specifically 5. ...c5, 5. ...d6, 5. ...Qh4
Scotch Opening continuation after 4. ... Nxd4.
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Not that I would want to play Black's position, but 6... Ng8 looks a lot better than 6... Nh5
5... d6 looks like Black's best choice. 5... c5 creates a big hole on d5.
what would white play after 5...d6, something like 6. Bc4?
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Qxd4 - Theory ends here because you've gained an obvious advantage... a queen in the center that's not so easy to chase away now that your opponent's Queen's knight is gone. When theory ends, fall back on strategy.
5.e5! is strong because it gains time--it forces your opponent to undevelop his knight. 6...Nh5 is refuted by 7.g4. 6...Qe7 is refuted by 7.Be2. Only 6...Ng8 remains.
If you didn't have time to work those out then 5.Nc3, 5.Bg5, and 5.Bc4 are all reasonable developing moves, although 5.Nc3 is preferrable since it's less commital... knights before bishops unless there's a solid tactical reason to do otherwise. (the pin after Bg5 is easy to squirm out of after ...Be7, so that doesn't qualify as a solid tactical reason).
after c5 there is a hole on d5 that can be used as an out post and the the d6 pawn is weak d6 is best and appeals to the rule of thumb of keeping the position closed while you are down in developent
Theory runs out, but it's not like there have been no games played after 4. ... Nxd4. So we can get a hint from the masters by checking the Game Explorer. After 5. Qxd4 we can see that white does well against all of black's responses, likesforests assessement of the position is accurate.
Black's best try appears to be 5. ... Ne7, I would guess intending to go to c6 with a tempo on the queen. And we can see from the Game Explorer that white can keep the advantage by making direct threats 6. Bc4 Nc6 7. Qd5 where the mate threat essentially recovers the tempo as black doesn't have time for real development.
Another try for black is 5. ... Qf6. This likely catches out amateurs who are all too willing to trade pieces when offered. 6. Qxf6 would be an awful move, giving up all of white's advantage.
likesforests wrote:
5.e5! is strong because it gains time--it forces your opponent to undevelop his knight. 6...Nh5 is refuted by 7.g4. 6...Qe7 is refuted by 7.Be2. Only 6...Ng8 remains.
I think black has options here other than undeveloping the knight. 5...c5, for example, forces white's queen out of the center, giving black's knight other escape routes regardless of where she moves. Still a strong move, though, as any move black makes in reaction to this is going to open weaknesses for white to exploit, or at the very least allow white to develop further via chasing the knight around the board.
I'm a recreational/amateur player that has been getting more involved in theory lately. I have a book that details several Scotch Opening lines, but they are all the same move through 8 or 9. I'm looking for advice on how to capitalize on what I assume are mistakes if black doesn't play the moves listed in the lines I've read, specifically is black plays 4. ... Nxd4 instead of ...Nf6. Here is a solution I've found on my own if the game continues 5. Qxd4 Nf6. Looking for advice for other plays by black on his 5th move, or general advice for this positioning.