Scotch Game:Göring Gambit

Named after the German player Carl Göring. Instead of retaking on d4, White offers a pawn with 4. c3 for quick development.

It is reached after 7 moves: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. c3. It is a line of the Scotch Game.

Black is to move and has 33 legal moves. Over the next four moves — two for each side — the game can branch into 1,627,848 different games. Those games reach 527,241 different positions: most positions can be reached in more than one way, 3.1 on average.

The Lichess opening list names 5 further lines after this position, such as Double Pawn Sacrifice (4... dxc3 5. Bc4) and Scotch Gambit, Göring Gambit Declined (4... d5).

The same moves can be played in 32 different legal orders that all reach this position. For example 1. Nf3 e5 2. e4 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. c3, which starts as the Zukertort Opening.