--- title: "Scotch Game win rate" url: "https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/scotch-game.md" canonical_url: "https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/scotch-game" last_updated: "2026-11-07" type: "reference" summary: "White scored 54.8% in 38,672 games of the Scotch Game on Lichess, 1 September 2026. Results by rating band, time control and the most played lines." related: ["https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics.md", "https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/under-1200.md", "https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/1200-1599.md", "https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/1600-1999.md", "https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/2000-plus.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary.md"] --- # Scotch Game win rate > **For AI agents:** the complete index of GeorgeLiChess pages is [llms.txt](https://georgelichess.com/llms.txt). Every page is also served as markdown at its URL plus .md. White scored 54.8% in 38,672 games of the Scotch Game on Lichess, 1 September 2026. Results by rating band, time control and the most played lines. White scored 54.8% (margin 0.5 points) in 38,672 rated games of the Scotch Game, ECO C44, played between players within 100 rating points on 1 September 2026. It ranked number 11 of 117 openings by popularity and made up 2.4% of all games. ## How often does White win in the Scotch Game? White won 52.8% of the 38,672 games, 3.9% were drawn and Black won 43.3%. White's score of 54.8% is higher than White's score across all openings (51.9%) by 2.9 points, more than the margin of 0.5 points. **Results of 38,672 games of the Scotch Game, 1 September 2026.** | Result | Games | Share | | --- | --- | --- | | White wins | 20,431 | 52.8% | | Draws | 1,507 | 3.9% | | Black wins | 16,734 | 43.3% | ## Does the Scotch Game score differently at different ratings? White's score is highest at 1200 to 1599 (55.5%) and lowest at 2000 and above (53.0%). That spread of 2.5 points is inside the two margins added together, so the data show no clear difference between the bands. Players rated 1200 to 1599 choose the Scotch Game most often relative to their other openings, in 3.0 percent of their games. **White's score in the Scotch Game by the lower rating of the two players, 1 September 2026.** | Rating band | Games | Share of the band | White score | Margin (points) | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | under 1200 | 6,937 | 2.5% | 55.2% | 1.1 | | 1200 to 1599 | 17,251 | 3.0% | 55.5% | 0.7 | | 1600 to 1999 | 12,761 | 2.1% | 53.8% | 0.8 | | 2000 and above | 1,723 | 1.1% | 53.0% | 2.3 | ## How does the Scotch Game do in blitz, rapid and classical? The time control changes who tends to win, because the clock matters more in faster games. Rows with fewer than 1,500 games are left out. **White's score in the Scotch Game by time control, 1 September 2026.** | Time control | Games | White score | Margin (points) | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Blitz | 26,234 | 54.5% | 0.6 | | Rapid | 12,109 | 55.4% | 0.9 | ## What are the most played lines of the Scotch Game? The most played named line is the Lolli Variation, with 7,834 games and a White score of 56.7%. The table lists the ten most played lines that reached 300 games; a line below that is counted in the last row. **Named lines of the Scotch Game, most played first, 1 September 2026.** | Line | Games | White score | Margin (points) | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Lolli Variation | 7,834 | 56.7% | 1.1 | | Classical Variation | 2,846 | 53.1% | 1.8 | | Scotch Gambit | 2,547 | 56.3% | 1.9 | | Schmidt Variation | 1,724 | 51.5% | 2.3 | | Haxo Gambit | 1,550 | 59.0% | 2.4 | | Göring Gambit, Double Pawn Sacrifice | 876 | 58.7% | 3.2 | | Göring Gambit | 861 | 57.2% | 3.3 | | Benima Defense | 826 | 55.6% | 3.3 | | Scotch Gambit, Advance Variation | 773 | 53.0% | 3.5 | | Scotch Gambit, Sarratt Variation | 632 | 52.9% | 3.8 | | Main line and less played lines | 15,371 | 54.3% | 0.8 | ## How were these opening statistics measured? Rated Blitz, Rapid and Classical games on 1 September 2026 between players within 100 rating points, banded by the lower rating. A score is wins plus half the draws, with a 95 percent margin. The hub page explains the method in full. ## Frequently asked questions **What is the win rate of the Scotch Game?** White won 52.8%, drew 3.9% and lost 43.3% of 38,672 games, a White score of 54.8% with a margin of 0.5 points. These are games on Lichess on 1 September 2026. **Is the Scotch Game good for White?** At these ratings White's score was higher than White's score across all openings (51.9%) by 2.9 points, more than the margin of 0.5 points. A difference of a point or two is small, and the side that picks an opening also picks which games reach it, so the number describes what happened at these ratings and is not a ruling on the opening. **What is the most popular line of the Scotch Game?** The Lolli Variation was the most played named line, with 7,834 games, which is 20.3% of the games of the Scotch Game. ## Sources - [Lichess open database, standard rated games (CC0), file for September 2026](https://database.lichess.org/), read 2026-10-22 ## Related - [Queen's Gambit Declined win rate and statistics](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/queens-gambit-declined.md) - [Bishop's Opening win rate and statistics](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/bishops-opening.md) - [Philidor Defense win rate and statistics](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/philidor-defense.md) - [Ruy Lopez win rate and statistics](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/ruy-lopez.md) - [English Opening win rate and statistics](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/english-opening.md) - [Pirc Defense win rate and statistics](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/pirc-defense.md) - [Chess opening statistics for players rated under 1200](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/under-1200.md) - [Chess opening statistics for players rated 1200 to 1599](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/1200-1599.md) - [Chess opening statistics for players rated 1600 to 1999](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/1600-1999.md) - [Chess opening statistics for players rated 2000 and above](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/2000-plus.md) - [Most popular chess openings and win rates](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics.md) - [Chess terms glossary](https://georgelichess.com/glossary.md) - [Book your first lesson](https://georgelichess.com/book/first-lesson.md) Last updated 2026-10-22. ## Related - [Most popular chess openings and win rates](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics.md) - [Chess openings by rating: under 1200](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/under-1200.md) - [Chess openings by rating: 1200 to 1599](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/1200-1599.md) - [Chess openings by rating: 1600 to 1999](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/1600-1999.md) - [Chess openings by rating: 2000 and above](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/2000-plus.md) - [Chess terms glossary: plain definitions](https://georgelichess.com/glossary.md)