Scandinavian Defense
Moves	1.e4 d5
ECO	B01
Origin	the fictional Castellvi - Vinyoles, Valencia 1475
Named after	Scandinavia
Parent	King's Pawn Game
Synonym(s)	Center Counter Defense
Chessgames.com opening explorer

The Center Counter Defense or Scandinavian Defense is a chess opening characterized by the moves Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... 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Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings (ECO) is a book collection (now also a computer database) describing chess openings. ... This article is considered orphaned, since there are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... Scandinavia is a historical and geographical region centered on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe which includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. ... The term Kings Pawn Game refers to any chess opening where White opens with 1. ... A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game (the opening moves). ...

1.e4 d5

The Center Counter Defense is one of the oldest recorded openings, first recorded as being played between Francesco di Castellvi and Narciso Vinyoles in Valencia in 1475, and being mentioned by Lucena in 1497. It is one of the oldest asymmetric defenses to 1.e4, along with the French Defense. This article is considered orphaned, since there are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... 5^{Superscript text}7<!-- Comment --><blockquote> Block quote </blockquote>{| class=class=wikitable |- ! header 1 ! header 2 ! header 3 |-{| class=wikitable |- ! header 1 ! header 2 ! header 3{| class=wikitable |- ! header 1 ! header 2 ! header 3 |- | row 1, cell 1 | row 1, cell 2 | row 1, cell 3 |- | row 2... Categories: Stub | 1465 births | 1530 deaths | Chess players ... 1497 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Chess position after 1. ...

Analysis by Scandinavian masters including Collijn showed it is playable for Black. Although the Center Counter Defense has never enjoyed widespread popularity among top-flight chess players, Jacques Mieses frequently played it and greatly developed its theory around the turn of the 20th century. Bent Larsen played it from time to time, and defeated World Champion Anatoly Karpov with it at Montreal 1979, spurring a rise in popularity. Starting in the 1960s, David Bronstein and Nona Gaprindashvili would play it occasionally, and Ian Rogers has adopted it frequently starting in the 1980s. In 1995, the Center Counter Defense made a rare appearance in a World Chess Championship match. Viswanathan Anand as Black obtained an excellent position from the opening against Garry Kasparov, although Kasparov won the game. Jacques Mieses (1865–1954) was a German-born Jewish chess player and writer. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901&#8211;2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900&#8211;1999... Bent Larsen Bent Larsen (born March 4, 1935) is a Danish chess player. ... Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov (Russian: ) (born May 23, 1951) is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. ... Nickname: Motto: Concordia Salus (well-being through harmony) Coordinates: , Country Province Founded 1642 Established 1832 Government  - Mayor Gérald Tremblay Area [1][2][3]  - City 365. ... David Bronstein David Ionovich Bronstein (Дави́д Ио́нович Бронште́йн) (February 19, 1924, Bila Tserkva, Ukraine – December 5, 2006, Minsk, Belarus) was renowned as a leading chess grandmaster and writer. ... Nona Gaprindashvili Nona Gaprindashvili (born May 3, 1941) is a Georgian chess player, and the sixth womens world chess champion (1962-1978). ... Professional chess player Ian Rogers (born 1960) became the first Australian to become an International Grandmaster, achieving the title in 1985. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Viswanathan Anand Viswanathan Anand (IPA: ) (born December 11, 1969 in Chennai (then called Madras), India) is an Indian chess grandmaster and former FIDE world champion. ... Garry Kimovich Kasparov (IPA: ; Russian: ) (born April 13, 1963, in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR) (now Azerbaijan) is a Russian chess grandmaster, and former World Chess Champion. ...

It is classified under the B01 code in the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings. The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings (ECO) is a book collection (now also a computer database) describing chess openings. ...

Main variations

White normally continues 2.exd5 when Black has two major continuations: 2...Qxd5 and 2...Nf6 (Marshall Gambit).

After 2...Qxd5 White normally attacks the queen with gain of tempo with 3.Nc3, when 3...Qa5 is considered the main line. Less common alternatives include the retreat 3...Qd8, 3...Qe5+!? (the "Patzer Variation", which has recently attracted some interest), and 3...Qd6, the Bronstein Variation (also referred to as the Pytel Variation, among other names). Once considered a rare sideline, the Bronstein Variation became quite popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and has been played on numerous occasions by Grandmasters Sergei Tiviakov and Bojan Kurajica, among others. In chess, tempo refers to the time taken by a move. ... Sergei Tiviakov (b. ... Bojan Kurajica (born 15 November 1947, Ljubljana, Yugoslavia) is a Croatian (formerly Yugoslavian) chess grandmaster (GM). ...

One other possibility is the rare 3...Qe6+, one idea being that after the natural developing move 4.Be2 (covering the check), Black plays 4...Qg6 attacking the g2 pawn. Generally regarded as highly dubious, this line was played by David Letterman as Black in a televised game against Garry Kasparov^[1], which Letterman lost in 23 moves. David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947, in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA) is an award-winning American comedian, late night talk show host, television producer, philanthropist, and IRL IndyCar Series car owner. ... Garry Kimovich Kasparov (IPA: ; Russian: ) (born April 13, 1963, in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR) (now Azerbaijan) is a Russian chess grandmaster, and former World Chess Champion. ...

Returning to the main line, a typical continuation after 2...Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 might be 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 Bg4 (or 5...Bf5) 6.h3 Bh5 7.g4 Bg6 8.Ne5, after which White often fianchettos his bishop on g2. In general, many lines in the 3...Qa5 variation lead to positions reminiscent of the Caro-Kann Defense. In chess the fianchetto (Italian little flanking) is a pattern of development wherein a bishop is developed to the second rank of the adjacent knight file, the knight pawn having been moved one or two squares forward. ... The Caro-Kann Defense is a common chess opening characterized by the moves (see algebraic notation): 1. ...

With 2...Nf6, Black delays recapturing the pawn for another move, believing that capturing with the knight rather than the queen will avoid the loss of time inherent in developing the queen so early. This line is also more circumspect, with more options for both players. White may defend the pawn with 3.c4; now 3...e6 is the relatively little-explored Icelandic Gambit, in which Black gives up a pawn for quick development. 3...c6 is more common; if now 4.dxc6, then Black has sufficient compensation for the pawn after 4...Nxc6, with a lead in development and control of the d4-square. White instead often plays 4.d4, which transposes to the Panov-Botvinnik Attack of the Caro-Kann Defense after 4...cxd5.

Also important is 3.Bb5+, which can lead to very tricky play after, for example, 3...Bd7 4.Bc4 Bg4 (4...b5!? is also an option) 5.f3 Bf5 6.Nc3 Nbd7 7.Qe2 Nb6 8.Bb3 Qd7 9.d6!. In these variations Black generally can't count on regaining the pawn, but can usually get compensation. The rarer 3...Nbd7 is gathering more attention recently.

Normally after 2...Nf6, however, White does not defend the pawn, but instead plays 3.d4 Nxd5 and then either 4.Nf3, developing normally, or 4.c4, taking a larger piece of the center and attacking the knight. The resulting positions are frequently similar to the main lines of the Alekhine Defense, 1.e4 Nf6. Black can also try 3.d4 Bg4!?, the Portuguese or Jadoul Variation, with play similar to the Icelandic Gambit. Alekhines Defence is a chess opening beginning with the moves (in algebraic notation) 1. ...

Another sideline is the Kiel Variation, reached after 2 ... Nf6 3. d4 Nxd5 4. c4 Nb4!? Black sets a trap, hoping for 5. Qa4+? N8c6 6. d5 b5!, with a good game. However, 5. a3 (instead of 5. Qa4) gives White a large advantage.

Less effective for White is 3.Nc3 Nxd5, which transposes into an Alekhine Defense line that's generally considered equal for Black.

White may avoid all the Center Counter theory by playing 2.d4, transposing into the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit. If instead 2.e5 is played, Black can transpose into a French Defense with 2...e6. More ambitious, however, is 2...c5 or 2...Bf5; either move leads to play similar to an Advance Variation of the Caro-Kann, but with an extra tempo for Black, who can play ...c7-c5 in a single move. 2.Nc3 transposes into the Dunst Opening after 2...d4 or 2...dxe4, while 2.d3 is extremely rare. This chess opening begins with 1. ... In chess, tempo refers to the time taken by a move. ... The Dunst Opening is a chess opening where White opens with the move (see algebraic notation): 1. ...

In general, none of these sidelines are believed to offer White more than equality, and the overwhelming majority of masters opt for 2.exd5 when facing the Scandinavian ^[2]. The Scandinavian is thus arguably Black's most "forcing" defense to 1.e4, restricting White to a relatively small number of options. (Compare the Sicilian Defense, in which White has at least five major alternatives to the main line 2.Nf3.) This has helped to make the Scandinavian fairly popular among club-level players, though defenses like the Sicilian are far more common at the grandmaster level. The Sicilian defence is a chess opening which begins with: 1. ...

Depiction in cinema

The Center Counter Defense is Ron Weasley's opening move in the 2001 film of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's (Sorcerer's) Stone. In the scene in question, Ron (along with Harry Potter and Hermione Granger) have to play a chess game on a giant chessboard with giant chess pieces (it is one of a series of tests that one must pass in order to get to the Philosopher's Stone). Ron uses this defense to verify that the game they are playing is, in fact, exactly like Wizard's Chess (in which chess pieces are enchanted and can smash each other). Ronald Bilius Ron Weasley is a fictional character in the Harry Potter book series written by J. K. Rowling. ... This article is about the Harry Potter series of novels. ... Hermione Jean Granger is a fictional character in J.K. Rowlings Harry Potter series. ... In the fictional Harry Potter universe, many magical objects exist for the use of the characters. ...

The chess positions used in the scene were created by International Master Jeremy Silman, though it's unclear if Silman was responsible for the choice of opening.^[3] Jeremy Silman (born August 25, 1954) is an American International Master of chess. ...

References

External links

• Overview of the opening

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Opening theory in chess