Scandinavian Defense

The Scandinavian Defense, also known as the Center Counter Defense, answers 1. e4 with 1...d5, attacking the e4 pawn at once instead of first building a center. Because 2. exd5 is chosen in roughly two games out of three, Black largely decides the type of position, avoiding the wide range of systems that 1...e5 must be ready for. The rarer 2. e5 lets Black hit d4 with ...c5 or develop with ...Bf5 and ...e6, reaching a French-type chain without the usual buried bishop. White can also gambit the pawn with 2. d4, the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit, or 2. Nf3, the Tennison Gambit.

After 2. exd5 Qxd5, the Mieses-Kotroc Variation, the queen is exposed and 3. Nc3 develops with gain of time. The usual retreat is 3...Qa5, regarded as the main line; play often continues 4. d4 c6 5. Nf3 Nf6 6. Bc4 Bf5 7. Bd2 e6. Black's pawns on c6 and e6 facing a White pawn on d4 resemble a Caro-Kann setup, and the fixed structure gives the game a calm, maneuvering character in which either side may castle long or short. Black frequently castles queenside, placing a rook straight onto the half-open d-file. The alternatives are 3...Qd6, the Gubinsky-Melts Defense, long suspected because of Nb5 or Bf4 but now an accepted choice, and 3...Qd8, the Valencian Variation, which is the oldest treatment but somewhat passive.

The Modern Variation, 2...Nf6, postpones the recapture so the knight rather than the queen regains the pawn, sparing Black the lost tempo. After 3. d4 Nxd5, the Marshall Variation, White can gain space by chasing the knight with c4, while 3. d4 Bg4, the Portuguese Gambit, keeps the pawn en prise in favor of quick development and leads to sharp play. With 3. c4 White tries to keep the extra pawn; 3...c6, the Panov Transfer, can lead after 4. d4 cxd5 to a Panov-Botvinnik position from the Caro-Kann, and 3...e6 is the double-edged Icelandic-Palme Gambit. The gambit 2...c6, the Blackburne-Kloosterboer, is considered unsound after 3. dxc6.

The opening appears in the Catalan poem Scachs d'amor of around 1475, among the earliest records of chess with modern piece moves. Ludvig Collijn's success with it in the late nineteenth century is the likely source of the Scandinavian name, and Blackburne and Mieses developed much of its theory. Bent Larsen's win over Anatoly Karpov at Montreal 1979 revived interest; Anand used it against Kasparov in their 1995 title match, and Magnus Carlsen beat Fabiano Caruana with it at the 2014 Olympiad. Engines give White a slight edge, while in online play the results are close to even.