Scotch Game: Gottschall Variation
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Be3 Qf6 6.c3 Nge7 7.Qd2 d5 8.Nb5 Bxe3 9.Qxe3 O-O 10.Nxc7 Rb8 11.Nxd5 Nxd5 12.exd5 Nb4
What Is The Gottschall Variation?
The Gottschall Variation is the forcing line after 7.Qd2 d5 8.Nb5 Bxe3 9.Qxe3 O-O 10.Nxc7. Black's 10...Rb8 looks like it traps the knight, but 11.Nxd5 rescues it and returns the material, so 10.Nxc7 is no free piece. After 11...Nxd5 12.exd5 White owns one extra pawn and a passer on d5, with an uncastled king and the queenside still at home.
Black's 12...Nb4 is the whole point: it hits c2 with the threat of Nc2+ forking king and rook, so White spends moves defending rather than developing. Games here are decided by whether White untangles and castles before Black's open b file, open e file and pressure on c2 break through. Trade into an endgame and the extra pawn tells; leave the white king in the centre and the initiative does.