Scandinavian Defense
176 games, 59.7%: GMHess's Scandinavian. The queen on d6, …a6 against the knight and the bishop, then …Bg4 against the f3 knight.
- 16.g3 Bg4 7.Bg2 Nc6 8.h3: take on f34 moves to find · 1 question
- 27.h3 Bh5: the d5 threat2 moves to find · 2 questions
- 36.Bc4: …b5 and …c51 move to find · 2 questions
- 46.Ne5: the trap on d42 moves to find · 2 questions
- 56.a4: stopping …b53 moves to find · 1 question
- 63.Nf3: 3…Nf6 rather than 3…Qd64 moves to find · 3 questions
- 72.Nc3: 2…d42 moves to find · 2 questions
- ★Final quiz0/5 solved first try
The opening at a glance
One idea per card. The chapters explain it all move by move, too.
- At a glance
Scandinavian Defense
176 games, 59.7%: GMHess's Scandinavian. The queen on d6, …a6 against the knight and the bishop, then …Bg4 against the f3 knight.
14 cards, one idea each. Swipe to move on.
- The big idea
Your games: 133× · you score 62%
1…d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qd6: GMHess puts his queen on d6, then plays …Nf6 and …a6. The a6 pawn takes the b5 square away from the white pieces and prepares …b5.
- The big idea
176 games, 95 wins, 20 draws and 61 losses, for 59.7%, a little above his overall score of 58.6%. The …Bg4 and …Nc6 setup targets the d4 pawn.
- The big idea
Your games: 43× · you score 59%
The thread of the course: against 6.g3, take on f3 at the right moment; against 6.Bc4, …b5 and …c5; against 6.Ne5 and 6.a4, the traps White leaves; then 3.Nf3 and 2.Nc3.
- Principle
The queen on d6
Your games: 133× · you score 62%
After 3.Nc3, the queen drops back to d6: she covers e5 and b4, and stays away from the developing white pieces.
- Principle
…a6 first
Your games: 97× · you score 63%
5…a6 takes b5 away from the c3 knight and the f1 bishop. It also prepares …b5 against a bishop on c4.
- Principle
The d4 pawn as a target
Your games: 22× · you score 68%
…Bg4 and …Nc6 target d4. When the f3 knight disappears, the d6 queen takes the pawn.
- Principle
Take on f3 when h3 comes
Your games: 7× · you score 71%
Against h3, Stockfish prefers …Bxf3 to the retreat to h5: the defender of d4 disappears.
- Imbalance
Development against space
Your games: 133× · you score 62%
The black queen came out early, and White gains time against her. In return, Black has no pawn weaknesses.
- Imbalance
Bishop against knight
After …Bxf3, White keeps the bishop pair. Black gains time against d4.
- Imbalance
Kings on opposite sides
Your games: 7× · you score 64%
After …Bg4 and …Nc6, GMHess often castles queenside, and White kingside.
- The trade-off
What you gain
- The same setup against almost everything: …Qd6, …Nf6, …a6.
- Against 6.Ne5, GMHess scores 79% in 14 games.
- Against 2.Nc3, 2…d4 is Stockfish's first choice.
- The trade-off
What you give up
- Against 6.g3, Stockfish gives White about 1.1.
- After 8.h3, Stockfish prefers 8…Bxf3 to the retreat 8…Bh5: about 0.4 against 1.2 for White.
- Against 3.Nf3, 3…Qd6 scores only 27% in 11 games.
- That's all
Your turn
These ideas only stick once you play the moves. The chapters make you find the right ones.
Start chapter 1
Card 1 of 14: Scandinavian Defense