Learn To Play The Scotcillian Gambit

Scotcillian Gambit
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Bc4!?
A new idea. If Black tries to hold on to the extra pawn, they will usually find themselves in a worse position. After black's move, you will either try to trade off the pawn of d4 via c3 or just simply recapture the pawn (depending on the situation). If Black ever plays a6, you will play a4 to stop a queen side expansion. In a lot of situations if black moves his e pawn two squares, you will try to play Qb3 and Ng5 targeting f7 in the style of a Fried Liver/Evan's Gambit.

4... Nf6 Main Line
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Bc4 Nf6!
Black’s best reply.
5. Nxd4
(5. Qe2 A less aggressive but more solid line that leads to a big trade. e6 6. c3 Nxe4 7. Qxe4 d5 8. Bxd5 Qxd5 9. Qxd5 exd5 10. Nxd4 Nxd4 11. cxd4 Black has a slight advantage with the bishop pair.)
... Nxe4 6. Bxf7+!
At first glance this sacrifice doesn’t seem sound, but after a series of checks White will be able to win back material.
... Kxf7 7. Qh5+ g6
(7... Kg8 8. Qd5+! e6 9. Qxe4 d5 10. Nxc6 bxc6 11. Qa4 Qc7 12. O-O Bd6 13. h3=)
(7... Kf6?? Trying to avoid a fork. 8. Qf5#)
8. Qd5+ e6 9. Qxe4 d5 10. Nxc6 bxc6 11. Qa4 Qc7 12. O-O Bd6 13. h3
Black has the bishop pair and a strong center but Black’s c8 bishop will have a hard time getting active and White has easy development.

4... e6 French Variation
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Bc4 e6?!
Black is trying to block white's light squared bishop's vision on the f7 square and would like to transpose to a normal French Sicilian, but this move doesn’t fight for an advantage.
5. O-O
(5. c3!? You can transpose to a Smith-Morra Gambit if you'd like. Dxc3 6. Nxc3 Nf6 7. O-O Be7 8. Qe2
O-O 9. Rd1 a6 10. Bf4 b5 11. Bb3 Bb7 12. Rac1=)
... Nf6 6. Re1 Nxe4
(6... Be7 7. e5 Nd5 8. Nxd4 O-O 9. Bxd5 exd5 10. Nc3 and White gets a better pawn structure.)
7. Rxe4 d5 8. Bxd5 Qxd5 9. Nc3! Qh5
(9... dxc3?? 10. Qxd5 Black’s e-pawn is pinned.)
10. Rh4 Qc5 11. Nxd4=

4... e5 5. c3 dxc3 6. Nxc3 h6 Smith-Morra Variation: Anti-Fried Liver Line
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Bc4 e5?
Holding on to the pawn with 4... e5 is a big inaccuracy because it weakens f7. Black must play every move perfectly to avoid the landmine of traps.
5. c3 dxc3 6. Nxc3 h6?
The move seems natural because it stops Ng5, but this just lets white get more development.
7. Qb3 Na5??
This gives White a mate in 10.
(7... Qe7 8. Nd5 Qd8 9. O-O)
(7... Qf6 8. Nb5 Bb4+ 9. Bd2 Bxd2+ 10. Nxd2 Nd4 11. Bxf7+!! Qxf7?? 12. Nd6+! and Black loses their queen)
8. Bxf7+! Ke7 9. Nd5+!! Kxf7
(9... Kd6 10. Qb4+! Kc6 11. Nxe5#)
10. Nxe5+! Ke6
(10... Ke8 11. Nc7+! and White wins)
11. Qh3+!! Kxe5 12. Bf4+! Kxe4 13. O-O-O! Bb4 14. f3#

4... e5 Smith-Morra Variation: Other Lines
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Bc4 e5? 5. c3 dxc3
(5... Nf6 6. Ng5 d5 7. exd5 Nxd5?! 8. Nxf7!! Similar to a Fried Liver Attack Kxf7 9. Qf3+! Ke6 10. O-O= Both sides have chances in this position.)
(5... Bc5 6. b4 Bb6 7. b5 d5! Sacrificing a pawn to open up the light squared bishop. (7... Na5? 8. Nxe5 Nxc4 9. Nxc4 dxc3?? 10. Nd6+! Kf8 11. Ba3+- with a devastating attack) 8. Bxd5 Nce7 9. Bxf7+!! Traxler style sacrifice Kxf7 10. Nxe5+! Kf8 11. Qb3 Qe8! Nothing else works. 12. Ba3 Nf6 13. O-O White is down in material but black's king is exposed.)
6. Nxc3 Nf6
(6... d6 7. Ng5 Be6? 8.Bxe6 fxe6 9. Nxe6 Qe7?? 10. Nd5! Qd7 (10... Qxe6 11. Nc7+! Black loses their queen) Even if black realizes they've fallen into a trap now, it is already too late. Nec7+! and Black loses a rook.
An online game between a 2300 and a WGM continued:
11... Kf7 12. Nxa8 Nf6 13. Nxf6 gxf6 14. Qd5+ Qe6 15. Qxe6+ Kxe6 16. Nc7+ Kd7 17. Nd5 Be7 18. Nxe7 Kxe7 19. Be3 Nb4 20. O-O-O Rc8+ 21. Kb1 Nc2 22. Rc1 1-0 Chinese_Dragon - WGM Irina_Mikhaylova, lichess.org/bHrgJPVR)
(6... Bb4 7. Ng5 Nh6 8. O-O O-O 9. Qh5 d6 10. h3 Qf6 11. Nd5±)
(6... Be7?? 7. Qd5! and Black loses f7.)
7. Ng5 d5 8. exd5 Na5?!
(Better was 8... Nd4 9. d6 Opening up the light squared bishop to target f7 again. Be6 10. Nxe6 fxe6 11. O-O Bxd6 12. Nb5 Bc5 13. Nxd4 Bxd4 14. Qb3=)
9. Bb5+ Bd7 10. O-O h6 11. Re1!!
Sacrificing the g5 knight for an attack.
... hxg5??
(Better was 11... Bxb5 12. Nxb5 Bc5 13. Rxe5+ Kf8 and Black still has a little hope.)
12. Rxe5+ Be7 13. d6
White wins back the material and Black’s king is getting obliterated.

4... g6 Dragon Variation
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Bc4 g6?
Black doesn’t want any trouble and is looking to transpose into a Normal Dragon Sicilian, but unfortunately for your opponent, we can make this game anything but normal.
5. c3 dxc3 6. O-O cxb2
(6... Bg7 7. Nxc3 d6 8. e5 Nxe5 9. Nxe5 Bxe5 10. Qb3 e6 11. Re1 Bd7 12. Rxe5!! With a lot of potential pressure on the d-file and the h4-d8 diagonal. dxe5 13. Be3 Nf6 14. Rd1! Pinning Black’s bishop to the queen. O-O 15. Bg5! Pinning Black’s knight to the queen. h6 16. Bxf6 Qxf6 17. Rxd7 and White gets two pieces for a rook.)
7. Bxb2
White gets two very active bishops and a lot of pressure on the a1-h8 and the a2-g8 diagonals.
... f6
(7... Nf6 8. Ng5 e6 9. Qf3 Bg7 10. e5 Bh6 (10...Nd5?? 11. Qxf7#) 11. h4± Black has a gaping hole on d6.)
8. Qe2
White’s ideal setup would be to get their queen on e2 with rooks on c1 and d1.
... Bg7 9. Rd1 d6 10. Ng5 Nh6
(10... fxg5?? 11. Bxg7 followed by Bxh8)
11. Ne6 Bxe6 12. Bxe6±
White's light squared bishop is very powerful because it cannot be attacked easily and is preventing black from castling.

4... d6 Modern Variation
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Bc4 d6?
Black is trying to transpose back to a Normal Sicilian.
5. Nxd4
(For Smith-Morra Fans: 5. c3 dxc3 6. Nxc3 e6 7. O-O Nf6 8. Qe2 Be7 9. Rd1=)
... a6
(5... e6 6. Bb3 Nf6 7. Nc3 a6 8. Nxc6 bxc6 9. f4 Be7 10. Qf3 O-O 11. Be3=)
(5... Nf6 6. Nc3 e6 7. O-O Be7 8. Be3=)
6. Nc3 Bd7 7. Be3 e6 8. Qd2 b5 9. Bd3 Nf6 10. O-O-O Be7 11. f4=
Both sides are trying to create pawn storms and attack the enemy king.

4... h6 Anti-Fried Liver Variation
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Bc4 h6?
Black is trying to stop Ng5 at all costs, which will cause him to lose a lot of time. This variation can often transpose to the Anti-Fried Liver Line of the Smith-Morra Variation.
5. O-O e5 6. c3 dxc3 7. Qb3 Qf6 8. Nxc3 Na5 9. Bxf7+!! Qxf7 10. Qxf7+ Kxf7 11. Nxe5+ Ke8??
A fork of Black’s king and rook is unstoppable now.
(Better was 11... Kf6 12. Bf4 Ne7 13. Rad1 g6 14. Rd6+ Kg7 15. Nb5 g5 16. Nc7 gxf4 17. Ne8+ Kh7 18. Nf6+ Kg7 19. Ne8+ with a perpetual check.)
12. Nb5! Rb8 13. Ng6 Rh7 14. Bf4 d6 15. Nxf8! Removing the defender of d6 Kxf8 16. Bxd6+
Black loses his rook.

4... Qb6 Wayward Queen Variation
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Bc4 Qb6?
This move hangs on to the pawn, but White can now get easy development and Black’s queen will be a target for White’s pieces.
5. c3 dxc3 6. Nxc3 e6 7. Bf4 Qxb2?
(Better was 7... Bb4 8. O-O Bxc3 9. bxc3 Nge7 10. Bd6 and Black still has chances.)
8. Nb5
And White has an overwhelming initiative.

4... Qa5+ Mongoose Variation
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Bc4 Qa5+!
The only good move other than 4... Nf6.
5. Bd2 Qc5 6. Qe2 d6 7. h3
Preventing 7... Bg4 with an annoying pin.
... Nf6 8. c3 e6 9. cxd4 Nxd4 10. Nxd4 Qxd4 11. Nc3=
White is ahead in development but Black is up a pawn.
4... b5 Polish Countergambit
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Bc4 b5!?
An interesting move, winning a tempo on White’s bishop and preparing to play Bb7, putting the bishop on an active diagonal.
5. Bd5
(The pawn can’t really be taken, of course because 5. Bxb5?? Qa5+ picks up White’s bishop.)
... Nf6 6. O-O Nxd5
(Also interesting is 6... e6 7. Bxc6 dxc6 8. e5 Nd5 9. Qxd4 c5 10. Qg4 Bb7)
7. exd5 Nb4 8. Nxd4
(8. Qxd4?? loses to Nxc2)
... Nxd5 9. Nxb5 Bb7 10. N1c3 Nxc3 11. Nxc3 Qb6 12. Be3 Qc6 13. Qg4 h5 14. Qg3 h4 15. Qh3 g5
Black already has a big attack brewing.
16. f3 e6 17. Rad1 Bc5 18. Bxc5 Qxc5+ 19. Rf2 f5∓

Master Games

While this opening does not score very well in master games, I did find a few games where untitled players had defeated Grand masters with it.

Chinese_Dragon - WGM Irina_Mikhaylova, Lichess Bullet Game lichess.org/bHrgJPVR
1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 d6 6. Bc4 e5 7. Ng5 Be6 8. Bxe6 fxe6 9. Nxe6 Qe7 10. Nd5 Qd7 11. Nec7+ Kf7 12. Nxa8 Nf6 13. Nxf6 gxf6 14. Qd5+ Qe6 15. Qxe6+ Kxe6 16. Nc7+ Kd7 17. Nd5 Be7 18. Nxe7 Kxe7 19. Be3 Nb4 20. O-O-O Rc8+ 21. Kb1 Nc2 22. Rc1 1-0

Sergey Baranow – GM Arman Mikaelyan, EU-ch Online 2300+ Final, 2020

1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. Qe2 d6 6. h3 g6 7. O-O Bg7 8. Rd1 e5 9. c3 O-O 10. cxd4 exd4 11. Nxd4 Re8 12. Nc3 Nxe4 13. Nxc6 Nxc3 14. Bxf7+ Kh8 15. bxc3 Rxe2 16. Nxd8 Bf5 17. Nxb7 Bxc3 18. Be3 Bxa1 19. Rxa1 Kg7 20. Bc4 Rc2 21. Nxd6 Bd7 22. Bb3 Rc7 23. Bd4+ Kf8 24. Ne4 Bf5 25. Ng5 Rd8 26. Be3 Re8 27. Rd1 h6 28. Nf3 Kg7 29. Bd4+ Kh7 30. Bb2 Rd7 31. Rc1 Rde7 32. g4 Be4 33. Kg2 Rf8 34. Rc3 Rd7 35. Kg3 a5 36. Bc1 g5 37. Ne5 Rb7 38. Be3 Rd8 39. Bc2 Bxc2 40. Rxc2 Rd5 41. Nf3 a4 42. Rc6 Rb2 43. Rc7+ Kg8 44. a3 Rb3 45. Ra7 Rxa3 46. Kg2 Ra2 47. Nd4 a3 48. Nf5 Kf8 49. Ra8+ Kf7 50. Nxh6+ Ke6 51. Nf5 Ra1 52. Re8+ Kd7 53. Ra8 Rdd1 54. Bxg5 Rg1+ 55. Kf3 Rh1 56. h4 Kc6 57. h5 Kb7 58. Ra4 Rh2 59. h6 a2 60. Bh4 Rah1 61. Rxa2 Kc6 62. Kg3 Rh3+ 63. Kf4 Kd5 64. h7 Rxh4 65. Nxh4 Rxh4 66. Ra5+ Ke6 67. Rh5 Rxh5 68. gxh5 1-0

Sergey Baranow – GM Ulvi Ramil Oglu Sadikhov, EU-ch Online 2300+ Qual

1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. Bc4 e6 5. O-O d6 6. Qe2 Nf6 7. Rd1 Be7 8. c3 d3 9. Bxd3 Qc7 10. c4 O-O 11. Nc3 a6 12. h3 b6 13. Bf4 Ne5 14. Rac1 Bb7 15. b3 Nfd7 16. Bb1 Rfd8 17. Bg3 Qc5 18. Kh1 Rac8 19. Nd4 Bf6 20. f4 Nc6 21. Nxc6 Qxc6 22. f5 Be5 23. Bxe5 Nxe5 24. f6 gxf6 25. Qf2 Qc5 26. Qxf6 Ng6 27. Rf1 Rd7 28. Na4 Qa5 29. Qf2 Rc6 30. Rce1 b5 31. cxb5 axb5 32. Nb2 Qb6 33. Qg3 Qd4 34. Qf2 Qxf2 35. Rxf2 Rdc7 36. Nd3 Rc3 37. Nb4 Ne5 38. Kh2 Rc1 39. Rxc1 Rxc1 40. Bc2 Re1 41. Rd2 Bxe4 42. Rxd6 Bxc2 43. Nxc2 Re2 44. Rd8+ Kg7 45. Rc8 h5 46. a4 bxa4 47. bxa4 h4 48. Rc5 Nd3 49. Rc4 e5 50. a5 Nf4 51. a6 Nxg2 52. Kg1 Ne1 53. a7 Nf3+ 54. Kf1 Rd2 55. a8=Q 1-0