Hey Hivians and chess players,
It has been quite a while since my last chess series, where I get to teach you all about some interesting ideas from the game of chess. So in today's lecture, I will be looking at the Scandinavian Defense. The opening that defiles the opening principles.
If you are conversant with my previous chess series, where I spoke about Opening principles, you will remember that there is a principle I spoke about, which says Do not bring out your queen early in the game, and something more with waiting at least up to 10 moves before bringing out your queen.
Well, that principle does not work with the Scandinavian defense since the queen comes out very early on move 2.
- e4 d5
- exd5 Qxd5
The opening is not quite popular in high-level games involving top-rated grandmasters. It could be because of the opening's unconventionality, especially the idea of bringing out the queen early. Although this opening is quite deadly in blitz chess because of the complications that may come with its move order.
Or in the hands of a really strong player like Magnus Carlsen, the opening could be fancy. I remember a game where Carlsen played the Scandinavian against his opponent, Fabiano Caruana, back in 2014 and won. It was the typical Qd8 variation.
From here, it is obvious that black has not brought out any pieces since the only piece that came out has gone back home. But do not be deceived, as these pieces can come out immediately within the snap of time, and if white plays poorly, even just a little bit, things could change hands. Black brings out his queen again, but this time it is for an exchange. Here is a top secret in the Scandinavian defense: when you have the option of trading queens, go for it. This is because after the queens are off the board, black tends to have a solid pawn structure, which can be a huge advantage in the endgame. As you can see, that is what Carlsen is going for in the above position. Now queens are off the board, and it is difficult to penetrate black's kingdom due to the pawn structure built by the pawns on e6 and c6. Now it is obvious the endgame will be looking good in black's favour. Now the endgame looks good for black as white has a pawn hanging on g4, coupled with the fact that white is also a pawn down. Here is the thing about the Scandinavian: if white does not make use of the space advantage he gains at the beginning of the game, it becomes a lot harder to do that later on in the game. And once black gets the opportunity to trade off queens, their position tends to look a lot better due to the pawn structure. At this point in the position, it wouldn't be hard for the highest-rated player in chess history to convert this into a win. Here is the link to the game if you would like to check it out for more insight. You can also check out the game through the game's PGN: That is a wrap for this chess lecture. Subsequently, I will be doing more chess lectures, and guys, go and get prepared. My chess tournament will be starting soon. More details to share. Keep an eye out for more details on @sam.chess. I am @samostically, I love to talk and write about chess because I benefited a lot from playing chess and I love writing about chess. ♟♟♟♟♟♟♟♟♟
[Event "Tromso Olympiad"]
[Site "Tromso NOR"]
[Date "2014.08.08"]
[Round "6.3"]
[White "Fabiano Caruana"]
[Black "Magnus Carlsen"]
[Result "0-1"]
[GameId "tT2UmCpE"]
[WhiteElo "2801"]
[BlackElo "2877"]
[Variant "Standard"]
[TimeControl "-"]
[ECO "B01"]
[Opening "Scandinavian Defense: Valencian Variation, Main Line"]
[Termination "Unknown"]
[Annotator "lichess.org"]
1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qd8 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 Bg4 { B01 Scandinavian Defense: Valencian Variation, Main Line } 6. h3 Bxf3 7. Qxf3 c6 8. Ne2 e6 9. g4 Qd5 10. Bg2 Nbd7 11. Qg3 Qc4 12. Qb3 Qxb3 13. axb3 Bd6 14. c4 a6 15. Be3 O-O-O 16. O-O-O Rhe8 17. Ng3 Nf8 18. Bf3 Ng6 19. h4 Bf4 20. h5 Bxe3+ 21. fxe3 Ne7 22. e4 h6 23. e5 Nh7 24. Ne4 Rf8 25. Nd6+ Kc7 26. Bg2 Ng5 27. Rhf1 f6 28. Kc2 fxe5 29. dxe5 Nc8 30. c5 Ne7 31. b4 Nd5 32. Bxd5 cxd5 33. b5 axb5 34. Nxb5+ Kc6 35. Nd6 Nf3 36. b4 Ra8 37. Ra1 Rxa1 38. Rxa1 Nxe5 39. Ra7 Rb8 40. Ra3 b6 41. Ra7 bxc5 42. Ra6+ Kc7 43. bxc5 Nd7 44. Ra7+ Kc6 45. g5 Nxc5 46. Nf7 d4 47. Ne5+ Kd5 48. Nd7 d3+ 49. Kc1 Nxd7 50. Rxd7+ Ke4 { Black wins. } 0-1
