The Sizzling Scotch Gambit

The Scotch Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4!?) is a forceful but perfectly sound system for White, who sacrifices a pawn to open up the position and take down the black king as quickly as possible. Black has to be careful and avoid a lot of dangers. For this reason alone, every player who likes to have the initiative and loves tactical, dynamic positions full of attacking possibilities should include this system in his White repertoire. As in any opening, Black can reach a perfectly satisfactory position - if he has done his homework and knows the theory. But many top players have stumbled in this way and so this opening should be part of the repertoire of every attacking player.