I believe that this move is a bad one. Why not take the pawn and develop your knight with tempo? It totally fails to take advantage of the nice tempo moves against the queen, and so I don't consider it be one of White's better moves.
Scandinavian Defense - Declined?!?
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May 25, 2011
0
#23
2 year bump. Just ran into this and so glad to see some analysis by the people of the kingdom!
Christian Bauer in his book "Play the Scandinavian" recommends 2.)...c5 and 2.)...Bf5 for black.2.)c5 is covered as the main move though.
May 26, 2011
0
#25
After 1 e4 d5, when I am White I like to play 2 d4!?, with the possibility of playing the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit. White can also try 2 d3!?, with the idea of 2...de 3 Nc3 ed 4 Bd3, which is a Blackburne-Hartlaub Gambit with an extra tempo. There are a number of fun ways to try to take the Scandinavian player out of his/her comfort zone in the opening.
My Scandinavian usually turns into a caro-kann, but the response I see most for some reason is the line
1 e4 d5
2e5 ...and I've been pushing more c5
So while this may be rare for others, I would appreciate every ounce of input I can get. I don't know why this accounts for about 20% of my games lately, but obviously I'd like to get as much solid theory as possible from here.
Also, the Scandinavian/Caro-Kann, and even some French lines have a large number of traps in the first ten moves. Does anyone know a good book that covers them all? Or at least a large number of them?
alum2000 wrote:
Following is a link to an interesting game where e5 worked out. The little e pawn hung in there on e5 until turn 34. Looks like it took a lot of effort for white to win, though.
White looks almost Ponziani-esque with 3. c3, also black goes into the end game a pawn ahead with a bishop against a knight, so I have to think this was when black drops the ball.
Jun 10, 2011
0
#28
In his book, "The Chess Opening for You," GM Larry Evans advocated playing the King's Indian Attack with white, and the King's Indian Defense and the Center Counter Defense with black. After 1 e4 d5 2 e5, Evans recommended 2...c5. He thought that 2...c5 was better than 2...Bf5 because Black would like to have his QB on g4 if White plays Nf3.
In advance french structures with the bishop outside the weak square is d4 not e4. The easy target and easy development makes these positions very comfortable. There is a related reversed line out of an english I actually had the pleasure of facing in a recent tournament.
Is it winning for white? No, it's actually a line... but holy crap it's a comfortable game to play (for me anyway).
JetSetter wrote:
Black should play 2...c5 and retain the option of getting the light square bishop out of the pawn chain. An immediate 2...e6 is a horrible move if you don't like the French (and if you're a Scandi player, why would you willingly play into a French?).
You are 100% correct. :) Black is aiming for a win after 2. ... c5!
Godspawn wrote:
I play 2...Bf5 with good results.
2....Bf5 is probably ok but 2. ...c5! is better. One reason is that really Black wants to play Bb4 if White plays Nf3. After 1. e4 d5 2. e5?? c5 I would say it may be a "won game'" for Black assuming Black then plays a "perfect game" It is really throwing away your first move advantage to move 1.e4 and 2. e5 without even attacking anything [such as in the Alekhine].
Sep 1, 2025
0
#32
[Event "stadj vs. adim71"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2025-09-01"]
[White "stadj"]
[Black "adim71"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "1734"]
[BlackElo "1755"]
[TimeControl "600"]
[Termination "stadj won by resignation"]
1. e4 d5 2. e5 d4 3. Nf3 e6 4. Bc4 c5 5. O-O a6 6. a4 Bd7 7. c3 Bc6 8. cxd4 cxd4
9. d3 Bc5 10. Bd2 h6 11. b4 Ba7 12. b5 Bd7 13. bxa6 Nxa6 14. Na3 Ne7 15. Nb5
Bxb5 16. Bxb5+ Nc6 17. Rc1 Nb8 18. Bb4 Bb6 19. Bd6 Bc7 20. Nxd4 Bxd6 21. Nxc6
bxc6 22. Rxc6 O-O 23. Rxd6 Qc7 24. Qf3 Ra7 25. h3 Rd8 26. Qg3 Qe7 27. Rb6 Nd7
28. Rd6 Nxe5 29. Rxd8+ Qxd8 30. Qxe5 Qe7 31. Rc1 f6 32. Rc8+ Kh7 33. Qe4+ f5 34.
Qc6 Qf6 35. g3 Re7 36. Kg2 h5 37. Rc7 Kg6 38. Rxe7 Qxe7 39. Qe8+ Qxe8 40. Bxe8+
Kf6 41. Bxh5 g6 42. Be2 Ke5 43. a5 Kd5 44. a6 Kc6 45. Bf3+ Kb6 46. Bb7 e5 47. f4
e4 48. dxe4 fxe4 49. Kf2 1-0
ponz111 wrote:
Godspawn wrote:
I play 2...Bf5 with good results.
2....Bf5 is probably ok but 2. ...c5! is better. One reason is that really Black wants to play Bb4 if White plays Nf3. After 1. e4 d5 2. e5?? c5 I would say it may be a "won game'" for Black assuming Black then plays a "perfect game" It is really throwing away your first move advantage to move 1.e4 and 2. e5 without even attacking anything [such as in the Alekhine].
As a Center Counter Defense guy (That's "the Scandinavian" to free speech oppressed Europeans) I play 2...c5. From my experience pushing the e pawn to e5 is one of the tougher lines for me. Sure, the position is equal according to "the Fish..." but none of us play even remotely that strong... I also think with conviction!!! ..... engines have a hard time with measuring a positional pull White can get coming out of an equal position late in the opening phase (** that gray area where your last piece is developed and White with tempo has that slight to moderate space advantage to institute his/her ideas) I think this line applies to that... Then... the added bonus is if you play this line as White, it's kind of mono thematic, after a while one is sure to develop some nice ideas and know their way around the positions.
IMO... Black has to have a plan and play active because the equality hangs on a thin wire...
Sep 5, 2025
0
#34
Black gets an improved french with his bishop outside of the pawn chain and he can easily trade it off for another minor piece.
If white wants an advantage, this is a bad move. If white is okay with being slightly worse and just want a playable game - I am sure this is okay.
Sep 5, 2025
0
#35
pcalugaru skrev:
ponz111 wrote:
Godspawn wrote:
I play 2...Bf5 with good results.
2....Bf5 is probably ok but 2. ...c5! is better. One reason is that really Black wants to play Bb4 if White plays Nf3. After 1. e4 d5 2. e5?? c5 I would say it may be a "won game'" for Black assuming Black then plays a "perfect game" It is really throwing away your first move advantage to move 1.e4 and 2. e5 without even attacking anything [such as in the Alekhine].
As a Center Counter Defense guy (That's "the Scandinavian" to free speech oppressed Europeans) I play 2...c5. From my experience pushing the e pawn to e5 is one of the tougher lines for me. Sure, the position is equal according to "the Fish..." but none of us play even remotely that strong... I also think with conviction!!! ..... engines have a hard time with measuring a positional pull White can get coming out of an equal position late in the opening phase (** that gray area where your last piece is developed and White with tempo has that slight to moderate space advantage to institute his/her ideas) I think this line applies to that... Then... the added bonus is if you play this line as White, it's kind of mono thematic, after a while one is sure to develop some nice ideas and know their way around the positions.
IMO... Black has to have a plan and play active because the equality hangs on a thin wire...
I would say that whites equality hangs on a thin wire. Black has a much improved french. In the french, white can only prove an advantage with absolute best play - this is where the fish comes in. Giving black the same easy plans, with a promise of trading off his weak bishop, without spending any extra tempos on it - white is the one in trouble.
Following is a link to an interesting game where e5 worked out. The little e pawn hung in there on e5 until turn 34. Looks like it took a lot of effort for white to win, though.
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1256681