Scandinavian Defense
Strike at e4 on move one. The Scandinavian is straightforward, sound, and lets Black reach clear, well-understood structures fast.
Let's begin.
Press Learn to start, then play the moves yourself.
Play pawn to d5.
Variations in this course
Every line runs to a middlegame position with coach commentary at each fork. Playing Black, you'll meet:
- 1
3...Nf6 Modern
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6
Take it with you
Export this repertoire as a standard PGN — with the coach's notes as comments — to study it in Lichess, ChessBase, or any board you like. Sidelines are saved as PGN variations.
Related courses
More from the Defenses to 1.e4.
French Defense
A rock-solid, strategic defense to 1.e4. Build a resilient pawn chain, strike at the center with ...c5, and outplay opponents in rich middlegames.
Caro-Kann Defense
A super-solid answer to 1.e4 with none of the French's bad-bishop problems. Reach a healthy structure and a comfortable, resilient middlegame.
Modern Defense
Hand White the center, then dismantle it. The Modern fianchettoes the king's bishop and counterattacks with flexible, hypermodern plans.
Pirc Defense
A hypermodern counterattacking defense to 1.e4. Black concedes the center, develops flexibly, and strikes back with ...e5 or ...c5.