Scandinavian DefenseB01
1. e4 d5. Black hits White's e4 pawn on the very first move.
Move by move
1... d5: pawn to d 5
- White: e4, pawn to e 4.
- Black: d5, pawn to d 5.
What each side wants
⚪ White: Take with exd5. If Black's queen takes back, chase her with Nc3 and get a piece out with tempo.
⚫ Black: Take back with the queen and move her to a safe square like a5 or d6, or take back later with the knight.
Black made the last move, so after this it is White's turn.
You will also hear it called the Center Counter or the Scandi.
Three things every opening does
The Scandinavian Defense follows the three ideas strong players use in every opening. Get a pawn or two into the middle of the board, because pieces in the middle can reach more squares. Bring out your knights and bishops before you move the queen a lot, so she is not chased around. And castle early, so your king is tucked behind a wall of pawns and your rook joins the game. When you forget the moves, those three ideas will still help you find a good one.
Try it
Play it against Peabody on Play, then solve today's puzzle. Openings that start the same way:
- Italian Game
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 - Giuoco Piano
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 - Two Knights Defense
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 - Fried Liver Attack
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Nxd5 6. Nxf7 - Evans Gambit
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 - Scotch Game
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4
Name, code and moves from the Lichess openings list (CC0), checked . The words are Peabody's own, and every move on this page is checked by Peabody's chess engine.