Opening for Black · beginner

Scandinavian Defense

As Black, hit e4 on move one and develop the queen early but safely.

touch_appPlay the Scandinavian Defense yourself. Make each move for Black; the coach explains as you go.

Move by move

1. e4
King's pawn.
1... d5
1...d5 attacks e4 immediately.
2. exd5
White captures.
2... Qxd5
2...Qxd5. The queen comes out early, but White's center pawn is gone.
3. Nc3
White develops with tempo on the queen.
3... Qa5
3...Qa5. The queen is safe from easy attacks, still eyes the c3 knight, and Black can develop quickly with ...Nf6, ...c6 and ...Bf5.

After 1.e4 d5 2.exd5, these are the moves Black meets most often at club level, weighted the way our bots choose them so they play like people.

Qxd575%

Nf625%

How often our club-level bots choose each move

1...d5, recapture with the queen, then tuck it on a5.

Opening code B01, Scandinavian Defense.

The lesson line is the main road; most games leave theory soon after it.