Scotch Game
C45 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Qh4 5. Nb5 Bb4+ 6. Bd2
Black scores 52.0% here across 1,800 club games — but the 41.6% who answer Nxd4 score 47.1%, 5 points worse.
What Black actually plays here
Across 1,800 games from a Lichess-derived book of club play, Black scores 52.0% in this position. These are the replies people choose, and how each one works out.
| Reply | Games | Share | Black scores | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nxd4 | 749 | 41.6% | 47.1% | below the line |
| Bc5 | 449 | 24.9% | 54.5% | holds up |
| Nf6 | 197 | 10.9% | 61.2% | holds up |
| d6 | 80 | 4.4% | 47.5% | below the line |
| Qf6 | 73 | 4.1% | 51.4% | holds up |
| Nge7 | 67 | 3.7% | 56.0% | holds up |
| Ne5 | 47 | 2.6% | 40.4% | below the line |
| d5 | 29 | 1.6% | 60.3% | holds up |
| Qh4 | 26 | 1.4% | 55.8% | holds up |
| Bb4+ | 26 | 1.4% | 61.5% | holds up |
"Below the line" means the reply scores at least three points worse than the position does overall. Replies played fewer than 25 times are left out: the sample is too small to read.
Is this costing you anything?
A table of averages cannot tell you whether you go wrong here — only your own games can. Opening Leak Lab reads your Chess.com or Lichess archive, finds the decisions you repeat, and checks each one against this book and a bundled Stockfish.