Alekhine Defense: Scandinavian Variation
1. e4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5
The Alekhine Defense: Scandinavian Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B02, reached after 1. e4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5. It is a line of the Alekhine Defense. White is to move. 3 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 14,131 times by this move order. White won 45%, 5% were drawn and Black won 50%. The most popular continuation is 3. exd5 (47% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.28 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 3. e5 Nfd7 4. d4 c5 5. f4 cxd4)
- ECO
- B02
- Moves
- 4 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/ppp1pppp/5n2/3p4/4P3/2N5/PPPP1PPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 0 3- PGN
1. e4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 3,507 | |
| 1500-1999 | 6,664 | |
| 2000+ | 3,960 | |
| All | 14,131 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3. exd5 | 6,684 (47%) | |
| 3. e5 | 5,928 (42%) | |
| 3. d3 | 407 (3%) | |
| 3. d4 | 323 (2%) | |
| 3. Nf3 | 241 (2%) | |
| 3. f3 | 166 (1%) | |
| 3. Bd3 | 92 (1%) | |
| 3. Bb5+ | 65 (0%) |
Master games
3,115 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 35%, draw 17%, Black 48%). The strongest:
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2787) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2835) 1/2-1/2 · Bullet Chess Winners 2023 · 2023-07-21
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2787) – GM Alireza Firouzja (2777) 1-0 · Bullet Chess Winners 2023 · 2023-07-20
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2841) – GM Pranesh M (2644) 1-0 · 1st 3-0 Thu 25th Jun 2026 · 2026-06-25
- GM Teimour Radjabov (2734) – GM Vasyl Ivanchuk (2704) 1-0 · SportAccord Blitz 2014 · 2014-12-13
- GM Pentala Harikrishna (2727) – GM Vasyl Ivanchuk (2704) 0-1 · SportAccord Blitz 2014 · 2014-12-13
Search all games of the Alekhine Defense: Scandinavian Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- thetruthhurtsagain (2616) – CoolChessSchool (2802) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 600 + 0s
- kasparik_garik (2644) – FM dclasby (2742) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- Zenit-Champion (2723) – gammadrill (2592) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Alekhine Defense (1. e4 Nf6) 1. e4 Nf6
Continuations
- Alekhine Defense: Scandinavian Variation, Geschev Gambit B02 · 1. e4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. exd5 c6
- Alekhine Defense: Scandinavian Variation, Myers Gambit B02 · 1. e4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d3 dxe4 4. Bg5
- Alekhine Defense: Spielmann Gambit B02 · 1. e4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. e5 Nfd7 4. e6
More Alekhine Defense lines (all)
- Alekhine Defense: Brooklyn Variation B02
- Alekhine Defense: Brooklyn Variation, Everglades Variation B02
- Alekhine Defense: Buckley Attack B02
- Alekhine Defense: Hunt Variation, Lasker Simul Gambit B02
- Alekhine Defense: Hunt Variation, Matsukevich Gambit B02
- Alekhine Defense: Hunt Variation, Mikenas Gambit B02
- Alekhine Defense: Kmoch Variation B02
- Alekhine Defense: Krejcik Variation B02
- Alekhine Defense: Krejcik Variation, Krejcik Gambit B02
- Alekhine Defense: Maróczy Variation B02
- Alekhine Defense: Mokele Mbembe B02
- Alekhine Defense: Mokele Mbembe, Modern Line B02
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.