Scandinavian Defense Main Line

The Main Line Scandinavian (Qa5) is a very solid and very flexible defense for black, and it also provides plenty attacking chances!

After the opening moves, if white continues with the most logical response – Nc3, chasing the queen which ran out to the center early, black has to retreat. There are three most common moves here, Qd6, Qd8, and Qa5 – the main line.

Qa5 is the most active of the three moves and it’s considered to be black’s best choice. It temporarily makes the c3 knight uncomfortable (after white’s logical d4 the knight is pinned). It’s also a tempo gainer for white. The queen will inevitably have to move again, which gives white a clear advantage in development.

The best thing about the variation is that it’s very easy to learn and to play. It’s a system rather than a line you have to memorize. Both sides have a very logical piece setup they want to achieve, so most games are going to be played into the middlegame quickly and without issues.

The pawn structure is typical for the Scandinavian Defense; black has a solid formation (similar to Caro-Kann) with pawns on e6 and c6, and white has a weak extended d4 pawn which will either want to trade itself off or serve as a target for black along the semi open d file.

The main branching of ways comes at move 8 for white. In the main line, white is able to resolve the issue of his obstructive c3 knight, which is making it very hard to defend the d4 weakness with c3. White can choose to trade it of for the f6 knight with the tactical Nd5 or Ne4. This makes the variation unique, and both sides are going to have to adopt to that.

Most often, both players will castle queenside and a lot of play will happen on the kingside with white trying to break through, and black trying to consolidate it in order to be bale to attack the white king.

A sharp, fun, flexible and easy opening to learn. Good luck!

Here are some example games to study:

Karjakin vs Nakamura, 2013 Tal Memorial (blitz)
Kasparov vs Anand, 1995 World Championship Match
Anand vs Lautier, Biel 1997

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