Scandinavian Defense: Valencian Variation, Ilundain Variation
1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qd8 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 c6
The Scandinavian Defense: Valencian Variation, Ilundain Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B01, reached after 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qd8 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 c6. 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 307 times by this move order. White won 49%, 5% were drawn and Black won 46%. The most popular continuation is 6. Bc4 (40% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.62 (Stockfish, depth 51; best line 6. Bc4 b5 7. Bd3 Bg4 8. h3 Bh5)
- ECO
- B01
- Moves
- 10 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/pp2pppp/2p2n2/8/3P4/2N2N2/PPP2PPP/R1BQKB1R w KQkq - 0 6- PGN
1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qd8 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 c6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 48 | |
| 1500-1999 | 153 | |
| 2000+ | 106 | |
| All | 307 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6. Bc4 | 124 (40%) | |
| 6. Bd3 | 40 (13%) | |
| 6. Be2 | 39 (13%) | |
| 6. h3 | 28 (9%) | |
| 6. Bg5 | 25 (8%) | |
| 6. Bf4 | 23 (7%) | |
| 6. Be3 | 16 (5%) | |
| 6. Ne5 | 8 (3%) |
Master games
165 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 45%, draw 25%, Black 30%). The strongest:
- GM Alireza Firouzja (2737) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2794) 1/2-1/2 · Bullet Chess Winners 2024 · 2024-06-13
- GM Anish Giri (2775) – GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara (2619) 1/2-1/2 · Bullet Chess Winners 2023 · 2023-07-17
- GM Anish Giri (2775) – GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara (2619) 0-1 · Bullet Chess Winners 2023 · 2023-07-17
- GM Anish Giri (2775) – GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara (2619) 1-0 · Bullet Chess Winners 2023 · 2023-07-17
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2789) – GM Aleksandr Shimanov (2578) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 7th Oct 2025 · 2025-10-07
Highest-rated Lichess games
- T-80BVM (2647) – michalkrycki2010 (2513) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- blindcrocodile (2588) – michalkrycki2010 (2528) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- ChessGodSlayerKing (2584) – michalkrycki2010 (2521) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Scandinavian Defense: Valencian Variation 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qd8
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.