Nimzowitsch Defense: Scandinavian Variation, Advance Variation
1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 d5 3. e5
The Nimzowitsch Defense: Scandinavian Variation, Advance Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B00, reached after 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 d5 3. e5. It is a line of the Nimzowitsch Defense. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 6,345 times by this move order. White won 49%, 4% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 3… Bf5 (64% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.34 (Stockfish, depth 48; best line 3… Bf5 4. c3 e6 5. Bd3 Nge7 6. Ne2)
- ECO
- B00
- Moves
- 5 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/ppp1pppp/2n5/3pP3/3P4/8/PPP2PPP/RNBQKBNR b KQkq - 0 3- PGN
1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 d5 3. e5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1,788 | |
| 1500-1999 | 3,510 | |
| 2000+ | 1,047 | |
| All | 6,345 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3… Bf5 | 4,064 (64%) | |
| 3… f6 | 1,049 (17%) | |
| 3… e6 | 808 (13%) | |
| 3… a6 | 119 (2%) | |
| 3… Be6 | 57 (1%) | |
| 3… g6 | 56 (1%) | |
| 3… h5 | 48 (1%) | |
| 3… f5 | 37 (1%) |
Master games
1,429 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 38%, draw 13%, Black 49%). The strongest:
- GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2784) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2863) 1/2-1/2 · Carlsen Inv Prelim · 2020-04-28
- GM Levon Aronian (2782) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2855) 1-0 · Meltwater Tour Final 2021 · 2021-10-03
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2794) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2830) 0-1 · CCT Final Playoff 2023 · 2023-12-10
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2839) – GM Nihal Sarin (2692) 0-1 · Titled Tue 8th Jul Early · 2025-07-08
- GM Viswanathan Anand (2783) – GM Richard Rapport (2686) 1/2-1/2 · Bundesliga 2017-18 · 2018-02-25
Highest-rated Lichess games
- T-80BVM (2666) – IM Jamorris94 (2786) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- QuCq (2635) – josedavid321 (2651) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- Barselona_forever5 (2535) – Minarque (2699) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Nimzowitsch Defense: Scandinavian Variation 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 d5
More Nimzowitsch Defense lines (all)
- Nimzowitsch Defense (1. e4 Nc6) B00
- Nimzowitsch Defense (1… Nc6 2. d4) B00
- Nimzowitsch Defense: Breyer Variation B00
- Nimzowitsch Defense: Colorado Countergambit B00
- Nimzowitsch Defense: Colorado Countergambit Accepted B00
- Nimzowitsch Defense: Declined Variation B00
- Nimzowitsch Defense: El Columpio Defense B00
- Nimzowitsch Defense: El Columpio Defense, El Columpio Gambit B00
- Nimzowitsch Defense: El Columpio Defense, Exchange Variation B00
- Nimzowitsch Defense: El Columpio Defense, Pin Variation B00
- Nimzowitsch Defense: Franco-Nimzowitsch Variation B00
- Nimzowitsch Defense: French Connection B00
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.