Scandinavian defense Qd6: white plays 6.Bc4

Hi there,

I use to play the Scandinavian defense (or center countergambit if you wish), and I own both DVD's "The scandinavian the easy way" (1st and 2nd edition, ChessBase) , by Andrew Martin. Just if you're not familiar to these DVD's let me tell you that in the second edition, Martin reviews some lines been played throughout these last years which have evolved very quickly.

Well, in both DVD's when in the variation 6.Bc4 Martin suggests the move 6...b5, attacking the bishop with tempo while preparing the fianchetto of the c8 bishop, this way:

This is supposed to be OK for black. However, I've experienced a couple of painful losses due to the theme of the sacrifice in e6 or f7. I've put Rybka 4 to work on it, and in fact it doesn't suggest black's 6...b5  but 6...Bg4, pinning the white knight on f3. The point being that otherwise after 10.Ng5 Rybka comes out with the same thematic sacrifice (analysis by Rybka 4):

Except a line where black is getting completely crushed, the rest are evaluated by Rybka as "slightly better for white". Well I admire the good judgement of Rybka, and this may be close to equal for a computer, but I myself don't like black position at all in any of the lines.

I just wanted to share this with you if you play this line (or against them) and have experienced (suffered!) the same unpleasant lines.

Any comment/ideas/etc are welcome. Thanks.

Hi guys, I also have the same feeling. After Martin's DVD's I bought "The ..Qd6 Scandinavian: No.1 Underestimated Weapon for Black" by Dzindzichashvili/Perelshteyn, and the lines presented seem to me somehow more solid than Martin's ones.

To make this short, I think the main problem Martin's ...a6 has against white is the very plausible white advance d5. That's where Dzindzi's ...c6 seem to have solved the problem. The pawns on e6 and c6 are way more solid than Martin's structure e6-a6. Tiviakov has been using that c6 variation with a lot of success.

Have you tried it out? How do you feel for this 5...c6 versus 5...a6?

Thanks a lot for your ideas.

i've been looking for this very topic for a while
yes, it does suck that Martin did not cover that sac, cos when it happens it's total devastation for black

But I do like a6 and b5, it's a very different opening and I find it interesting.
playing with c6 is just the same old stuff, except with the queen out in the opening... i rather play something else then to be honest

anyway, if someone finds a way out for black in this position, post it!

 I used to play the Sicilian Dragon and Pirc. Won some nice games, got crushed too. Too old, lazy, and busy to play and study those sharp openings anymore. Now I love the Qd6 line of the Scandanavian and aim for Bg4, e6, c6 formations. Its similar to the Caro-Kann and the Fort Knox variation of the French. You can win games as black by playing conservatively in the beginning and seeing if white will make errors. I prefer the solid formations and do not trust the a6 stuff.

it remindes me of the kan

After 7.Bb3 the best response is 7...c5 threatening to take the bishop. After 8. dXc5 QXQ ertc , black has a slightly inferior endgame

besides the 2 DVDs mentioned, what books on the Qd6 Scandinavian give the best analysis? Is Sergey Kasparov's new book good?

I, of course, am not qualified to tell you whether or not it is good, but I can tell you that Kasparov's book is only partly about 3 ... Qd6 stuff. I think that The Safest Scandinavian A Black Repertoire by Vassilios Kotronias is specifically based on 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qd6 for Black. One could also consider The Scandinavian: Move by Move by Cyrus Lakdawala (2013).

https://web.archive.org/web/20140626232217/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen171.pdf

I've played the Scandinavian for about 35 years now.  Back in the day, I was given the nickname "garbage man" because the Center Counter had such a terrible reputation.  Since the onset of strong chess engines and books written by strong players, my intuition about the defense was correct after all.  It is easy to learn and if White hasn't studied it, he/she usually just flounders around without a plan.

Well, too bad you got that nickname, mate, because indeed I believe the Scandinavian is quite an active and dynamic response to 1.e5. Maybe your rivals were rather pissed off to enter that center exchange in the very early stage of the game, ruining days of studying lines 

Thanks for your point of view.