The Scotch Game is an ideal opening weapon for White. It's ambitious, totally sound and leads to a wide variety of strategically complex positions. The Scotch was a particular favourite of Garry Kasparov, who invigorated it with a number of major discoveries to make it an opening to be feared throughout the chess world.

In this book, Yelena Dembo and Richard Palliser team up to take a modern-day look at this popular opening. They provide thorough coverage of the critical main lines, recommend the best options for both sides, and outline the key tactical and positional ideas.

• Comprehensive coverage of the Scotch Game
• Written by renowned opening experts
• Packed with new ideas and critical analysis

Introduction T he Scotch Game has been one of my favourite openings as White ever since I took it up a decade ago. It's far sounder than the majority of gambit lines available to White after l e4 e5, but like them leads to unbalanced positions in which the de­fender is likely to feel much less at home than in the generally more rational lines of the Ruy Lopez. In short, the Scotch leads to a complex, exciting early middle-game in which White can most certainly aspire to the advantage.

Throughout the 1990s Garry Kasparov was the main torch-bearer for the Scotch and under his patronage a large number of Grandmasters adopted the opening, no doubt attracted by the extremely original positions which arise after 4...Nf6 5 Nxc6 bxc6 6 e5 Qe7 7 Qe2 Nd5 8 c4 and then 8...Ba6 or 8...Nb6. In the first few years of the new millennium Black's other main defence, 4...Bc5, caused a number of players, including Kasparov, to lose some of their faith in the Scotch, not least because new defences were worked out after 5 Nxc6 Qf6 6 Qd2. How­ever, the wheel didn't take long to turn full circle, thanks to new discoveries being found for White after 5 Be3 and especially 5 Nxc6 Qf6 6 Qf3!?. Indeed, nowadays the Scotch occupies a prominent part in the repertoire of Kasparov's sometime protege, Magnus Carlsen, and is regularly employed as well by the likes of Alexan­der Morozevich, Teimour Radjabov and especially Sergei Rublevsky, not forgetting too the talented, young grandmasters Emanuel Berg, Gawain Jones and Ian Nepomniachtchi.

Having spent many months studying recent grandmaster games in and exist­ing theory on the Scotch, it quickly became clear that this project was going to be far bigger than I ever could have envisaged. As such I was very pleased when Rich­ard Palliser agreed to come onboard. Richard not only added to the number of new ideas I'd found, but also updated much of the existing work, while helping to pre­sent the theory and key motifs of each variation as clearly as possible.

Both your authors have to admit to a certain bias for White's cause in the Scotch, but this is very much a complete work and those who defend 1 e4 e5 should also find much of interest, as well as plenty of new ideas within. Now I just hope that you will enjoy your adventures with or against the Scotch as much as I've always done!

Yelena Dembo

Athens

December 2010

Content:
004 Bibliography

005 Introduction

007 1) The Main Line: 8...Ba6 without 9 b3

031 2) The Main Line: 8...Ba6 9 b3

92 3) The Main Line: 8...Nb6 without 9 Nc3

117 4) The Main Line: 8...Nb6 9 Nc3

141 5) The Main Line: Early Deviations

157 6) The 4...Bc5 Variation: 5 Nxc6 Qf6 6 Qd2

195 7) The 4...Bc5 Variation: 5 Nxc6 Qf6 6 Qf3

230 8) The 4...Bc5 Variation: 5 Be3 without 5...Qf6 6 c3 Nge7 7 Bc4

275 9) The 4...Bc5 Variation: 5 Be3 Qf6 6 c3 Nge7 7 Bc4

320 10) The 4...Bc5 Variation: Early Alternatives

335 11) The Check on b4

357 12) Odds and Ends

378 Index of Variations