Scotch Game
White strikes at once with d4, trading its d-pawn for Black's e-pawn to open the centre and gain space.
After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4, the centre opens early. The play is direct and easier to learn than the Ruy Lopez.
New to chess? The examples here use it. Play your first moves (five minutes), then learn chess from the beginning, one short lesson at a time.
Want more? Puzzles on this from real games, on Lichess, free and with no account. They are not counted in your progress here.
Learn and practise it
- Lesson: A map of the openings