Scandinavian Defense

Hey there,

I find very annoying some King Pawn openings (Specifically the Ruy Lopez, the King Gambit and some lines of the Italian) so I would like to leave the 2...e5 defense (what have always played) and replace it with another defense more kindred to my style.

I've been inquiring into all possible defenses against the king's pawn, and only three passed the first tilter:

-The modern defense/Pirc Defense

-The Alekhine defense

-The Scandinavian defense

Then, for the complexity of ideas for both sides that have the Modern and the Alekhine defenses, I concluded that maybe they are too much for my level. So I have to choose the Scandinavian by descard.

The other possible defenses have a insane amount of theory, or they lead to mid games that I don't like, or have developmental problems, or, what is worse: a mixture of several of this points.

I like the Scandinavian for the following reasons:

1. -There's no efficient way to refuse the main line (2 exd5), so the white is oblied to enter my game.
2. -After 2...Qxd5 there is no way for white to force transpositions.
3. -The 3...Qa5, 3...Qd6 and 3...Qd8 can be played seriously and have been played at the highest level with good results. (Carlsen, Nakamura, Anand, Tiviakov and some others have played these lines.)
4. -It gives rise to very creative mid games.
5. -It's ok for me to let the white have some space advantage in the queen's side in exchange of a simple developement and a pawn structure withouth weaknesses.
6. -At more personal level, the idea of winning with a supposedly doubtful opening seems very funny to me. I love the feeling of "I'm winning you with something you did not dare to play because someone told you that it was not good, and you believed him." In fact, i play the King's gambit for the same reason and I really love it.

So these are my conclusions and now I would like to now your opinion:

¿Have I chose correctly? ¿I was wrong in any of my assessments?

Thanks from advance

The Scandinavian is fully viable, especially at amateur level, where it might actually be a very practical choice considering how easily it is to get on the board. So yeah, by all means, go for it. 

Well, yes and no!

 

1...e5, 1...e6, 1...c5, and 1...c6 are all considered more sound than the other 16 legal moves, which range from slightly worse than the big 4 (i.e. 1...d6) to outright bad (i.e. 1...h5).

 

The problem with your logic is that not everyone has to follow the "main line" to get a great game as White.  Yes, White doesn't have much of a choice aside from 2.exd5, but after 2...Qxd5, White is under no obligation to play 3.Nc3 in order to get an advantage.  In face, I don't play 3.Nc3.  I play 3.Nf3!  There is a lot of theory in the 3.Nf3 line that is completely different than 3.Nc3.

 

Another option is 3.d4, though that line is not as strong.

I tried playing the Scandinavian 3...Qa5 a couple years ago for a lot of the same reasons. I ended up being able to play 3...Qa5 in a whopping 3 out of 11 OTB games against other U1400 players. It was annoying as heckfar. Several times the daggone opponent would sit there debating to himself whether to take on e4 on move 2 or whether to play Nc3 on move 3. I knew that — every single fudging time— when they thought about it for more than 20 seconds that they would play some dipship move that I wasn’t good enough to refute outright, because they were too scared that I would crush them with a spectacular miniature using my stupid dope book moves. The games were interesting in retrospect, I guess. Sorry for the gratuitous language. That is not who I am nor who I aspire to be.

Ok, so only have to study the 3...Qa5, 3...Qd6 and the 3. Nf3 line. Just 3 lines, It's ok. Still prefer play this defense.

So, ¿Can you tell me good titles for study the 3. Nf3 line? It would help me a lot.

PD: Thanks to everyone for answering so quickly. 

I still have not yet chosen one permanently, but for now I like so much the Budapest gambit and the King Indian Defense. My priority is the king's pawn, wich is what is most played at my level.

Speaking of what to play against 1 d4 I see Russell Enterprises is about to come out with a 384 repertoire book on the Tarrasch Defense if anyone is interested. It also includes repertoires for black when white varies with pet systems. An excerpt is available: https://www.russell-enterprises.com/upcoming-publications/fight-1d4-with-the-tarrasch-a-complete-black-repertoire-vs-1d4

In case anyone is interesed I found a channel in youtube called "Hanging Pawns" where they explain many variants of the Scandinavian, including the 3. Nf3 variant. 

Thank you very much yo all. Finally I have my defense against e4

3...Qd8 Scandinavian...

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-openings/the-3qd8-scandinavian

Chessable has three courses on the Scandinavian Defense.  All of them on the 3...Qd8 variation.  One of the courses is a free min-course.  The others are paid courses.

https://www.chessable.com/chess-openings/s/scandinavian

 

Many Scandinavian books cover it.

The book by Quality Chess from 10 years ago I am sure has it.

Starting Out: The Scandinavian covers it.

Beating Unusual Chess Defenses: 1.e4 is a repertoire for White giving answers to responses outside of e5, e6, c5, and c6, and against the Scandinavian, it covers 3.Nf3.

Yes, there are great books about the Scandinavian, but I don't found they on free download and I don't think an amateur like me should spend money on chess having so much quality free content.

P.S:

There is not a single book about the Scandinavian translated into spanish.

 

The mistake may have been to expect to be able to "refute outright" (a common mistake). It sounds like you were getting into something like a reversed Englund Gambit - quite dangerous for an unprepared player trying to hang onto the extra pawn.

 

 

You get what you pay for.

Free stuff is garbage!

There are many quality free videos. Also if they were translated I could order them in the library.

With the Scandinavian I feel like people at club level are often avoiding phantom preparation. While it’s true that White will probably be much more prepared for 1...e5 and 1...c5 it’s also true that White doesn’t have to do much of anything to emerge from the opening with at least an edge, even if they play a lot of non critical moves (and if they do happen to know what they’re doing you can actually force yourself into quite a bit of trouble.) Most people aren’t super booked up and playing the Scandi seems like you’re not going to test your opponent in the opening, just play the regular Scandi development scheme and be happy that you’re not lost out of the opening. I think it makes sense to have something other than 1...e5 (which people are usually more prepared for with sharp stuff). Something like the French has a lot of “theory” which just means people have analyzed it a lot (because it’s a good opening!) but with the French you get familiar structures with clear play and you can actually play quite reasonably without being super booked up.

I haven't read it but GM Smerdon has a book on the Scandinavian Defense.

 

I like 3...Qd8, but having played it often I do feel it is a bit too rope a dope. I have tried playing 2...Nf6 but I'm not by nature an aggressive enough player to do well with it. To me 3...Qd6 is the best Scandinavian, it's solid and practical without going overboard like 3...Qd8 does, it mixes things up some without going overboard like 2...Nf6 does. The Safest Scandinavian by Vassilios Kotronias is a book written in repertoire form, the best book hands down on 3...Qd6. He also covers 3 Nf3. 

His book is a repertoire on 2...Nf6. A great book but not a good fit for me. 

The scandi is great for all the reasons you. I prefer the 2.----Nf6 lines personally and have done quite well indeed.

 

The only downside to the scandi is it does not have some of the positional complexities to fall back on, so if you are playing a lower rated opponent it can sometimes be hard to fall back on positional themes.

 

However most players under about 1700 totally stink at endgame play and that is where you can take them out.