Today I’d like to share with you the best chess opening for White to crush beginners and intermediate level opponents.

It works extremely well at the beginner level because most of the amateur players make the following opening mistake in the mainline after 3…exd4 4.Nxd4 Nxd4. More than 15 million chess players have made this opening mistake (4…Nxd4) and their average rating is 1500 ELO.

Therefore, this opening variation will help you beat players up to 1500 ELO in just 10 moves!

I’m gonna prove that it is indeed the best and it does work, especially against players who are 1500 rated or below that. Let’s see how to crush Black.

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4

This is a Scotch Game. Now at first, you may be wondering “what’s the catch?” It’s just one of the possible openings, and it is true, but it is extremely effective, especially on that sub-1500 rating level because usually, Black played completely wrong and got crushed very quickly.

3…exd4 4. Nxd4 Nxd4?! 5. Qxd4

First of all, they do play Nxd4, which already gives White a very dominant position. With your queen out, you take the center, your bishops are ready to be easily developed, and Black is already on the brink of disaster, although it may not look that way.

But now, very often, they continue playing wrong moves because the correct move is very difficult to find here for Black.

5…Nf6 

Most players will play Nf6, which is the wrong move. It simply allows you to play e5 chasing back the knight to g8, and Black is completely passive there and completely undeveloped. Let’s check out how to defeat Black if they play 5…Nf6

You may be wondering, like, ‘Hey Igor, but only a complete beginner would play that way!’ Not really. As you see from Lichess database screenshot, 15 million players play the wrong move Nxd4.

One doubt you may be having about this Scotch Game is what if Black doesn’t play this wrong move Nd4, but what if they do play the correct move. Here is a video where I cover that line.

If you’ve enjoyed reading this article and want to see the concepts discussed in action, you’re in luck! We have created a video lesson that covers the same material in a more visual and interactive way.

You can find the PGN of these opening variations below: