From Edinburgh to Kasparov
The Scotch Game took its name from a correspondence match played in 1824 between the chess clubs of Edinburgh and London, where the Scottish side struck in the centre with 3.d4. It was a fixture of nineteenth-century play before slipping quietly out of fashion. Then Garry Kasparov brought it back to the very top, wheeling it out in World Championship play and reminding everyone that an early central strike still carries real venom.
That is the spirit GM Mitrabha Guha builds on in The Scotch Game: A Modern Repertoire for White. After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4, White challenges Black in the centre at once and plays for active pieces from the very first moves — no slow manoeuvring, no waiting for a plan to arrive.
Where the repertoire finds its edge
What makes this a modern repertoire is the choice Guha makes at a well-travelled crossroads. In the most challenging main line, 3…exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nxc6 bxc6, most opponents brace for 6.e5, and keep 6.Nd2 and 6.Bd3 in reserve as well. Guha recommends 6.Qe2!? instead — a serious, far less charted alternative that hands Black a wide choice while quietly steering the game onto ground he has probably never studied.
The point is practical rather than flashy. A player who has drilled the 6.e5 tabiyas can find himself thinking on his own from an early stage, and that is exactly where a prepared White side wants him.
The course does not rest on a single idea, though. Guha covers every serious Black defence: the classical 4...Bc5 and its structures after 5.Nb3, the tricky 4...Qf6, and the sharp 6...d5 in the 4…Nf6 line — a two-pawn sacrifice once regarded as a refutation of the Qe2 move, where he shows a way to keep posing problems rather than defend.
Author and approach
Guha is an Indian grandmaster and part of the Modern Chess author team, known for repertoires that teach recurring ideas rather than long forced sequences. Here he walks through all of Black's important replies and the plans behind each resulting position, so you finish with a repertoire you can play on understanding, not memory alone.
Variation map
3.d4
- 3...Nxd4 and other rare third moves → Chapter 1
- 3...exd4 4.Nxd4 — the main crossroads
- 4...Qf6 → Chapter 2
- 4...Bc5 5.Nb3
- 5...Bb4+ and rare fifth moves → Chapter 3
- 5...Bb6 6.Nc3
- 6...Nge7 and sidelines → Chapter 4
- 6...Qf6 → Chapter 5
- 6...d6 → Chapter 6
- 6...Nf6 7.Bg5
- 7...d6 and deviations → Chapter 7
- 7...O-O 8.Qe2 h6 → Chapter 8
- 4...Nf6 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.Qe2!? — the author’s recommendation
- 6...Be7 and sidelines → Chapter 9
- 6...Rb8 → Chapter 10
- 6...a5 → Chapter 11
- 6...Qe7 7.Nc3
- 7...a5 and deviations → Chapter 12
- 7...g6 → Chapter 13
- 6...d5 (two-pawn sacrifice) → Chapter 14
- 6...Bc5 → Chapter 15
Premium Course Features
This is a Modern Chess Premium course, built as a complete training system:
- 15 theory chapters with video explanations
- 30 test positions — critical moments with tactical and strategic solutions
- 5 training positions for interactive computer practice
- To-Go Version of every chapter — condensed files for pre-game review
- Memory Booster — for long-term recall of key ideas
- Multilingual PGN files — English, German, French, and Spanish
- Full download access — all materials are yours to keep
Put it to work
Players looking to build a full 1.e4 repertoire can also explore the 1.e4 According to Jobava series for a complete 1.e4-move approach.
If you want a 1.e4 answer to 1...e5 that fights for the initiative from the third move and pulls opponents out of their preparation, the Scotch delivers exactly that. Add it to your White repertoire and start collecting points with a direct, ambitious game.