From a theoretical backwater to a fully blown main line opening, the rise of the Scandinavian Defence (1 e4 d5) has been nothing short of meteoric. Over the past fifteen years the Scandinavian has become more and more popular both at club and Grandmaster level. It even managed to obtain an ultimate seal of approval when Vishy Anand employed it in his World Championship match with Garry Kasparov!

In this book Grandmaster John Emms explains the strategies and tactics of this dynamic and fashionable opening. Through the use of model games for both sides, the author provides a thorough grounding in the key ideas, so that players of all standards can quickly and confidently begin to use the Scandinavian in their own games. This book provides a complete update of Emms's original and best-selling edition of The Scandinavian, published in 1997. Since then there have been many new and important discoveries from both sides of the board, and these are included here.

• Ideal for club and tournament players

• Explains the basic elements, strategies and tactics for both sides

• Written by a leading expert on the Scandinavian

• Provides everything you need to know to start playing the opening straight away

004 Bibliography

005 Preface

007 Introduction

1 e4 d5 2 exd5 Qxd5

014 1 The Main Line: 3 Nc3 Qa5 4 d4 Nf6 5 Nf3 Bf5 6 Bd2 c6 7 Bc4 e6 8 Qe2

036 2 Main Line Alternatives: 3 Nc3 Qa5 4 d4 Nf6 5 Nf3 c6

060 3 Fifth Move Alternatives: 3 Nc3 Qa5 4 d4 Nf6

075 4 Fourth Move Alternatives: 3 Nc3 Qa5

088 5 Second and Third Move Alternatives

1 e4 d5 2 exd5 Nf6

110 6 The Main Line with 3 d4 Nxd5

128 7 The Portugese Variation (3 d4 Bg4!?)

144 8 3 Bb5+

155 9 Scandinavian Gambit and Panov Attack: (3 c4 c6)

166 10 Icelandic Gambit: 3 c4 e6

175 Index of Complete Games