Scandinavian Defense: Marshall Variation
1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 Nxd5
The Scandinavian Defense: Marshall Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B01, reached after 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 Nxd5. It is a line of the Scandinavian 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 11,013 times by this move order. White won 50%, 5% were drawn and Black won 45%. The most popular continuation is 4. c4 (43% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.69 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 4. Nf3 Bf5 5. Bd3 Bxd3 6. Qxd3 e6)
- ECO
- B01
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/ppp1pppp/8/3n4/3P4/8/PPP2PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 Nxd5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1,441 | |
| 1500-1999 | 7,255 | |
| 2000+ | 2,317 | |
| All | 11,013 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. c4 | 4,719 (43%) | |
| 4. Nf3 | 4,288 (39%) | |
| 4. Bc4 | 653 (6%) | |
| 4. Nc3 | 493 (4%) | |
| 4. c3 | 313 (3%) | |
| 4. Bd3 | 159 (1%) | |
| 4. h3 | 142 (1%) | |
| 4. Be3 | 56 (1%) |
Master games
1,565 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 49%, draw 18%, Black 33%). The strongest:
- KomodoDragon 2970.00 (3568) – Berserk dev10_20220912 (3509) 1-0 · TCEC 23 Premier 2022 · 2022-09-30
- Berserk dev10_20220912 (3509) – KomodoDragon 2970.00 (3568) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 23 Premier 2022 · 2022-09-30
- StoofvleesII d2 (3479) – Ethereal14.35 (3523) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 26 Premier 2024 · 2024-05-04
- Ethereal14.35 (3523) – StoofvleesII d2 (3479) 1-0 · TCEC 26 Premier 2024 · 2024-05-02
- GM Alireza Firouzja (2737) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2794) 1-0 · Bullet Chess Winners 2024 · 2024-06-13
Search all games of the Scandinavian Defense: Marshall Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Tempstream (2736) – GM sillyMASTER (2859) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- Kruciatos (2661) – GM sillyMASTER (2825) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- FM The_Fawkes (2652) – GM sillyMASTER (2827) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Scandinavian Defense: Modern Variation (2… Nf6 3. d4) 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4
Continuations
- Scandinavian Defense: Kiel Variation B01 · 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 Nxd5 4. c4 Nb4
- Scandinavian Defense: Modern Variation, Gipslis Variation B01 · 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 Nxd5 4. Nf3 Bg4
- Scandinavian Defense: Richter Variation (4. Nf3 g6) B01 · 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 Nxd5 4. Nf3 g6
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.