Scandinavian Defense

Introduction

The Scandinavian Defense is characterized by 1. e4 d5, with black immediately challenging white’s stake in the center of the board. It is not very popular at the master level, but I’ve seen it relatively often in the 1200-2000 range.

White’s best response is to capture with exd5. Other variations are less common, but will be given brief attention regardless.

• 2. exd5 $\rightarrow$ Main Line (48,047 games; $+0.68$)
• 2. Nc3 $\rightarrow$ Closed Variation (1,379 games; $-0.33$)
• 2. e5 $\rightarrow$ Advance Variation (403 games; $+0.02$)

My main response to the Scandinavian (with zero theoretical understanding) has been the Advance Variation, with the intention being to get black out of their main line prep. However, I commonly end up in unfavorable positions - this has motivated me to explore common lines of the Scandinavian to understand what works versus what doesn’t!

Section 1: Main Line

The Scandinavian Defense: Main Line begins with 1. e4 d5 2. exd5.

At the master level, there are two primary continuations of the main line.

• 2... Qxd5 $\rightarrow$ Mieses-Kotrč Variation (32,671 games; $+0.63$)
• 2... Nf6 $\rightarrow$ Modern Variation (14,864 games; $+0.68$)

Mieses-Kotrč Variation

In the Mieses-Kotrč Variation, black recaptures in the center with their queen.

The most obvious move for white is to develop their queenside knight with attacking tempo on black’s queen. After natural development, we have a fairly reasonable position with white at a $+0.57$ advantage.

What if black decides to re-sheath their queen with 3... Qd8? White still has the immediate advantage ($+0.66$), and should continue with natural development. Note how we end up in almost the same position as before!

Black is unlikely to play e5 at any point; a pawn exchange in the center favors white. For example, if black were to continue the above position with 5... d5, white’s advantage becomes very apparent ($+1.84$).

Modern Variation

What if black does not immediately recapture after 2. exd5? 2... Nf6 results in the Modern Variation ($+0.65$).

It may seem strange, but the best move for white is to push their lagging doubled pawn with 3. d4. Black will recapture the stranded forward pawn, and white should respond with natural development.

In this position, the best response from black seems unclear. The engine recommends striking in the center with c5. Given this scenario, white may either opt to recapture with dxc5, or attack the knight with c4 - the latter option is shown below.

However, the most-played move in master-level games is 4... g6, with black’s eventual goal to fianchetto their kingside bishop. White should develop in the center by taking advantage of attacking tempo on the knight.

The engine puts white at $+0.72$ in this position, so things should be good assuming no crazy blunders!

Section 2: Closed Variation

The Scandinavian Defense: Closed Variation is characterized by 1. e4 d5 2. Nc3. The engine favors black in this position ($-0.30$).

Let’s discuss a few of the most popular continuations relative to master-level games.

Move	Popularity	Engine Evaluation
2... dxe4	1,403 games	$+0.12$
2... d4	1,275 games	$-0.28$
2... e6	421 games	$+0.51$
2... c6	338 games	$+0.34$
2... Nf6	239 games	$+0.48$

2... dxe4

Black may decide to capture white’s center pawn with dxe4.

White should be careful here - recapturing with the knight is the only move which preserves their slight advantage. Other moves such as d4 or d3 give a stronger edge to black.

Black will either play Nf6 (shown below) or Bf5 in response. In either case, get ready for a long positional battle.

2... d4

From black’s perspective, the best line of the Closed Variation is to attack white’s knight by pushing their pawn.

The engine prefers white to un-develop their knight with Nb1, but most master-level players opt to block in their light square bishop with Nce2. Black will likely respond by expanding in the center with c5 or e5. Let’s consider c5 first ($-0.18$).

White’s best approach is to unblock their bishop and continue with natural development. This might result in the following position ($+0.11$).

Next, let’s take a look at 3... e5. According to the engine, this is the better move for black ($-0.36$).

White still follows the general motif of swinging their knight over to g3. However, white should now play to undermine the center with c3. I’m not sure of the exact strategy behind this move, because most lines involve white maintaining this center pressure as opposed to trading off pawns.

I won’t give this line any more attention here, because I don’t think I’ll be using it in my repertoire. However, I’m certain there is still much to learn from this position!

Transpositions

Black might choose to transpose away from the Scandinavian with a move such as 2... e6, 2... c6, or 2... Nf6. In the first case, we move to the French Defense: Queen’s Knight Variation.

If you’re familiar with the French Defense, this should look quite familiar. The best move for white is to continue center expansion with d4, which brings us into the French Defense: Normal Variation.

If black instead opts for 2... c6, we transpose into the Caro Kann Defense: Classical Variation.

Finally, 2... Nf6 places us in Alekhine’s Defense: Scandinavian Variation.

While these are all interesting lines, they transpose away from the main subject of this post (the Scandinavian). Therefore, I will further consider these positions in future posts on the corresponding openings.

Section 3: Advance Variation

In the Scandinavian Defense: Advance Variation, white declines the pawn exchange in the center by pushing their pawn with 2. e5. The engine has black at a slight $-0.14$ edge in this position.

How might black respond? The most commonly played move is 2... c5, taking over the queenside center of the board.

The ideas here are similar to the French Defense. Black is going to stack up an attack on the d4 square, which should be carefully refuted by white. Although the engine rates this position as a dead even $0.00$, black dominates in master-level games with a shocking 74% win rate. Therefore, if playing from white’s perspective, I would not willingly choose to enter this line!

Instead, most master-level players opt for a more aggressive strategy with 3. f4. The engine classifies this move as an inaccuracy, with the advantage shifting towards black ($-0.62$).

Given that black has an extreme advantage in these positions, white is basically relying on black to screw up on the second move by not playing 2... c5. It therefore seems best for white to avoid the Advance Variation altogether.

Personal Takeaways

I don’t enjoy playing against the Scandinavian at my current rating (~1900 rapid). My main response has always been the Advance Variation, with the intent of castling kingside and playing aggressively with an open f file. This was somewhat successful at lower rating levels, but hasn’t worked against better opponents; black is able to quickly compound pressure in the center of the board, which results in defense taking precedence over any hopes of white castling and attacking.

In the future, I do not plan on playing the Advance Variation as part of my repertoire. I will instead practice the Main Line and work on committing common variations to memory.