Beat the Scandinavian defense with a ICBM style


It all looks very pretty for white especially after black captures on d3 giving white a nice Bishop on d3, it's well worth showing this line however any half decent player will try and avoid giving so much ground to white. I Actually met this line of whites about 3 years ago in our local O.T.B county league and after whites d3 I returned the pawn by ...e3! And after Bxe3 ...h6 and white was out of theory and his advantage seemed quite acceptable and I went onto win the game. I was always taught to look outside the box when my opponents offer pawns and nearly every gambit usually as an alternative to going with the flow!?

Thank you for sharing your opinion, This should be a very good opening until you reach 300 ELO I guess, but as this gambit will get more well known, we’re gonna look at different counter gambits
Generally, you don't need any special openings to beat Scandinavian.
It's such a poor defense, it beats itself
My eyes are watering laughing so hard at your joke...
FYI No one above a certain elo falls for the ICBM playing the Center Counter Defense.
I can't tress this enough.... Once you get above a certain Elo... The ICBM, The Tennison Gambit and The Blackmar-Diemer Gambit against the Center Counter Defense fails... Route developing moves defeat any prospects from those attempts by white for an advantage
(as in this case... putting a Bishop on f5, playing e6 and playing NC6 with the plan to play a piece (either the knight or the queen to d4 )
You live in an interesting world, pcalugaru.
However, it is a phantasy world.
The reality is that chess masters don't use Scandinavian in serious games (like in tournaments) because it hardly gives black a draw and often a loss.
I think you are one living in a fantasy world… (FYI: please provide a line that checks what I posted… I would love to see what you got )
You are not at a level that should be making opening choices based as if you are a GM.
I’m not at that level either… & most here on Chess.com are not at that level.
The Scandinavian is doing fine and well just below the super GM level i.e. 2100-2400 and seen with some frequency. Strong GMs in the last 20yrs who used the Scandinavian as a secondary tier defense are: Prie, Wahls, Bauer & Tiviakov.
Nakayama and Carlsen has even essayed it…
It is not used a tier 1 defense (like the Sicilian, or Ruy Lopez) because it is Monothematic i.e. limited in scope. Still it has never been refuted…!!!
As a club player… playing a defense that has never been refuted, and has limited theory … well that looks like a HUGE plus from where I sit. Certainly the 1700-1900 elo opponent’s I play on Lichess and Chessbase (where I play most of my rapid games) don’t know the theory all that well… and if they do, they would only get a marginal pull… my win percentage with the Scandinavian against people of similar elo is 65%
Play what you want… but I'd refrain on the fantasy world comments or comments that cite no one plays like that anymore. The Scandinavian (i.e. The Center Counter defense) is alive and well.


That ICBM crap can be easily refuted by simple means.
3...Bf5 is good enough to keep the extra awn without any serious compensation, but returning the pawn with 3...e5 is very strong, too.