When opening a chess game with the Scandinavian, 1.e4 d5, Black decides on the very first move where the battle will be fought - a significant gain for any competitive player. Grandmaster Christian Bauer is one of the world's leading experts on the Scandinavian and in this book he reveals the secrets of his over-the-board success.Bauer focuses particularly on 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5, the established main line of the Scandinavian. An understanding of the move order nuances is essential, and Bauer is an ideally-qualified guide.
In 2001, Correspondence Master Michael Melts book on the dynamic 3...Qd6 variation of the Scandinavian Defense grabbed the attention of chess world. It began to be played regularly at all levels. Novice and Intermediate players found it easy to learn and understand, while powerful grandmasters such as Sergei Tiviakov realized it was an excellent line in which Black could play fearlessly and soundly for a win. Now, in the second edition of The Scandinavian Defense: The Dynamic 3...Qd6, the author has added a tremendous amount of new analysis, insight and practical recommendations. This revised and enlarged second edition will provide both a solid foundation for meeting 1.e4 while at the same time allowing considerable room for creativity and original play. Melts serious study of a serious opening shows that at the moment not much need scare Black. Easy to play and theoretically sound how many openings can boast that? From the Foreword by Australian Grandmaster Ian Rogers
Grandmaster David Smerdon gives the Scandinavian a welcome twist by using it as an all-out attacking weapon. The repertoire he presents is one he has successfully employed at grandmaster level over many years, and the backbone is provided by the razor-sharp Portuguese and Icelandic gambits.
What’s Old Is New – and Surprisingly Strong! The world’s oldest opening variation, 3...Qd8 in the Scandinavian Defense, has resurfaced in the last decade to give players at all levels a winning edge. Whether you prefer a sharp tactical game or slower positional maneuvering, the 3...Qd8 Scandinavian provides a genuine alternative for club players and grandmasters seeking to play for a win from the outset. Elite players such as Michael Adams, Josif Dorfman, Kiril Georgiev and Julian Hodgson, among others, have successfully raised the banner of the 3...Qd8 Scandinavian. As the author demonstrates, this variation’s doubtful reputation is undeserved. It is completely playable – and easy to learn! 3...Qd8 is not the ugly duckling sibling of 3...Qa5 and 3...Qd6 – it is a superb alternative. “Dan's a strong player, but he’s an even stronger teacher. The book sparkles with practical insight, lucidly explained.” International Grandmaster Zviad Izoria
The Scandinavian Defence is one of the most popular chess openings among amateur players, and it is easy to see why. Black players immediately limit the opening theory they have to know because there is no way White can side-step Black’s first move. What’s more, the Scandinavian requires only very little theoretical knowledge, so it has an extremely low maintenance factor. To cap it all, Black gets a solid structure. And that’s not even the end of the good news, as Thomas Willemze demonstrates. Playing the Scandinavian teaches invaluable techniques that you can use in almost all of your other games. Pressuring the centre, improving your piece coordination, trading the right pieces and exploiting your opponent’s weak points are all typical ‘Scandinavian’ spin-offs that Thomas Willemze teaches you in his trademark lucid style. This book presents everything you need to know to be fully prepared to meet 1.e4. Willemze not just uses examples from the games of elite grandmasters. As an experienced trainer he knows that discussing club player’s adventures are particularly instructive for his target group.
The Scandinavian Defence, previously thought to be a rather primitive and sub-standard response to 1 e4, has now emerged from the doldrums and been employed with success by some of the world's strongest Grandmasters, including Bent Larsen, Curt Hansen, Ian Rogers, Alexei Shirov and Vishy Anand. The traditional form of the opening is 1 e4 d5 2 exd5 Qxd5 3 Nc3 Qa5, with a subsequent deployment of Black's Queen's bishop at f5 or g4, and indeed the current theoretical status of this line remains good. However, in recent years many alternative schemes have been tried. There has, for example, been a marked increase in the popularity of 3...Qd6!?, in conjunction with a swift ...a6 and ...b5, or ...Bg4, ...Nc6 and ...0-0-0, and sometimes even an early foray by the Black queen into the White kingside – all of which offers a radically different middlegame from the stonewalling so frequently associated with the older type of Scandinavian middlegames. Recent play also suggests that 3...Qe5, cheekily dubbed 'The Patzer Variation', might also not be so naive. Equally important are the latest lines arising from 1 e4 d5 2 exd5 Nf6, including the dangerous Icelandic Gambit and the aggressive Portuguese Variation which is currently at the cutting edge of chess theory.
