What is the idea behind the Scandinavian Defence?

Trade the centre off on move one and always get the same position. In practice that means: Challenge e4 immediately and remove White's only centre pawn; Accept losing a tempo with the queen in return for a completely fixed structure; Develop the light-squared bishop to f5 or g4 before playing …e6.

Is the Scandinavian Defence good for beginners?

Yes — it is rated Beginner here, which means the moves follow from a handful of ideas rather than from memorised theory.

What are the plans after the Scandinavian Defence?

White: Gain time on the queen with Nc3, Bd2 and Nd5 ideas, and use the tempi to develop. Black: Get the light-squared bishop out before …e6, exactly as in the Caro-Kann.

All chess openings

Scandinavian Defence

B01 · Played as black · Beginner · Other Black Defences

Trade the centre off on move one and always get the same position

Also known as Center Counter, Scandi, Centre Counter Defence.

The main line

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 c6 6.Bc4 Bf5 7.Bd2 e6 8.Qe2 Bb4 9.O-O-O Nbd7

Strategic ideas

Challenge e4 immediately and remove White's only centre pawn
Accept losing a tempo with the queen in return for a completely fixed structure
Develop the light-squared bishop to f5 or g4 before playing …e6
Reach the same setup against almost anything — a genuine system for Black
Sidestep the Ruy López, the Italian, the Scotch and every other 1.e4 main line at once

Key themes

Solid — The structure is compact and healthy — Black has no weaknesses to defend
Flexible — Black reaches the same comfortable setup regardless of what White does
Positional — There's no early tactic; Black plays a slow, sound game with a clear plan

Typical plans

Black trades the centre off immediately and takes the queen out early — breaking a rule that every beginner is taught. It works because the queen has a safe home on a5 (or d6), and the tempo White gains with Nc3 doesn't lead anywhere concrete. The real appeal is practical: a Scandinavian player reaches roughly the same structure every single game and never has to learn the Ruy López. Black's setup — …c6, …Bf5, …e6, …Nbd7 — is a Caro-Kann without the Caro-Kann's theory.

Move by move

e4 — White claims the centre.
d5 — Black challenges it immediately. This is the Scandinavian — no build-up, just a direct hit on e4.
exd5 — White takes. Defending the pawn with Nc3 is possible but this is the main line.
Qxd5 — Black recaptures with the queen. Every beginner is told not to do this — and here it's fine, because the queen has a good square and White's tempo gains don't lead anywhere.
Nc3 — White develops with tempo, hitting the queen.
Qa5 — Black retreats to a5, where the queen is safe, active and pinning the c3-knight to nothing in particular but eyeing the queenside.
d4 — White takes the whole centre, now unopposed.
Nf6 — Black develops and controls d5 and e4.
Nf3 — White develops and controls e5.
c6 — Black shores up d5 and b5, and gives the queen a retreat square on c7.
Bc4 — White develops toward f7.
Bf5 — Black gets the bishop out before locking it in with …e6. The same idea as the Caro-Kann, reached with far less theory.
Bd2 — White develops, unpinning the knight and preparing to castle queenside.
e6 — Black now closes the diagonal, having already solved the bishop problem.
Qe2 — White lines the queen up and clears d1 for the rook.
Bb4 — Black develops with a pin, adding pressure to c3.
O-O-O — White castles queenside — the standard plan, and it means both sides will attack on opposite wings.
Nbd7 — Black develops the last knight. The structure is solid, the bishop is outside the chain and nothing is weak — a Scandinavian player gets this position again and again, and that familiarity is worth a lot of rating points.

Where the line leads

White's plans

Gain time on the queen with Nc3, Bd2 and Nd5 ideas, and use the tempi to develop
Take the centre with d4 and c4 — the space advantage is White's lasting edge
Castle queenside and attack; Black's structure is too solid for a slow game to trouble it

Black's plans

Get the light-squared bishop out before …e6, exactly as in the Caro-Kann
Finish development and castle; the structure has no weaknesses once the pieces are out
Break with …c5 or …e5 at the right moment to challenge White's extra space