Force the structure
After the queen recapture, Black gets the same e- and c-pawns against White's d- and c-pawns again and again; unlike the French or Caro-Kann, White cannot choose an Advance or Exchange structure.
← Your repertoireSolve them
An opening course for Black (ECO B01)
Scandinavian Defense
The Scandinavian fixes the central structure immediately. This course uses 3...Qa5 and the modern 5...Bf5 move order: Black accepts a development tempo, activates the light-squared bishop before ...e6, and reaches a compact Caro-Kann/French-type structure with concrete counterplay.
This course is part of your daily work.
Before the moves: the big ideas
Bishop before pawn chain
Against 5.Nf3, develop the light bishop to f5 before ...e6. That solves Black's traditional problem piece and preserves active play.
Move order is theory
Put the bishop on f5 before the pawn on c6. The old order allows 8.Nd5, and after 8...Qd8 9.Nxf6+ gxf6 White castles, swings a rook to e1 and gives up the bishop on e6; Bauer won a game that way himself and then stopped recommending the position for Black. Against 5.Bd2 the bishop goes to g4 instead, and Black heads for the Viking centre with ...Nc6 and long castling.
The knight on e5 is the test
White's sharpest tries all park a knight on e5 and then throw pawns at the bishop. Answer with ...c6 and ...Nbd7: the second knight attacks e5, and the pawn moves White spent chasing you are still on the board when the middlegame starts.
Know the handoff
Many good Scandinavian outcomes are balanced endgames or compact middlegames. Recall stops when the opening decision is settled; annotations then name the remaining pawn breaks, files, and piece routes.
The lines, chapter by chapter
Learning order, one scoresheet per chapter. The coach serves review one line a day; enter any line directly when you want it now.
The Modern 5...Bf5 Core
Develop the light bishop before building the ...e6 shell. Each branch ends when Black's next plan is clear, so recall stays focused on genuine opening decisions.
The Two Sharpest Sixth Moves
White does not have to play 6.Bc4. The knight jump to e5 and the quiet 6.Bd2 both aim at the same thing, a knight on e5 supported by pawns thrown at your bishop. Both branches need their own answer.
White Changes the Move Order
Small changes in White's development require different bishop squares, pawn breaks, or knight routes. Recognize the branch before playing the usual setup by habit.
When White Does Not Chase the Queen
If Nc3 is delayed, the queen can remain central while Black develops with threats. These are independent opening families, not Qa5 imitations.
Before the Queen Recapture
White can avoid the usual queen-recapture structure altogether. Four of these five are pawn-grab attempts or quiet sidesteps, and each has a specific answer rather than a general one.
Puzzles from this opening
Club games that started in the Scandinavian Defense produced these tactics, and you solve every one from Black's side, the seat you actually sit in. Difficulty follows your solving, the same as the puzzle room.
The Scandinavian Defense in brief
The Scandinavian Defense is the chess opening that begins 1.e4 d5, and it is filed under ECO B01. This course teaches it from Black's side in 19 drills across 5 chapters, with a coach note on the moves that need one, every position checked with Stockfish at depth 20, and every plan credited to the author who wrote it down.
Lines you will drill
- Meet 7.O-O with ...Nbd7 against 6.Bc4 e6 7.O-O
- The fighting ...Bb4 treatment against 6.Bc4 e6 7.Bd2
- Exchange White's active knight against 6.Bc4 e6 7.Ne5
- Develop with tempo against long castling against 6.Bc4 e6 7.Qe2
- Answer the g-pawn thrust against 6.Ne5
- Hold the line against 7.Ne5 against 6.Bd2
- Do not play the old ...c6 against 5.Bd2
- Prepare the immediate ...c5 break against 5.Bc4
- Rare ...Nc6 against Be2 against 4.Nf3 and 5.Be2
- Build ...e6 against the d3 setup against 4.Bc4
- Claim the centre against the fianchetto against 4.g3
- Take the flank pawn against 4.b4
- Keep the queen active against 3.d4
- Pressure before d4 against 3.Nf3
- Challenge the advance against 2.e5
- Liquidate the quiet centre against 2.d3
- A Caro-Kann with a spare move against 2.Nc3
- Take the gambit and hold it against 2.d4
- Refuse the Tennison against 2.Nf3
Theory credited to
- Scandinavian with ...Qa5: Complete Repertoire for Black, GM Pier Luigi Basso
- Evasive Manoeuvres in the Scandinavian, GM Christian Bauer
- Play the Scandinavian, GM Christian Bauer
- Scandinavian Defence: 3...Qa5 with 5...Bf5, GM Justin Tan and GM Daniel Fernandez
- Durarbayli-Kovalenko and the 6.Ne5 Scandinavian, GM Justin Tan and GM Daniel Fernandez
- Is the 3...Qa5 Scandinavian Busted?, Martin Lorenzini
- The Modern Scandinavian, GM Matthias Wahls, GM Karsten Müller, and Hannes Langrock
- The Scandinavian Defense Revisited, Thomas Engqvist
- The Safest Scandinavian, GM Vassilios Kotronias
- Scandinavian 3...Qa5 Part 3, GM Eugene Perelshteyn
- Wikipedia: Scandinavian Defense
- Wikipedia: Blackmar-Diemer Gambit
- Wikipedia: Tennison Gambit
- lichess-org/chess-openings
2 branches are deliberately not drilled here, and the course records which and why rather than leaving the gap silent.
Questions
- What is the Scandinavian Defense?
- The Scandinavian Defense is the chess opening that begins 1.e4 d5, filed under ECO B01. An active 3...Qa5 repertoire with precise move orders. This course uses 3...Qa5 and the modern 5...Bf5 move order: Black accepts a development tempo, activates the light-squared bishop before ...e6, and reaches a compact Caro-Kann/French-type structure with concrete counterplay.
- How do you learn the Scandinavian Defense?
- This course splits it into 19 drills across 5 chapters. You play each line from Black's side against a coach note that explains the move, then the same lines come back on a spaced-repetition schedule until you can play them without prompting. Every position is verified with Stockfish at depth 20 before it ships.
- What does White play against the Scandinavian Defense?
- The course answers every major reply: exd5, e5, d3, Nc3, d4, Nf3. Each one has its own drill or a documented transposition into another, and the branches that are not drilled are listed with the reason.
- Where does the theory in this Scandinavian Defense course come from?
- From published work by GM Pier Luigi Basso, GM Christian Bauer, GM Christian Bauer, GM Justin Tan and GM Daniel Fernandez and the reference sources credited on this page. The engine verifies the moves; the plans and assessments belong to the authors, and every drill records the page or section it came from.
Courses that pair with this one