Scandinavian Defense: Kiel Variation
1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 Nxd5 4. c4 Nb4
The Scandinavian Defense: Kiel Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B01, reached after 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 Nxd5 4. c4 Nb4. It is a line of the Scandinavian Defense. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 818 times by this move order. White won 49%, 4% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 5. a3 (47% of games).
Engine evaluation: +1.38 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 5. a3 N4c6 6. Nf3 Bg4 7. d5 Ne5)
- ECO
- B01
- Moves
- 8 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/ppp1pppp/8/8/1nPP4/8/PP3PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 1 5- PGN
1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 Nxd5 4. c4 Nb4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 32 | |
| 1500-1999 | 525 | |
| 2000+ | 261 | |
| All | 818 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5. a3 | 385 (47%) | |
| 5. Qa4+ | 240 (29%) | |
| 5. Nc3 | 84 (10%) | |
| 5. Nf3 | 42 (5%) | |
| 5. d5 | 24 (3%) | |
| 5. Be3 | 15 (2%) | |
| 5. Bd2 | 9 (1%) | |
| 5. Na3 | 5 (1%) |
Master games
81 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 59%, draw 10%, Black 31%). The strongest:
- IM Gregory Shahade (2476) – FM Francisco Javier Cruz Ravina (2411) 1-0 · Speed Chess GP3 2021 · 2021-10-02
- IM Robert Baskin (2398) – FM Francisco Javier Cruz Ravina (2411) 0-1 · Speed Chess GP3 2021 · 2021-10-02
- IM Alexander Reprintsev (2330) – FM Francisco Javier Cruz Ravina (2411) 1-0 · Titled Tue 18th Oct Early · 2022-10-18
- FM Jose Padeiro (2338) – FM Vasco Diogo (2253) 0-1 · ch-POR 2014 · 2014-09-11
- GM Deepan Chakkravarthy J. (2496) – FM Ali A. Elmejbri (2031) 1-0 · 4th Al Ain Chess Classic · 2015-12-23
Search all games of the Scandinavian Defense: Kiel Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- VoinTeka (2545) – PIPI2006 (2606) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
- A_V_Kravchuk (2396) – elcondorprasa (2348) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
- B_Georgiev (2360) – elcondorprasa (2361) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Scandinavian Defense: Marshall Variation 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 Nxd5
More Scandinavian Defense lines (all)
- Scandinavian Defense (1. e4 d5) B01
- Scandinavian Defense (1… d5 2. b3) B01
- Scandinavian Defense: Anderssen Counterattack B01
- Scandinavian Defense: Anderssen Counterattack, Collijn Variation B01
- Scandinavian Defense: Anderssen Counterattack, Goteborg System B01
- Scandinavian Defense: Anderssen Counterattack, Orthodox Attack B01
- Scandinavian Defense: Blackburne Gambit B01
- Scandinavian Defense: Blackburne-Kloosterboer Gambit B01
- Scandinavian Defense: Boehnke Gambit B01
- Scandinavian Defense: Bronstein Variation B01
- Scandinavian Defense: Classical Variation B01
- Scandinavian Defense: Grünfeld Variation B01
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.