- The moves1. e4 d5
- Chosen byBlack
- ECOB01
- Also calledCenter Counter Defense
The Scandinavian Defense comes after 1.e4 d5. Black doesn't wait for White to build a center but attacks the pawn on e4 right away. White almost always takes with 2.exd5, and then Black wins the pawn back, either with the queen or, a little later, with the knight.
It may be the oldest recorded opening of all. It appears in an imagined game between Francesc de Castellví and Narcís Vinyoles in the Catalan poem Scachs d'amor from around 1475, one of the first known games where the queen and the bishop move as they do today. The name comes from Scandinavian masters who showed at the end of the 1800s that the opening is playable. One of them was the Swede Ludvig Collijn, who played it with success.
At elite level the Scandinavian has never been a main line, but it has had famous supporters. The Dane Bent Larsen beat world champion Anatoly Karpov with it in Montreal in 1979, and Magnus Carlsen won with it against Fabiano Caruana at the 2014 Chess Olympiad in Tromsø.
The main line, move by move
1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. d4 c6 5. Nf3 Nf6 6. Bc4 Bf5 7. Bd2 e6 8. O-O
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The ideas
White wants to
- Gain time by attacking the early queen, for example with Nc3.
- Take the center with d4 and develop quickly.
- Put a knight on e5 and turn the lead in development into an initiative.
Black wants to
- Get an open game at once, without letting White build a big pawn center.
- Develop the light-squared bishop to f5 or g4 before e6.
- Build up with c6 and e6, a solid structure like the Caro-Kann, and go on with Bb4 and Nbd7.
Important variations
3…Qd6: the queen in the center
For a long time the queen was thought too exposed on d6, where it can be attacked by Nb5 or Bf4. Since the mid-1990s, though, the line has been played many times at grandmaster level. White usually sets up with d4, Nf3, g3, Bg2, castling and a knight to e5.
1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qd6 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 c6
3… Qd6
The queen drops back to the center instead of to the edge.
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Modern Variation: 2…Nf6
Black waits before taking the pawn back and doesn't have to move the queen. The most common line is 3.d4 Nxd5, when White develops quickly. A sharper option for Black is 3…Bg4, the Portuguese Variation, where Black puts off the recapture even longer to gain time for development.
1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 Nxd5 4. Nf3
Icelandic Gambit: 3.c4 e6
If White tries to keep the pawn with 3.c4, Black can answer 3…e6, a gambit that Icelandic masters came up with as an alternative to the more common 3…c6. Black sacrifices a pawn for quick development. It is also called the Palme Gambit.
1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. dxe6 Bxe6 5. Nf3
How it goes in real games
How the games ended once the position had come up on the board, in blitz, rapid and classical games. White wins, draws and Black wins, as a percentage of the games.
| Position | Level | Games | White wins | Draw | Black wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scandinavian Defense 1. e4 d5 | Club players | 132,171,448 | 48% | 5% | 47% |
| Beginners | 132,800,693 | 50% | 4% | 46% | |
| Scandinavian Defense, main line 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. d4 c6 5. Nf3 Nf6 6. Bc4 Bf5 7. Bd2 e6 8. O-O | Club players | 103,409 | 45% | 6% | 49% |
| Beginners | 21,223 | 48% | 3% | 49% | |
| 3…Qd6: the queen in the center 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qd6 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 c6 | Club players | 371,319 | 45% | 7% | 48% |
| Beginners | 56,913 | 48% | 4% | 47% | |
| Modern Variation: 2…Nf6 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 Nxd5 4. Nf3 | Club players | 2,141,911 | 51% | 5% | 44% |
| Beginners | 484,514 | 53% | 4% | 44% |
The most common continuations after 1. e4 d5
Club players, share of the games in the position.
- 2.exd5 77% (102,226,965 games)
- 2.e5 10% (13,114,584 games)
- 2.Nf3 5% (7,040,512 games)
- 2.Nc3 3% (4,399,190 games)
- 2.d4 2% (2,367,405 games)
Source: games on Lichess, fetched October 28, 2026. Club players means games where the players average 1600 or more, beginners games where they average 1000–1599.
Is this opening for you?
The Scandinavian suits players who want to avoid learning lots of theory against 1.e4. After 1…d5 White almost always takes the pawn, so Black knows roughly what position is coming, and the structure with pawns on c6 and e6 is solid and easy to understand.
The drawback is that the queen comes out early and that White often gets a small lead in development. At elite level the opening therefore has a somewhat dubious reputation, and it is rare among the very best.
Practice the main line
Choose a color and one of the house players. Your opponent follows the main line, and you try to find your moves. If you play something else, you'll see the main line's move, but the game goes on. When the main line ends, you play freely.
Rather play freely? Choose an opponent · Play right away
The main line with all the comments as text
1. e4 d5 The Scandinavian move. Black attacks e4 at once instead of preparing. 2. exd5 White takes the pawn, as almost everyone does here. 2… Qxd5 Black takes back with the queen. The pawn is back, but the queen has come out early. 3. Nc3 The knight develops and attacks the queen at the same time. That is White's big point in this opening: every developing move that attacks the queen gains time. 3… Qa5 The traditional main line. On a5 the queen is safe and keeps an eye on the knight on c3. 4. d4 White takes the center with the pawn. Now the knight on c3 and the king on e1 are on the same diagonal as the queen on a5. 4… c6 Black gives the queen a way back to c7 and controls b5 and d5. The pawns on c6 and e6 will remind you of the Caro-Kann. 5. Nf3 Nf6 Both sides develop. 6. Bc4 The bishop aims at f7. 6… Bf5 Black gets the light-squared bishop out before e6 blocks its way. 7. Bd2 The bishop breaks the pin on the knight on c3. 7… e6 Black builds a solid camp. The bishop is already outside the pawn chain, and the next step is usually Bb4 and Nbd7. 8. O-O The quiet choice. The sharper 8.Qe2 followed by castling queenside is common too. In this position both sides can castle whichever way they like.
More openings
Caro-Kann Defense
1…c6 and 2…d5. As stable as the French, but the bishop on c8 gets out.
Alekhine Defense
1…Nf6 lures White's pawns forward to attack them later. Provocative and hypermodern.
French Defense
1…e6 and 2…d5. Black builds a wall and attacks White's pawn chain at the base.
Sicilian Defense
1…c5 breaks the symmetry at once. Combative, sharp and loved by Fischer and Kasparov.
Every move on this page has been checked against the rules of chess.
Updated November 6, 2026
1… d5
The Scandinavian move. Black attacks e4 at once instead of preparing.