Scandinavian Defense: Main Line
The Main Line of the Scandinavian Defense (1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5) is the most popular way to continue after the queen recapture: attacked by 3.Nc3, the queen goes to a5. Read the guide
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Statistics from Lichess
17,773,647 games: White 47.1% / Draw 4.7% / Black 48.2%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 6,693,8776.7M | ||
| 5,783,4485.8M | ||
| 2,069,9072.1M | ||
| 1,029,3911M | ||
| Leonhardt Gambit | 884,311884K | |
| 221,076221K | ||
| 171,555172K | ||
| 157,391157K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 9, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.65 White is slightly better
Best play: 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 c6 6. Bd2 Bf5 7. Bc4 e6 8. Nd5 Qd8
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 | 6.7M | |
| 1400–1799 | 13.7M | |
| 1800–2199 | 9.4M | |
| 2200 and up | 917K | |
| Masters, over the board | 7,775 |
Master games
- Caruana, F. – Carlsen, M.
- Firouzja, A. – Carlsen, M.
- Dominguez Perez, L. – Carlsen, M.
- Caruana, F. – Mamedyarov, S.
- Caruana, F. – Nakamura, H.
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 Main Line of the Scandinavian Defense (1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5) is the most popular way to continue after the queen recapture: attacked by 3.Nc3, the queen goes to a5.
The idea
3...Qa5 is considered the main line and remains the most popular of Black's queen moves. Black follows with ...c6, ...Nf6 and ...Bf5, putting the light-squared bishop outside the pawn chain before playing ...e6. The resulting structure, with pawns on c6 and e6, resembles the Caro-Kann Defense, which is why many Caro-Kann players have taken up this line. Both sides can castle on either side.
Main lines
- 4.d4, the usual move. The main line runs 4...c6 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.Bc4 Bf5 7.Bd2 e6, often reached by other move orders, when White chooses between the aggressive 8.Qe2 and the quiet 8.O-O. 4.d4 Nf6 is the Mieses Variation in this database.
- 4.Nf3 and 4.Bc4 often transpose to the same positions.
- 4.g3, a fianchetto set-up aimed at Black's queenside: the main line is 4...Nf6 5.Bg2 c6 6.Nf3, intending O-O, Rb1 and b4–b5. Anand, Baadur Jobava, Gyula Sax and Francisco Vallejo Pons have played it.
- 4.b4!?, the Leonhardt Gambit, also called the Kotrč–Mieses Gambit. Paul Saladin Leonhardt introduced it to master play against Jacques Mieses in 1907, and Lasker, Capablanca and Keres have played it. With correct play White should not have enough compensation, but that can be hard to prove over the board.
Strengths and weaknesses
Strengths
- A solid Caro-Kann-like structure with Black's bishop developed actively.
- Flexible castling for both sides.
Weaknesses
- The early queen moves cost Black time, and White develops with gain of tempo.
Who should play it
The Main Line suits Black players who want a solid, structurally sound answer to 1.e4 and are comfortable with Caro-Kann-type positions.
The numbers
On Lichess White leads under 1400, 50.4% against 46.2%, but Black is ahead at 1400–1799 (48.4% against 47.7%) and at 1800–2199 (48.0% against 47.0%). From 2200 up White leads again, 47.5% against 45.6%. In about 7,800 master games White won 38.6%, Black 23.8%, and 37.6% were drawn.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the Scandinavian Defense: Main Line
4. Bc4 scores best for White: 50.8%, with White winning 48.7% and Black 47.0% of 2.1M games. The most played, 4. d4, scores 50.1% in 6.7M games, and 4. d3 scores lowest: 47.0%. Stockfish's first choice is 4. d4.
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: Main Line dipped to 0.61% of Lichess games in 2017 and has recovered since: 0.72% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.62% | 222,463 |
| 2017 | 0.61% | 338,246 |
| 2018 | 0.62% | 488,394 |
| 2019 | 0.64% | 801,395 |
| 2020 | 0.67% | 1,955,532 |
| 2021 | 0.68% | 2,677,796 |
| 2022 | 0.68% | 2,555,587 |
| 2023 | 0.68% | 2,552,532 |
| 2024 | 0.72% | 2,576,155 |
| 2025 | 0.72% | 2,513,350 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.73% | 801,536 |
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)
All 9 named lines that continue from here
- B01 Scandinavian Defense: Anderssen Counterattack 4 moves
- B01 Leonhardt Gambit 4 moves
- B01 Mieses Variation 4 moves
- B01 Goteborg System 5 moves
- B01 Orthodox Attack 7 moves
- B01 Scandinavian Defense: Classical Variation 5 moves
- B01 Scandinavian Defense: Lasker Variation 6 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: Main Line (B01)”. Lichess data as of 9 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/scandinavian-defense-main-line