Complete guide

Scandinavian Defense: Complete Guide

Immediate center challenge — Black plays 1.e4 d5, forcing White to show their hand on move two. Drill every main line against an adaptive engine, backed by real Lichess win rates and Stockfish evaluations.

87 variations 679,250,847 total games Avg Stockfish +0.34

Play the main line: Scandinavian Defense

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All 87 variations of the Scandinavian Defense

Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense ECO B01 154M games Anti-Openings Scandinavian Defense ECO B01 154M games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Mieses-Kotroc Variation ECO B01 78M games Anti-Openings Scandinavian Defense: exd5 ECO B01 78M games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Valencian Variation ECO B01 21M games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Mieses-Kotroc Variation: Nc3 ECO B01 21M games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Modern Variation ECO B01 18M games Gambits Scandinavian Defense: Blackburne-Kloosterboer Gambit: Nf3 ECO B01 18M games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Mainline ECO B01 17M games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Main Line ECO B01 17M games Gambits Scandinavian Defense: Blackburne-Kloosterboer Gambit: d4 ECO B01 10M games Anti-Openings Scandinavian Defense: Nf3 ECO B01 9M games Anti-Openings Scandinavian Defense: d4 ECO B01 7M games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Modern Variation: Nc3 ECO B01 6M games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Gubinsky-Melts Defense ECO B01 4M games Gambits Scandinavian Defense: Blackburne-Kloosterboer Gambit ECO B01 3M games Gambits Scandinavian Defense: Blackburne-Kloosterboer Gambit: Nc3 ECO B01 3M games Anti-Openings Scandinavian Defense: e5 ECO B01 3M games Anti-Openings Scandinavian Defense: Nc3 ECO B01 3M games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Valencian Variation: Nf3 ECO B01 3M games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Mainline: Nf3 ECO B01 2M games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Mieses-Kotroc Variation: Nf3 ECO B01 2M games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Main Line: d4 ECO B01 2M games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Mieses-Kotroc Variation: d4 ECO B01 1M games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Valencian Variation: d4 ECO B01 1M games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Main Line: Nf3 ECO B01 1M games Anti-Openings Scandinavian Defense: d3 ECO B01 1M games Gambits Scandinavian Defense: Boehnke Gambit ECO B01 1M games Gambits Scandinavian Defense: Blackburne Gambit ECO B01 1M games Gambits Scandinavian Defense: Blackburne-Kloosterboer Gambit: dxc6 ECO B01 1M games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Panov Transfer ECO B01 1M games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Modern Variation: c4 ECO B01 1M games Gambits Scandinavian Defense: Icelandic-Palme Gambit ECO B01 1M games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Marshall Variation ECO B01 1M games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Modern Variation: Nf3 ECO B01 1M games Gambits Scandinavian Defense: Icelandic-Palme Gambit: dxe6 ECO B01 1M games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Panov Transfer: dxc6 ECO B01 1M games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Modern Variation: d4 ECO B01 1M games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Panov Transfer: d4 ECO B01 890K games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Qf3 ECO B01 832K games Gambits Scandinavian Defense: Icelandic-Palme Gambit: d4 ECO B01 795K games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Modern Variation: Bc4 ECO B01 686K games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: f4 ECO B01 650K games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Main Line: d3 ECO B01 637K games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Gubinsky-Melts Defense: Nf3 ECO B01 614K games Gambits Scandinavian Defense: Kloosterboer Gambit ECO B01 574K games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Gubinsky-Melts Defense: d4 ECO B01 472K games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Bc4 ECO B01 394K games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Mainline: b4 ECO B01 391K games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Main Line: b4 ECO B01 391K games Gambits Scandinavian Defense: Blackburne-Kloosterboer Gambit: c4 ECO B01 362K games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Valencian Variation: Bb5+ ECO B01 316K games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Bd3 ECO B01 283K games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Panov Transfer: Nc3 ECO B01 269K games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: f3 ECO B01 267K games Gambits Scandinavian Defense: Blackburne Gambit: Nf3 ECO B01 254K games Gambits Scandinavian Defense: Portuguese Gambit ECO B01 238K games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Modern Variation: Bb5+ ECO B01 222K games Gambits Scandinavian Defense: Boehnke Gambit: d4 ECO B01 218K games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Bb5+ ECO B01 206K games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Mainline: d3 ECO B01 200K games Gambits Scandinavian Defense: Icelandic-Palme Gambit: Nc3 ECO B01 186K games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Mieses-Kotroc Variation: d3 ECO B01 158K games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Marshall Variation: Nf3 ECO B01 151K games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Mieses-Kotroc Variation: c4 ECO B01 143K games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Mainline: Bc4 ECO B01 120K games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Main Line: Bc4 ECO B01 120K games Gambits Scandinavian Defense: Blackburne Gambit: Bb5 ECO B01 115K games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Valencian Variation: d3 ECO B01 112K games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Main Line: a3 ECO B01 109K games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Marshall Variation: Nc3 ECO B01 94K games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Marshall Variation: c4 ECO B01 85K games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Gubinsky-Melts Defense: d3 ECO B01 58K games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Mainline: d4 ECO B01 33K games Gambits Scandinavian Defense: Blackburne Gambit: Nc3 ECO B01 25K games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Marshall Variation: Bc4 ECO B01 25K games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Mieses-Kotroc Variation: Qf3 ECO B01 20K games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Valencian Variation: Bc4 ECO B01 20K games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Richter Variation ECO B01 20K games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Gubinsky-Melts Defense: Bc4 ECO B01 19K games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Mainline: a3 ECO B01 14K games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Valencian Variation: g3 ECO B01 13K games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Gubinsky-Melts Defense: Nb5 ECO B01 11K games Gambits Scandinavian Defense: Zilbermints Gambit ECO B01 6K games Gambits Scandinavian Defense: Boehnke Gambit: Nf3 ECO B01 6K games Gambits Scandinavian Defense: Boehnke Gambit: Nc3 ECO B01 3K games Openings & Plans Scandinavian Defense: Gubinsky-Melts Defense: g3 ECO B01 3K games

Frequently asked questions about the Scandinavian Defense

What is the scandinavian in chess?

The Scandinavian is a chess opening family with 87 variations covered on Chessy. Over 679 million Lichess games have reached these positions across all rating levels.