Scandinavian Defense: Main Line, Leonhardt Gambit
1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. b4
The Scandinavian Defense: Main Line, Leonhardt Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO B01, reached after 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. b4. It is a line of the Scandinavian Defense. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 4,882 times by this move order. White won 54%, 3% were drawn and Black won 43%. The most popular continuation is 4… Qxb4 (73% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.13 (Stockfish, depth 51; best line 4… Qxb4 5. Rb1 Qd6 6. Nf3 Nf6 7. d4)
- ECO
- B01
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
rnb1kbnr/ppp1pppp/8/q7/1P6/2N5/P1PP1PPP/R1BQKBNR b KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. b4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1,400 | |
| 1500-1999 | 2,822 | |
| 2000+ | 660 | |
| All | 4,882 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… Qxb4 | 3,557 (73%) | |
| 4… Qb6 | 608 (12%) | |
| 4… Qe5+ | 492 (10%) | |
| 4… c6 | 87 (2%) | |
| 4… Nf6 | 64 (1%) | |
| 4… Nc6 | 16 (0%) | |
| 4… Bf5 | 15 (0%) | |
| 4… Qf5 | 10 (0%) |
Master games
263 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 50%, draw 8%, Black 42%). The strongest:
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2736) – GM Alireza Firouzja (2728) 1-0 · Carlsen Inv Prelim · 2020-04-22
- IM Thomas Beerdsen (2508) – GM Alexander Grischuk (2764) 0-1 · Titled Tue 8th Feb Early · 2022-02-08
- GM Onischuk, V. (2610) – GM Leonardo Tristan (2542) 1-0 · Titled Tue 7th Jan Late · 2025-01-07
- GM Onischuk, V. (2609) – GM Leonardo Tristan (2542) 1-0 · Titled Tue 17th Dec Early · 2024-12-17
- IM Mykola Bortnyk (2400) – GM Praggnanandhaa R (2737) 0-1 · World Blitz 2024 · 2024-12-30
Search all games of the Scandinavian Defense: Main Line, Leonhardt Gambit and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Kruciatos (2765) – FM Tsoi_Dima (2851) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- Kruciatos (2779) – FM Tsoi_Dima (2835) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- Kruciatos (2725) – shahruh94 (2677) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Scandinavian Defense: Main Line 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5
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.