Scandinavian Defense: Gubinsky-Melts Defense
The Gubinsky-Melts Defense is 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qd6, a line of the Scandinavian Defense in which the queen retreats to d6. Read the guide
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
4,527,370 games: White 47.3% / Draw 5.6% / Black 47.2%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 1,844,9161.8M | ||
| 1,697,2971.7M | ||
| 448,057448K | ||
| 135,092135K | ||
| 100,056100K | ||
| 53,47053K | ||
| 52,02352K | ||
| 48,01748K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.61 White is slightly better
Best play: 4. Nf3 c6 5. d4 Nf6 6. h3 Bf5 7. g4 Bg6 8. Ne5 Nbd7
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
The stronger the players, the better this line does for Black: Black scores 45% under 1400, 50% at 2200 and up and 44% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 1.8M | |
| 1400–1799 | 3.1M | |
| 1800–2199 | 2.4M | |
| 2200 and up | 457K | |
| Masters, over the board | 5,698 |
Master games
- Caruana, F. – Carlsen, M.
- Vachier Lagrave, M. – Carlsen, M.
- Nepomniachtchi, I. – Carlsen, M.
- Anand, V. – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Kramnik, V.
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 Gubinsky-Melts Defense is 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qd6, a line of the Scandinavian Defense in which the queen retreats to d6. It is also called the Pytel Variation, after Krzysztof and Bożena Pytel. Michael Melts covered it thoroughly in a book in 2001.
Reputation
At first sight the queen on d6 looks exposed to a later Nb5 or Bf4, and for many years the move was poorly regarded for that reason. Numerous grandmaster games have since shown 3...Qd6 to be quite playable, and it has been played many times in high-level chess since the mid-1990s. It has grown in popularity over time.
How White plays against it
White players have found an effective set-up with d4, Nf3, g3, Bg2 and O-O, followed later by Ne5, which gives White a strong, active position.
The other main queen moves on move three are 3...Qa5, the main line, and 3...Qd8, the Valencian Variation.
The numbers
On Lichess the results are level overall: White wins 47.3% of the 4.5 million games and Black 47.2%. They change sharply with rating. Under 1400 White leads 53.4% to 42.7%, while between 1800 and 2199 Black is ahead, 47.4% against 46.8%, and from 2200 up White leads narrowly, 46.3% against 45.8%. In 5,698 master games over the board White won 36.0%, Black 24.4%, and 39.6% were drawn.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the Scandinavian Defense: Gubinsky-Melts Defense
4. d4 scores best for White: 51.2%, with White winning 48.3% and Black 45.8% of 1.7M games. The most played, 4. Nf3, scores 49.4% in 1.8M games, and 4. Bc4 scores lowest: 49.2%. Stockfish's first choice is 4. Nf3.
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: Gubinsky-Melts Defense peaked in 2020 at 0.24% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.15% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.14% | 48,316 |
| 2017 | 0.13% | 71,155 |
| 2018 | 0.13% | 104,518 |
| 2019 | 0.15% | 186,440 |
| 2020 | 0.24% | 691,735 |
| 2021 | 0.21% | 810,069 |
| 2022 | 0.18% | 662,966 |
| 2023 | 0.17% | 624,579 |
| 2024 | 0.16% | 573,183 |
| 2025 | 0.15% | 526,384 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.15% | 165,099 |
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 (3)
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: Gubinsky-Melts Defense (B01)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/scandinavian-defense-gubinsky-melts-defense