The Scotch Game is a solid opening that has been tried and tested in practice by some of the strongest chessplayers in the world for more than two centuries. The idea behind the Scotch Game is simple and easily understandable. White eliminates – in a purely mechanical fashion – Black’s e5-pawn which initially impedes his ambition to dominate in the center.

This is very appealing for White, as he controls the direction of the struggle’s development, while Black can only try to keep pace. Furthermore, there are relatively simple schemes in the white repertoire in which it is enough to remember the main plans of both sides and typical maneuvers.

This is the second edition of Vladimir Barsky’s book that first appeared in 2009. The new edition consists of seven chapters dealing with the core ideas and variations of the Scotch, supplemented by 79 Illustrative Games. The authors not only present detailed analysis of all lines but are also careful to discuss the ideas behind the opening. If you already play the Scotch, you need this book. If you don’t, find out what you have been missing.

About the Authors
Grandmaster Alexei Bezgodov won the Russian Championship in 1993, and finished second in 1999.He is the author of many books, including The Art of the Tarrasch Defense, The Liberated Bishop Defense, Extreme Caro-Kann, The Double Queen’s Gambit, and Defend like Petrosian.

International Master Vladimir Barsky is a respected journalist and trainer. Among the books he has written are A Modern Guide to Checkmating Patterns, The Ragozin Complex, The Modern Philidor Defense, and A Universal Weapon 1.d4 d6.