Xena Attack, rare chess opening trap

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adamprikler

Interesting sideline of the Modern Scandinavian Defense where most of the players fall for a basic Knight fork.

https://youtu.be/i_5iOE3pifE

LM_player
Very Interesting ideas, though I do not play the Scandinavian often. The correct defense does not seem very intuitive, and still seems good for Black.

What is the likelihood that White plays into this position, though?

1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. Nc3!? (Better is probably 3. d4! NxP 4. c4 Nf6, though less common in common play.) 3...NxP 4. NxN?! (Runs out of ammunition as after 4...QxN, White has no good ways to attack Black’s powerful, and centralized Queen. Probably not 5. c4?! Qe4+. Instead of trading knights, 4. Nf3, 4. Bc4, or 4. d4.) 4...QxN 5. d4 (5. Qf3 equalizes for sure, 5. Nf3 must also be a viable option.) 5...Nc6 6. Nf3 (6. Be3 avoids the Xena Attack. May continue 6...Bf5 where 7. c4 7...Qe4! is uncertain.) 6...Nb5! 7. a3 Qe4+ 8. Kd2 (Unlikely that White will find this move. White will likely artificially castle via Kd2-e2-Re1-Kf1. Probably easier to play as Black, though the advantage is not totally clear.)

Definitely a good trick to remember. However, I contend that White has made a few small errors to allow the Xena Attack to even be possible!