Scandinavian Defense

ECO B01beginner

The Scandinavian, 1.e4 d5, is the most forcing reply to 1.e4: Black liquidates White's center pawn on move one and accepts a small loss of time after 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3, when the queen moves again to a5 or d6. What Black gets in return is a Caro-Kann-like structure (...c6, ...Bf5 or ...Bg4) reached by force, with almost no theory for White to spring surprises in. It is a favorite of practical players who want their preparation to actually appear on the board.

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Main line

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Diagram shows the position after 6 half-moves of the main line. On SpeakChess you can drill this line move by move — the trainer plays the other side and corrects you instantly, then spaced repetition schedules each variation so you review it right before you would forget it.

Move by move

The first 12 moves of the main line, explained one at a time. Every move of every variation is annotated like this inside the trainer — this page shows the opening moves so you can judge the explanations before signing up.

Right out of the gate, the pawn steps up to e4 and plants itself proudly in the middle of the board. Grabbing space in the center like this is a friendly, classic way to begin your game. Well done!
Black moves their pawn from d7 to d5. This is a strong move because it now controls two key squares in the middle of the board. Great start!
The pawn slides over to d5 and snaps up the black pawn waiting there. Now your proud pawn stands on the light square d5, deep in Black's half, having grabbed material on its very first adventure.
Great move! Your queen comes out from the back row and takes a pawn right in the middle of the board. This helps your queen control lots of important squares.
You moved your knight from b1 to c3. This is a great developing move! It gets your knight into the game and closer to the middle of the board.
Black moves their queen from the d5 square all the way to the a5 square.
A strong central advance. The pawn moves to d4, establishing control over key central squares and fighting for space in the middle of the board.
Black moves their knight from g8 to f6. This is a good developing move that brings the knight into the game.
White moves their knight from g1 to f3. This is a good developing move, bringing a piece into the game.
Black moves their bishop from c8 to g4. This is a good developing move, bringing a new piece into the game.
White moves a pawn from h2 to h3. This is a small step forward. It's a safe move that helps keep your pieces safe later.
Black moves their bishop from g4 to h5. It's a simple step back, keeping the bishop safe and still watching the middle of the board. Good move!

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Win rates by rating

Results from real online games, measured after the line shown in each row. Most opening sites show one aggregate number — how an opening scores depends heavily on who is playing it.

Rating	Games	White wins	Draws	Black wins	Position after
400-600	81	58%	3.7%	38.3%	1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5
600-800	39	53.8%	2.6%	43.6%	1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.h3 Bh5
800-1000	355	51.5%	2%	46.5%	1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.h3 Bh5
1000-1200	131	51.9%	3.1%	45%	1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.h3 Bh5
1200-1400	2,975	48.7%	3%	48.3%	1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.h3 Bh5
1400-1600	5,392	48.9%	2.9%	48.2%	1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.h3 Bh5
1600-1800	709	50.8%	2.5%	46.7%	1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.h3 Bh5
1800-2000	838	53.1%	3.2%	43.7%	1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.h3 Bh5
2000-2200	796	54.4%	4%	41.6%	1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.h3 Bh5
2200-2400	567	50.4%	4.1%	45.5%	1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.h3 Bh5

Most played continuations (1400-1600 rating)

After 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.h3 Bh5:

g4 — played 45.7% of the time (White wins 52.7%, draws 2%, Black wins 45.2%)
Be2 — played 23.4% of the time (White wins 46.4%, draws 3.7%, Black wins 49.9%)
Bd2 — played 11.9% of the time (White wins 47.9%, draws 4.2%, Black wins 47.9%)

Frequently asked questions

Is the Scandinavian Defense sound?

Yes — it concedes White a small, stable edge in development and space, but the structure is hard to crack, and there is no refutation. It has appeared in world championship play, and below master level the time Black saves on theory is worth far more than the engine's tenth-of-a-pawn.

Should Black play 3...Qa5 or 3...Qd6?

3...Qa5 is the classical main line, keeping the queen active and eyeing e5 ideas, but requires knowing the d2-d4 with Bd2 discovered-attack tricks. 3...Qd6 is the modern choice — safer from tempo-gaining attacks and flexible about ...g6 or ...c6 setups. Both are respectable; pick one and learn its typical middlegames.