Scotch Game: what should White play?

In this Scotch Game position arising after Black's unorthodox third move, White's most effective continuation is Bc4. Developing the bishop to target Black's weakened dark squares offers White an engine evaluation of +1.64 and a 65.7% scoring rate across 228K recorded games. Black's early pawn advance compromises king safety, allowing White to prioritize rapid piece activity and central pressure over immediate pawn exchanges.

Rapid Development with Bc4

Although d5 represents the most frequent human choice at 50.5% of games (1.19M recorded) and dxe5 accounts for 38.3% (901K recorded), the engine prioritizes Bc4, which appears in only 9.7% of games. By developing the bishop to c4, White exploits Black's structural concession without committing the central pawns prematurely. An illustrative engine continuation demonstrates this emphasis on harmonious piece deployment: Bc4 d6 h3 Nge7 O-O exd4.

Alternative Central Approaches

Players seeking immediate spatial advantages often choose d5, which scores 61.4% with an evaluation of +1.13. This move gains space and pushes the knight, as seen in the continuation d5 Nce7 c4 d6 Nc3 g6. Alternatively, opening the center immediately with dxe5 yields an evaluation of +1.54 and scores 62.3% for White. An illustrative sequence following this capture runs dxe5 Bc5 Bc4 Qe7 Nc3 Bb4.

Secondary Developing Options

White also possesses quieter development schemes. The move Be2 achieves an evaluation of +1.21, illustrated by the line Be2 exd4 Nxd4 Bc5 Nb3 Bb6. Finally, Be3 appears in 1.4% of games (34K recorded) with an evaluation of +1.05 and a 58.3% score, illustrated by Be3 d5 exd5 Qxd5 c4 Qd7.