Scandinavian Defense (1. e4 d5)
1. e4 d5
The Scandinavian Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO B01, reached after 1. e4 d5. White is to move. 8 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 777,992 times by this move order. White won 49%, 4% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 2. exd5 (68% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.54 (Stockfish, depth 63; best line 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qd8 4. d4 Nf6)
- ECO
- B01
- Moves
- 2 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/ppp1pppp/8/3p4/4P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 2- PGN
1. e4 d5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 358,697 | |
| 1500-1999 | 366,376 | |
| 2000+ | 52,919 | |
| All | 777,992 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2. exd5 | 525,851 (68%) | |
| 2. e5 | 109,243 (14%) | |
| 2. Nf3 Tennison Gambit | 44,170 (6%) | |
| 2. Nc3 | 35,943 (5%) | |
| 2. d4 | 17,544 (2%) | |
| 2. d3 | 14,514 (2%) | |
| 2. f3 | 7,513 (1%) | |
| 2. Qf3 | 5,980 (1%) |
Master games
2,797 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 41%, draw 12%, Black 47%). The strongest:
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2787) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2835) 1-0 · Bullet Chess Winners 2023 · 2023-07-21
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2787) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2835) 0-1 · Bullet Chess Winners 2023 · 2023-07-21
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2787) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2835) 0-1 · Bullet Chess Winners 2023 · 2023-07-21
- GM Veselin Topalov (2772) – GM Vladimir Kramnik (2783) 1/2-1/2 · 2nd Norway Blitz 2014 · 2014-06-02
- GM Rauf Mamedov (2654) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2863) 0-1 · Katara Bullet Final 2020 · 2020-08-26
Search all games of the Scandinavian Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- GM gmbrewchess (2983) – Nana_jede_cevape (2857) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- GM gmbrewchess (2984) – Nana_jede_cevape (2856) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- winx_m (2944) – Superstitions_Guy (2792) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
King's Pawn Game (1. e4) 1. e4
Continuations
- Scandinavian Defense (1… d5 2. b3) B01 · 1. e4 d5 2. b3
- Scandinavian Defense: Zilbermints Gambit B01 · 1. e4 d5 2. b4
- Zukertort Opening: Tennison Gambit A06 · 1. e4 d5 2. Nf3
- Scandinavian Defense: Blackburne-Kloosterboer Gambit B01 · 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 c6
- Scandinavian Defense: Mieses-Kotroc Variation B01 · 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5
- Scandinavian Defense: Modern Variation (2. exd5 Nf6) B01 · 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6
- Scandinavian Defense: Boehnke Gambit B01 · 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 e5 3. dxe6 Bxe6
- Van Geet Opening: Grünfeld Defense B01 · 1. e4 d5 2. Nc3 dxe4 3. Nxe4 e5
More Scandinavian Defense lines (all)
- 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: Bronstein Variation B01
- Scandinavian Defense: Classical Variation B01
- Scandinavian Defense: Grünfeld Variation B01
- Scandinavian Defense: Gubinsky-Melts Defense B01
- Scandinavian Defense: Icelandic-Palme Gambit B01
- Scandinavian Defense: Kiel Variation B01
- Scandinavian Defense: Kloosterboer Gambit 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.