Scandinavian Defense: Main Line, Mieses Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
2,979,636 games: White 46.6% / Draw 4.8% / Black 48.7%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 1,209,6861.2M | ||
| 1,107,1661.1M | ||
| 345,478345K | ||
| 94,05494K | ||
| 61,22161K | ||
| 41,24341K | ||
| 30,31330K | ||
| 14,89715K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 20, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.66 White is slightly better
Best play: 5. Nf3 Bf5 6. Bd2 Nbd7 7. Bc4 c6 8. Qe2 Qc7 9. Bb3 e6
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 49% under 1400, 50% at 2200 and up and 43% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 561K | |
| 1400–1799 | 1.7M | |
| 1800–2199 | 1.7M | |
| 2200 and up | 283K | |
| Masters, over the board | 4,514 |
Master games
- Firouzja, A. – Carlsen, M.
- Dominguez Perez, L. – Carlsen, M.
- Caruana, F. – Mamedyarov, S.
- Anand, V. – Mamedyarov, S.
- Kasparov, G. – Anand, 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
Overview
Scandinavian Defense: Main Line, Mieses Variation (ECO B01, Semi-Open Games) is a variation of the Scandinavian Defense: Main Line, reached after 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. d4 Nf6 (4 moves).
In 2,979,636 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 46.6%, Black 48.7% and 4.8% were drawn. White's most played move here is 5. Nf3, in 41% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are Scandinavian Defense: Classical Variation and Scandinavian Defense: Lasker Variation. In all, 3 named lines continue from it.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the Scandinavian Defense: Main Line, Mieses Variation
5. Bc4 scores best for White: 49.6%, with White winning 47.3% and Black 48.2% of 345K games. The most played, 5. Nf3, scores 49.4% in 1.2M games, and 5. Bd2 scores lowest: 48.6%. Stockfish's first choice is 5. 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: Main Line, Mieses Variation has stayed between 0.11% and 0.12% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (0.12% in 2025).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.11% | 38,104 |
| 2017 | 0.11% | 60,159 |
| 2018 | 0.12% | 91,988 |
| 2019 | 0.12% | 143,913 |
| 2020 | 0.12% | 345,015 |
| 2021 | 0.12% | 450,380 |
| 2022 | 0.11% | 424,939 |
| 2023 | 0.11% | 415,293 |
| 2024 | 0.12% | 426,184 |
| 2025 | 0.12% | 404,718 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.12% | 132,119 |
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 (2)
All 3 named lines that continue from here
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Scandinavian Defense: Main Line, Mieses Variation (B01)”. Lichess data as of 20 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/scandinavian-defense-main-line-mieses-variation