29 (31%) | |
| 6… Ne5 | 15 (16%) | |
| 6… Qe7 | 6 (6%) | |
| 6… Rf8 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
11 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 36%, draw 0%, Black 64%). The strongest:
- FM Maksims Golubovskis (2210) – IM Dmitry Obolenskikh (2543) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 26th Oct · 2021-10-26
- Santiago Castillo (2163) – CM Andres Carrasco Miranda (2226) 1-0 · Titled Tue 1st Jul Early · 2025-07-01
- Tumen Buyandalai (2074) – FM Samuel G A Franklin (2306) 0-1 · 5th Classic Open 2013 · 2013-12-10
- Santiago Castillo (2163) – Alfredo Asaf Rivera Perez (2167) 0-1 · 1st 3-0 Thu 9th Apr 2026 · 2026-04-09
- Carlos Enrique Huarcaya Silloca (1942) – Luka Matanovic (2251) 0-1 · 1st FIDE World Uni RapidB · 2021-03-21
Search all games of the Scotch Game: Vitzthum Attack and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- RomChartres (2524) – Yaponets (2574) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- RomChartres (2506) – Yaponets (2575) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- RomChartres (2507) – Vihajaisestatulesta (2429) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Scotch Game: Scotch Gambit, Sarratt Variation 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Bc5 5. Ng5
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.