The Scandinavian Defense starts 1. : you hit the e4 pawn straight away. Most opponents take with 2., you recapture with , and after 3. your queen heads to a5 or back to d8. Across 1,744,303 Lichess games between 900 and 1700 (September 2026), your opponent scores 51.5%; among online players rated over 2200, it's 51.6%.
Lichess games from September 2026 (30,577,162 rated 900 to 1700) and 31,791 over-the-board games rated 2300+ from the last 12 months. Data updated: October 14, 2026.
42 named lines in this family; 1 with their own page.
The opening's share in each Lichess rating band.
At your level, 64 in 100 opponents answer with 2.; among online players over 2200 it's 85 in 100. Next comes 2. at 17 in 100, a move strong players rarely choose (3 in 100). On move two, strong players also delay the recapture with in 35 in 100 games, against 16 in 100 in your range. After 3., players at your level split between and , about 1 in 3 games each. Strong players lean towards (47 in 100) and (28 in 100), which turns up in just 4 in 100 of your games.
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 64.3% | 52.5% | 84.6% | 100.0% | |
| 17.0% | 51.4% | 3.4% | no data | |
| 6.1% | 47.7% | 2.3% | no data | |
| 4.2% | 47.7% | 5.9% | no data | |
| 2.2% | 49.9% | 2.0% | no data | |
| 2.0% | 47.1% | 1.5% | no data |
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 74.5% | 53.0% | 59.2% | 82.5% | |
| 16.4% | 49.5% | 34.8% | 17.5% | |
| 3.7% | 51.3% | 0.6% | no data | |
| 3.6% | 51.6% | 5.2% | no data | |
| 0.6% | 56.9% | 0.0% | no data | |
| 0.5% | 54.9% | no data | no data | |
| no data | no data | 0.1% | no data |
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 77.0% | 53.3% | 77.7% | 89.3% | |
| 10.1% | 52.4% | 11.8% | 6.9% | |
| 7.0% | 53.3% | 7.6% | 3.8% | |
| 1.9% | 51.6% | 1.5% | no data | |
| 1.6% | 51.8% | 0.7% | no data | |
| 1.0% | 50.1% | no data | no data | |
| no data | no data | 0.4% | no data |
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32.5% | 53.0% | 19.6% | 12.8% | |
| 32.2% | 50.6% | 47.0% | 42.7% | |
| 16.4% | 54.1% | 2.8% | no data | |
| 11.6% | 56.4% | 3.0% | 5.1% | |
| 3.8% | 52.4% | 27.5% | 39.3% | |
| 0.9% | 57.0% | 0.1% | no data |
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 37.6% | 50.2% | 19.0% | 13.6% | |
| 28.0% | 50.8% | 51.8% | 86.4% | |
| 10.3% | 49.7% | no data | no data | |
| 8.1% | 51.2% | 16.4% | no data | |
| 4.2% | 56.7% | 6.7% | no data | |
| 2.2% | 49.0% | no data | no data | |
| no data | no data | 3.5% | no data | |
| no data | no data | 0.7% | no data |
challenges e4 right away. If your opponent takes with 2., the pawn on d5 has no defender and wins it straight back. The catch: your queen is out before your minor pieces, and 3. hits it while developing. The whole plan is about fixing that: park the queen out of the knight's reach and get the rest of your pieces out without losing another tempo.
Strong players go 4. 5. . The structure is simple: your opponent keeps a pawn on d4, you keep your c7 and e7 pawns, and the d-file is half-open for you while the e-file is half-open for them.
Here's what each move does. On a5 the queen is out of the c3 knight's reach, and once 4. opens the diagonal it pins that knight to the king on e1; the knight can't move as long as nothing lands on d2. From a5 the queen also covers e5 along the fifth rank. Then develops and guards d5 and e4, the two central squares the c3 knight would like to jump to.
Move order matters at the end. waits for 5. because that knight is the target: the bishop pins it to the queen on d1, and it's one of the pieces holding d4. The bishop also gets out along the c8-h3 diagonal while it's still open, before your e-pawn closes it. This is where your games part ways with the top: against , strong players reply 6. in 71 in 100 games, your opponents in 1 in 6. That pawn asks the bishop to retreat or take the knight, so decide which before you play .
If you face 2., it's a different game. After 3., the pawns on d4 and e5 form a chain that locks the center, and strikes at d4, the base of that chain.
| Move | Strong games | Chosen by |
|---|---|---|
| 36,811 | 84.7% | |
| 31,145 | 59.4% | |
| 18,476 | 77.8% | |
| 14,417 | 46.9% | |
| 6,745 | 52.0% | |
| 3,499 | 65.7% | |
| 2,350 | 64.2% | |
| 1,831 | 36.3% |
After 2. 3., the knight attacks your e4 pawn. defends it, but 4. hits f7 twice and the expected reply is , which shuts your c8 bishop's diagonal; it later comes out on b7. guards e4 with the bishop already developed. It's a small inaccuracy: you score 48 in 100 with it, 53 with .
42 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 0.9 pawns of advantage. It scores 47.9%; scores 52.7%.
After 2. 3., opens the e8-h5 diagonal. 4. leaves as your only legal move, and 5. hits the h8 rook: after , 6. takes it. challenges the undefended knight instead. Players at your level do punish this: you score 35 in 100 after , 60 after .
18 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 5.5 pawns of advantage. It scores 35.3%; scores 59.8%.
Against 2. 3., also eyes d4, but it sits in front of your c7 pawn and rules out , the break against the base of the chain. Your opponent follows with 4. and 5., backing d4 with a pawn. It's an inaccuracy: you score 45 in 100 with , 53 with .
11 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 0.7 pawns of advantage. It scores 45.4%; scores 53.4%.
Against 2., the e4 pawn has no defender and takes it. lets it go and blocks your c8 bishop's diagonal; after 3. 4., your knight drops back to d7 and 5. props up e5. At your level it barely costs you: you score 48 in 100 with , 49 with .
10 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 1.1 pawns of advantage. It scores 47.5%; scores 48.7%.
Against 2., attacks the knight. grabs space instead, and 3. goes after the pawn. After 4. 5. , your bishop cuts the queen off from d4, which the f3 knight now attacks with nothing left defending it. At your level it often goes unpunished: you score 48 in 100 after , 52 after .
5 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 2.1 pawns of advantage. It scores 48.2%; scores 51.6%.
Against 2., guards d5 and eyes e4, but 3. hits the knight with gain of time, and in the expected line it retreats with . Your opponent then grabs space with 4. and 5.. simply takes the undefended pawn. You score 44 in 100 after , 49 after the capture.
6 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 1.8 pawns of advantage. It scores 44.5%; scores 48.7%.
| White | Black | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 513,270 | ||
| 312,434 | ||
| Not castled | 282,569 | |
| Not castled | Not castled | 226,571 |
| Not castled | 94,127 | |
| Not castled | 93,620 |
| White | Black | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 81 | ||
| 19 | ||
| Not castled | 14 | |
| 13 | ||
| 12 | ||
| Not castled | 7 |
1. 2. · 446,143 amateur games · 17 over the board
wins the pawn back at once; in this line your opponent scores 54 in 100.
1. 2. 3. · 248,845 amateur games · 15 over the board
sends the queen home, where nothing attacks it; your opponent scores 53 in 100 here.
1. 2. 3. · 238,794 amateur games · 42 over the board
leaves the d-file and pins the c3 knight once 4. opens the diagonal.
1. 2. · 160,308 amateur games · 9 over the board
leaves d5 for now, planning to regain the pawn with the knight, not the queen.
1. 2. 3. · 36,381 amateur games
3. gives up a pawn to get your light-squared bishop into play.
1. 2. 3. · 27,632 amateur games · 38 over the board
keeps the queen on d6; strong players pick it in 28 in 100 games after 3..
1. 2. 3. · 21,267 amateur games
3. : you're a pawn down, but your knight is already out on c6.
1. 2. 3. · 17,894 amateur games · 2 over the board
After 3., piles a third attacker onto d5 and offers a pawn.
1. 2. 3. · 16,487 amateur games
Facing 3., you hit d5 with the c-pawn via , holding your opponent to 46 in 100.
1. 2. · 15,758 amateur games
hits d5 with a pawn instead of retaking with the queen.
1. 2. 3. · 11,520 amateur games · 7 over the board
3. regains the pawn with the knight while your queen stays on d8.
1. 2. 3. 4. · 5,096 amateur games
After 4., strikes at d4 at once, with your a5 queen guarding e5.
1. 2. 3. · 4,910 amateur games
3. leaves you two pawns down; your opponent scores 48 in 100 here.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. · 4,103 amateur games · 9 over the board
develops the bishop to f5 instead of pinning the knight with .
1. 2. 3. · B01
2,310 amateur games · White's score: 46.7%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. · B01
1,653 amateur games · White's score: 53.7%
1. 2. 3. 4. · B01
981 amateur games · White's score: 49.7%
1. 2. 3. 4. · B01
976 amateur games · White's score: 49.4%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. · B01
940 amateur games · White's score: 47.3%
1. 2. 3. · B01
630 amateur games · White's score: 50.9%
1. 2. 3. 4. · B01
547 amateur games · White's score: 49.8%
1. 2. 3. 4. · B01
542 amateur games · White's score: 51.6%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. · B01
179 amateur games · White's score: 41.9%
1. 2. · B01
94 amateur games · White's score: 33.0%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. · B01
64 amateur games · White's score: 52.3%
1. 2. 3. 4. · B01
55 amateur games · White's score: 54.5%
1. 2. 3. 4. · B01
11 amateur games · White's score: 72.7%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. · B01
9 amateur games · White's score: 27.8%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. · B01
6 amateur games · White's score: 50.0%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. · B01
6 amateur games · White's score: 66.7%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. · B01
4 amateur games · White's score: 0.0%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. · B01
1 amateur game · White's score: 0.0%
It holds up well. Across your rating range your opponent scores about 52 in 100 against it, the same as players over 2200 online manage. The rating band barely shifts that: your opponent scores 53 in 100 at 900–1100 and 51 in 100 at 1500–1700, so the defense works about as well at every step of your range.
Win the pawn back with , then move the queen out of the c3 knight's reach after 3.. On a5 it pins that knight once 4. is played. Develop with , which covers d5 and e4, then pin the f3 knight with before your e-pawn moves and closes the bishop's diagonal.
The worry is the early queen: after , 3. attacks it and your opponent develops with tempo. At your level the results don't show a real problem, though. Your opponent scores about 52 in 100 overall, and after that drops to 51 in 100.