Nimzowitsch Defense: Scandinavian Variation
1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 d5
The Nimzowitsch Defense: Scandinavian Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B00, reached after 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 d5. It is a line of the Nimzowitsch Defense. White is to move. 5 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 10,869 times by this move order. White won 48%, 4% were drawn and Black won 48%. The most popular continuation is 3. e5 (58% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.53 (Stockfish, depth 60; best line 3. e5 Bf5 4. c3 e6 5. Be2 f6)
- ECO
- B00
- Moves
- 4 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/ppp1pppp/2n5/3p4/3PP3/8/PPP2PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 3- PGN
1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 d5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 3,208 | |
| 1500-1999 | 5,782 | |
| 2000+ | 1,879 | |
| All | 10,869 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3. e5 Scandinavian Variation, Advance Variation | 6,345 (58%) | |
| 3. exd5 | 3,041 (28%) | |
| 3. Nc3 Scandinavian Variation, Bogoljubow Variation (2… d5 3. Nc3) | 1,026 (9%) | |
| 3. Bb5 | 115 (1%) | |
| 3. Nf3 | 81 (1%) | |
| 3. f3 | 64 (1%) | |
| 3. c4 | 58 (1%) | |
| 3. Bd3 | 43 (0%) |
Master games
17 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 35%, draw 12%, Black 53%). The strongest:
- FM Georg Halvax (2355) – GM David Shengelia (2572) 0-1 · ch-AUT 2015 · 2015-07-30
- GM Ngoc Truong Son Nguyen (2600) – CM Sayyid Usmon Shamsuddin (2189) 1-0 · 1st 3-0 Thu 12th Feb 2026 · 2026-02-12
- CM Georgijs Germanovs (2260) – GM Mahel Boyer (2520) 0-1 · 2nd 3-0 Thu 15th Jan 2026 · 2026-01-15
- IM Vuk Djordjevic (2375) – Anton Osinenko (2203) 1-0 · Titled Tue 18th Apr Early · 2023-04-18
- WIM Anna Kubicka (2235) – FM Mahel Boyer (2333) 1/2-1/2 · Cappelle Online Bullet · 2021-03-05
Search all games of the Nimzowitsch Defense: Scandinavian Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- T-80BVM (2666) – IM Jamorris94 (2786) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- FM dclasby (2779) – kasparik_garik (2618) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- QuCq (2635) – josedavid321 (2651) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Nimzowitsch Defense (1… Nc6 2. d4) 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4
Continuations
- Nimzowitsch Defense: Hornung Gambit B00 · 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 d5 3. Be3
- Nimzowitsch Defense: Scandinavian Variation, Advance Variation B00 · 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 d5 3. e5
- Nimzowitsch Defense: Scandinavian Variation, Bogoljubow Variation (2… d5 3. Nc3) B00 · 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3
- Nimzowitsch Defense: Scandinavian Variation, Aachen Gambit B00 · 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 Nb4
- Nimzowitsch Defense: Scandinavian Variation, Exchange Variation B00 · 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5
More Nimzowitsch Defense lines (all)
- Nimzowitsch Defense (1. e4 Nc6) 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
- Nimzowitsch Defense: Kennedy Variation 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.