Scandinavian Defense
Also known as Center Counter Defense
The Scandinavian Defense (1.e4 d5), also called the Centre Counter, is arguably Black's most forcing defence to 1.e4. Read the guide
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Statistics from Lichess
132,171,448 games: White 48.3% / Draw 4.8% / Black 46.9%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 102,226,965102.2M | ||
| 13,114,58413.1M | ||
| 7,040,5127M | ||
| 4,399,1904.4M | ||
| Blackmar-Diemer Gambit | 2,367,4052.4M | |
| 1,035,6351M | ||
| Bird Opening: Williams Gambit | 521,800522K | |
| 367,105367K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 6, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.71 White is better
Best play: 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qd6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. d4 c6 6. Bd3 Bg4
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: Black scores 48% under 1400, 49% at 2200 and up and 43% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 95.3M | |
| 1400–1799 | 114.5M | |
| 1800–2199 | 68M | |
| 2200 and up | 5.4M | |
| Masters, over the board | 24K |
Master games
- Caruana, F. – Carlsen, M.
- Caruana, F. – Carlsen, M.
- Caruana, F. – Carlsen, M.
- Vachier Lagrave, M. – Carlsen, M.
- Nepomniachtchi, I. – Carlsen, M.
Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 26, 2026
Description
The Scandinavian Defense (1.e4 d5), also called the Centre Counter, is arguably Black's most forcing defence to 1.e4. Black challenges the e4-pawn immediately. After 2.exd5 Black recaptures, usually with the queen, hoping for a free game with easy development at the cost of a tempo.
Origins
The Scandinavian is one of the oldest recorded openings. It appears in a fictional game between Francesc de Castellví and Narcís Vinyoles in the Catalan poem Scachs d'amor, written around 1475. That game features the retreat 3...Qd8, and in 2023 two Spanish authors proposed naming that line the Valencian Variation in its honour. The opening also appears in Lucena's chess book of 1497. Long known as the Centre Counter, it was shown to be playable by Scandinavian masters in the late 19th century. The name "Scandinavian" acknowledges the Swedish player Ludvig Collijn, who played it with success. Its modern popularity grew after Bent Larsen beat Anatoly Karpov with it in 1979. Viswanathan Anand obtained an excellent position with it against Garry Kasparov in their 1995 world championship match, and Magnus Carlsen has chosen it against Fabiano Caruana.
The idea
After 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3, Black's queen is chased and White gains a tempo. That is the price Black pays. In return, Black gets a clear structure: in the main line, pawns on c6 and e6 with the light-squared bishop developed to f5 before ...e6. The structure resembles the Caro-Kann, and many Caro-Kann players have taken up this form of the Scandinavian.
Main lines
- Main Line 3...Qa5: the main line and the most popular retreat, keeping the queen active on the a5–e1 diagonal. White's options include the 4.d4 Nf6 line.
- Gubinsky-Melts Defense 3...Qd6: long poorly regarded, it has been played many times in high-level chess since the mid-1990s.
- Valencian Variation 3...Qd8: the old main line, still playable but considered somewhat passive.
- Modern Variation 2...Nf6: Black delays the recapture, and the Portuguese Gambit 3.d4 Bg4 or the Icelandic-Palme Gambit 3.c4 e6 give sharp play.
Strengths and weaknesses
Strengths
- Very little theory, and Black chooses the type of position from move one.
- Easy development and a solid structure. It is hard for White to find a clear target.
- Avoids the huge theory of the Sicilian, French and Ruy Lopez.
Weaknesses
- Black loses time with the queen, so White gets a small lead in development.
- Black's position can be passive, and winning against solid opponents takes patience.
- At the highest level it is considered less sound than the main defences.
Who should play it
The Scandinavian suits practical players who want a reliable, low-theory defence to 1.e4 and like clear structures. It works especially well against opponents who rely on preparation in the main lines, and against players who don't know how to use their lead in development. Its weakest point is against well-prepared White players who develop quickly and play for a lasting space advantage.
The numbers
On Lichess the Scandinavian is close to even at club level: White wins 48–50% and Black 46–47% at every band below 2200. Among masters the picture changes. Over the board, White wins 38.5%, Black 24.5%, and 37% are drawn.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the Scandinavian Defense
The most played answer, 2. exd5, also scores best for White: 51.0%, with White winning 48.5% and Black 46.6% of 102.2M games. Of the main answers, 2. Nf3 scores lowest: 49.4%. Stockfish's first choice is also 2. exd5.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings
Popularity by year
The Scandinavian Defense dipped to 4.3% of Lichess games in 2018 and has recovered since: 5.4% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 4.5% | 1,619,887 |
| 2017 | 4.4% | 2,417,482 |
| 2018 | 4.3% | 3,386,882 |
| 2019 | 4.6% | 5,692,579 |
| 2020 | 4.8% | 14,041,181 |
| 2021 | 5.1% | 19,809,900 |
| 2022 | 5.2% | 19,483,891 |
| 2023 | 5.2% | 19,592,853 |
| 2024 | 5.4% | 19,267,881 |
| 2025 | 5.4% | 18,842,252 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 5.4% | 5,932,411 |
Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling
Variations (7)
Transpositions
All 45 named lines that continue from here
No line matches.
- B01 Scandinavian Defense 2 moves
- B01 Blackburne-Kloosterboer Gambit 2 moves
- B01 Boehnke Gambit 3 moves
- B01 Mieses-Kotroc Variation 2 moves
- B01 Modern Variation 2 moves
- B01 Zilbermints Gambit 2 moves
- B01 Van Geet Opening: Grünfeld Defense 3 moves
- B01 Scandinavian Defense: Blackburne Gambit 3 moves
- B01 Scandinavian Defense: Gubinsky-Melts Defense 3 moves
- B01 Scandinavian Defense: Icelandic-Palme Gambit 3 moves
- B01 Scandinavian Defense: Kloosterboer Gambit 3 moves
- B01 Scandinavian Defense: Main Line 3 moves
- B01 Modern Variation 3 moves
- B01 Scandinavian Defense: Panov Transfer 3 moves
- B01 Scandinavian Defense: Valencian Variation 3 moves
- B01 Scandinavian Defense: Anderssen Counterattack 4 moves
- B01 Scandinavian Defense: Bronstein Variation 5 moves
- B01 Scandinavian Defense: Kádas Gambit 4 moves
- B01 Leonhardt Gambit 4 moves
- B01 Mieses Variation 4 moves
- B01 Scandinavian Defense: Marshall Variation 3 moves
- B01 Scandinavian Defense: Portuguese Gambit 3 moves
- B01 Scandinavian Defense: Richter Variation 3 moves
- B01 Scandinavian Defense: Schiller-Pytel Variation 4 moves
- B01 Scandinavian Defense: Schiller-Pytel Variation, Modern Variation 7 moves
- B01 Ilundain Variation 5 moves
- B01 Main Line 5 moves
- B01 Goteborg System 5 moves
- B01 Orthodox Attack 7 moves
- B01 Scandinavian Defense: Classical Variation 5 moves
- B01 Scandinavian Defense: Kiel Variation 4 moves
- B01 Scandinavian Defense: Lasker Variation 6 moves
- B01 Scandinavian Defense: Modern Variation, Gipslis Variation 4 moves
- B01 Scandinavian Defense: Modern Variation, Wing Gambit 4 moves
- B01 Banker Variation 5 moves
- B01 Classical Variation 4 moves
- B01 Correspondence Refutation 5 moves
- B01 Elbow Variation 4 moves
- B01 Jadoul Variation 6 moves
- B01 Lusophobe Variation 5 moves
- B01 Melbourne Shuffle Variation 6 moves
- B01 Wuss Variation 4 moves
- B01 Scandinavian Defense: Richter Variation 4 moves
- B01 Scandinavian Defense: Anderssen Counterattack, Collijn Variation 5 moves
- B01 Scandinavian Defense: Grünfeld Variation 7 moves
Sources
- History and theory: adapted from the Wikipedia article Scandinavian Defense, version of 1 November 2026, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Results: Lichess opening explorer, figures collected from September to November 2026.
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Scandinavian Defense (B01)”. Lichess data as of 6 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/scandinavian-defense