1. e4 d5
The Scandinavian Defense is Black’s most direct answer to 1. e4: the move 1... d5 challenges White’s e-pawn on the very first move. After the near-universal 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5, Black reaches the main line, parking the queen on a5 where it sits safely while the rest of the army develops. Unlike the Sicilian or the French, the Scandinavian forces the structure Black wants by move two: White cannot dodge the fight over d5, so you reach your positions in almost every game.
The defining sequence is 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5. White takes on d5 because everything else concedes the center, Black recaptures with the queen, and when 3. Nc3 attacks it, the queen slides to a5, the classical Mieses–Kotrč treatment, more active than the retreats 3... Qd6 or 3... Qd8. From there Black’s setup is remarkably consistent: ...Nf6, the light-squared bishop out to f5 or g4 before it gets locked in, then ...e6 or ...c6 to solidify. The queen often re-routes later via ...Qb6 to hit b2 and d4, or ...Qh5 to pile on a pinned f3-knight. In many lines Black castles long and plays against White’s center directly.
1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 Bf5 6. Bd2 e6
The classical tabiya: White builds the full center with d4 and develops naturally, while Black gets the bishop to f5 before closing the diagonal with ...e6. Black’s play revolves around pressure on d4 and the queenside: ...Bb4 pinning the c3-knight, ...Qb6 hitting b2, and ...Nc6 or ...O-O-O depending on White’s setup. White’s Bd2 sets up the discovered-attack tricks against the a5-queen, so Black must time the queen’s re-routing carefully.
1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 Bf5 6. Bd2 e6 7. Ne4 Qb6 8. Nxf6+ gxf6 9. c3 Qxb2
White’s 7. Ne4 unleashes the d2-bishop against the a5-queen, and 7... Qb6 is the cold-blooded answer: the queen steps off the diagonal and attacks b2 and d4 at once. After 8. Nxf6+ gxf6 Black’s doubled f-pawns buy an open g-file and a grip on e5, and 9... Qxb2 grabs a real pawn. The key point: if White tries to trap the queen with 10. Rb1, then 10... Qxb1 11. Qxb1 Bxb1 wins material, because the f5-bishop has covered b1 ever since c2 was vacated.
1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Bd2 Bg4 6. f3 Bd7 7. Bc4 Qb6
White develops the bishop to d2 immediately, lining up Nd5 and Ne4 discoveries against the a5-queen before doing anything else. Black answers 5... Bg4, provoking 6. f3, a concession that weakens White’s kingside and blocks the g1-knight’s best square, then calmly retreats to d7. From there ...Qb6 hits b2 and d4 simultaneously; with the d2-bishop blocking the white queen’s defense of d4, careless play can simply drop a central pawn.
1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. d3 Bg4 6. Nf3 e6 7. Bd2 Qh5
White skips d4 and plays a restrained setup with Bc4 and d3, keeping the center modest and aiming at f7. Black equalizes comfortably: 5... Bg4 harasses the white queen, and after 6. Nf3 the bishop pins the knight. With 7... Qh5 Black piles onto the pin: every trade on f3 damages White’s kingside, and the half-measure d3 means White has no central pressure to show for it.
1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bc4 Nc6 6. d3 Bg4 7. Bd2 Qh5 8. h3 Nd4
White develops the kingside first, and Black responds with maximum piece activity: ...Nc6, the pin with ...Bg4, and the queen swing to h5. The jump 8... Nd4 is the point: it ignores the attack on the g4-bishop because grabbing it only accelerates Black’s assault on f3, where every capture rips open White’s kingside. Black plays for direct threats here, not slow equality.
Facing the Scandinavian with White, the first rule is to take: 2. exd5 is the principled move, since avoiding the capture with 2. e5 or 2. Nc3 hands Black easy, comfortable play. After 2... Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5, your trump is time: Black’s queen came out on move two, and every developing move that gains a tempo against it is pure profit. The standard plan is 4. d4 with Nf3, claiming the full center Black conceded, then Bd2 lining up discovered attacks: knight jumps to e4 or d5 hit the f6-knight or the a5-queen while the bishop attacks through. Black must answer these precisely, and many Scandinavian players below master level do not. Two warnings keep you out of the opening’s best-known pitfalls. First, watch the b2-pawn: when Black’s queen lands on b6, b2 and d4 are often attacked at once, and grabbing material or developing on autopilot can drop a pawn. Second, never try to trap a queen on b2 with Rb1 while Black’s bishop sits on f5: once c2 is vacated, the bishop covers b1 and the "trap" loses material. Against the ...Bg4 pin, h3 and Be2 untangle without weakening; avoid reflexive f3, which blocks your own knight. If you keep the center, develop with tempo, and decline the tactical invitations, your space advantage carries into a pleasant middlegame.
Occupy the center with d4, develop with tempo against the early queen, and use Bd2 to set up discovered attacks with Ne4 or Nd5. Meet the ...Bg4 pin with h3 and Be2 rather than weakening moves, castle short, and keep b2 and d4 defended when the queen swings to b6. The long-term asset is space: restrain Black’s ...c5 and ...e5 breaks and improve slowly.
Get the light-squared bishop to f5 or g4 before playing ...e6, develop ...Nf6 and often ...Nc6, and keep the queen flexible: a5 first, then b6 to attack b2 and d4, or h5 against a pinned f3-knight. Castle long in the sharper lines and pressure d4 down the half-open d-file. The structure is solid; your job is to develop with concrete threats so White never settles into the space advantage.
The Scandinavian is arguably the oldest recorded chess opening: the earliest surviving game of modern chess, played in Valencia around 1475, opened 1. e4 d5. The opening got its modern name from analysis published by Scandinavian masters in the late nineteenth century, and the main line with 3... Qa5 is known as the Mieses–Kotrč Variation after its early advocates, among them the German master Jacques Mieses. The defense spent much of the twentieth century as an offbeat choice, but Bent Larsen scored a famous win over world champion Anatoly Karpov with it, and Viswanathan Anand used it against Garry Kasparov in their 1995 world championship match. Today it is a favorite practical weapon at club level: a forcing, low-theory defense that drags 1. e4 players out of their preparation on move one.
Scandinavian for Black, with practical ideas from IM Maksim Shchekachikhin.
Hello everyone, and welcome to this new chess project! In this course, we'll explore the Scandinavian Defense from Black's perspective. My goal is to present you with a complete and practical repertoire that provides a reliable response to every logical option White may choose. My name is Maksim Schekachikhin. I'm an International Master with more than ten years of coaching experience, and throughout this course I'll share the ideas and practical concepts that have proven most effective in my own work. Let's get started. We begin by playing the pawn to d5. After this reply, we reach the starting position of the Scandinavian Defense. At the highest level, this opening is generally considered somewhat dubious, as we violate several basic opening principles - most notably by bringing the queen out early. That said, the Scandinavian is an excellent practical weapon. It often poses unfamiliar problems for our opponent, and many White players are not well prepared to face it. As a result, we can frequently obtain playable positions while taking the game into less explored territory from the very beginning.
Capturing on d5 is by far the most popular and natural continuation. However, for the sake of completeness, we'll also examine the other possible responses for White. In this course, I recommend recapturing on d5 with the queen. Another possibility is developing the knight to f6 on move two, but I believe this continuation is highly questionable. Returning to the queen recapture, our queen will, of course, come under attack sooner or later. However, the resulting positions are quite original and require White to know a number of specific ideas. In practical play, this often gives us excellent chances to seize the initiative against an unprepared opponent.
Most often, White develops the knight with tempo, and the queen comes under attack, forcing us to spend time retreating. In practice, many different replies have been tried in this position. The main move is queen to a5, while …Qb8 and queen to d6 are also worth considering. In rapid and blitz games, the rarer queen to e5 is sometimes played as well, and it is not without merit. We choose the retreat to d6. Here the queen does not come under attack in the way it often does after queen to a5 in similar structures. White has a wide range of setups here, and we will go through them one by one.
The main continuation for White’s development is usually the knight on f3. We continue with the most natural development. The subsequent plan depends on White’s piece setup.
Most commonly, one of these structures arises by transposition. White gains central control and a slight spatial advantage, while we, in return, obtain a solid and resilient position. The pawn on d4 may become a long-term target for our counterplay. We choose this continuation, strengthening the center in a reliable way. It is worth noting that in many lines, pawn structures with pawns on c6 and d6 are extremely solid for us. They restrict White’s active possibilities and make it difficult to generate dynamic play without precise preparation. White has many interesting setups, and we will examine them one by one.
This plan of transferring the knight to c4 is certainly an interesting idea. We, however, aim to exchange pieces whenever possible.
Of course, White’s main idea is precisely to bring the knight to c4 and then develop the bishop to f4.
White aims to develop his bishop. We continue to seek piece exchanges.
Our queen is attacked and has to retreat.
White reinforces the center, while we proceed with normal kingside development.
Formally, White still retains a slightly more pleasant position, but our exchange strategy gives excellent chances of equalizing.
This bishop development allows a series of exchanges that are objectively favorable for us.
With less space, simplifying the position works in our favor, and the resulting setup is very solid.
In my opinion, this plan does not promise White very much.
We prepare quiet kingside development, leading to a complex middlegame.
The most straightforward development. White places the pieces on natural central squares in a reliable way, controlling key squares and avoiding potential pins against the knight. I believe White retains some chances for an edge and pleasant play, but nothing critical arises. Before playing pawn to e6, we often benefit from developing the bishop to an active square first.
A similar structure arises in this variation as well.
Our position remains very reliable. Of course, White may be somewhat more comfortable, but the resulting play is complex and should lead to an interesting struggle.
This move is frequently seen in practice. White may try to provoke an exchange of the bishop for a knight, reaching positions with the bishop pair.
Of course, such positions are generally a bit more pleasant for White, but in practical play it is very difficult to convert them into a real advantage. Our setup is extremely solid.
Yes. It is one of the easiest defenses to 1. e4 to learn because Black forces the structure on move one and plays the same development scheme (...Qa5, ...Nf6, bishop to f5 or g4) in nearly every game. Study time goes into plans and tactics instead of memorizing branching theory.
White does gain a tempo with 3. Nc3, but on a5 the queen is hard to attack again and pins the c3-knight against e1 in some lines. Black accepts one lost tempo in exchange for trading off White’s strong e-pawn and getting a clear, solid setup, a trade-off sound enough that the opening has appeared in world championship play.
2. exd5 is overwhelmingly the main move because the alternatives concede the center. After 2. e5 Black gets a favorable French-style structure with the light-squared bishop still free, and after 2. Nc3 Black can simply capture on e4 or push 2... d4, gaining space with tempo.
Yes. It gives White a small space edge with best play, like most defenses, but it is fully sound: Viswanathan Anand played it against Garry Kasparov in their 1995 world championship match, and Bent Larsen famously beat Anatoly Karpov with it. At club level its forcing nature is a genuine practical advantage.
Both aim for the same strike at e4 with ...d5 and both develop the light-squared bishop before locking it in. The Caro-Kann prepares the break with 1... c6 first, keeping the queen at home; the Scandinavian plays ...d5 immediately and accepts the early queen sortie in exchange for forcing the issue on move one with less theory to learn.
Reading about an opening is step one. The trainer at the top of this page drills all 84 lines against the moves real opponents play. The first lines are free.
Train the Scandinavian Defense now