Scotch Game

The Scotch Game, or Scotch Opening, is a chess opening that begins with the moves

1. e4 e5

2. Nf3 Nc6

3. d4

Ercole del Rio, in his 1750 treatise Sopra il giuoco degli Scacchi, Osservazioni pratiche d’anonimo Autore Modense (On the game of Chess, practical Observations by an anonymous Modenese Author), was the first author to mention what is now called the Scotch Game. The opening received its name from a correspondence match in 1824 between Edinburgh and London. Popular in the 19th century, by 1900 the Scotch had lost favour among top players because it was thought to release the central tension too early and allow Black to equalise without difficulty. More modernly, grandmasters Kasparov and Timman helped to re-popularize the Scotch, when they used it as a surprise weapon to avoid the well-analysed Ruy Lopez.