Malaniuk Variation

The Malaniuk Variation, 4...Bb4+, answers the Scotch Game with a bishop check instead of the main-line moves 4...Bc5 or 4...Nf6. The check aims less at pressure than at provoking a concession. The overwhelmingly popular reply 5. c3 drives the bishop back with gain of time, but the pawn then stands on the square White's queen's knight would normally use. After 5...Bc5 the bishop returns to the diagonal of the Classical Variation, and the main line runs 6. Be3 Bb6. White can then choose between the quiet 7. Bc4 and sharper tries such as 7. Nf5 or Kasparov's 7. Qg4. At move six, 6. Nxc6 bxc6 is another option. Whether c3 really hinders White is disputed, and John Emms considered the line more respectable than it first appears. Its practical appeal is that it avoids much of mainstream Scotch theory.

The less common 5. Nc3 and 5. Bd2 block the check with a piece. Of the three replies, 5. Nc3 has given White the best results in online games. The engine assesses the position as a slight edge for White.