scandinavian defence
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Instead of f6, I would play e6 and put a knight on c6
if 4. d4 just take the pawn
and if 4. f5 your winning with Qa5+
mb I meant Qa4+
It is basically advance carokan with extra tempo for black. Look at some Gotham´s “how to win at chess”
Its good :star
Yeah; like @borovicka75 said, this is good for you because this is more akin to the advance Caro Kann except you are on move after 3.f4. There are two things that immediately strike me as how Black should go about taking control here:
(a) Control the light squares, as White has abandoned them
(b) Render his dark-squared advanced pawn formation useless by playing around them and making the squares they control not matter.
So 3...Bf5 immediately sticks out as a candidate move. It controls the e4 square, gets your light-squared bishop on a good diagonal, and is outside of your pawn chain when you inevitably play pawn to e6. With no knight on f3, you wouldn't even be bothered by Nh4. You definitely expect to play e6 at some point, because it connects your pawn chain, gives your bishop some scope, and may provide a square for the knight, since it won't be going to f6.
However, you might as well play 3...Nc6 first. It is the obvious move - you're not going to develop that knight anywhere else - it develops, fights for the centre, and it blocks a check from Bb5 before it happens. The engine does recommend White pin the knight, but you can play Qb6, and White's best move is to give up the bishop pair with Bxc6+. The resulting position is easier for Black to play.
Another idea to bear in mind is pawn to h5. You may need h7 as a retreat square for your bishop, but you don't want to block h6, because you might need it for the knight to get out (the knight will also want the f5 square in that case). If you exchange off White's light-squared bishop for the c6 knight, then Ne7-c6 might be another route into the game. It depends on context.
dabestmano wrote:
mb I meant Qa4+
thanks
borovicka75 wrote:
It is basically advance carokan with extra tempo for black. Look at some Gotham´s “how to win at chess”
thanks, will look into it 
Arcticon_Tiger wrote:
Yeah; like @borovicka75 said, this is good for you.... (Etc)
thanks, defenitely helpful. in fact, posted this after watching a youtube clip where bishop goes f5, as a variation to what i was sticking to. much appreciated, will try start along your recommended lines
I have GM David Smerdon's book on the Scandinavian. He endorses all of what Arcticon_Tiger wrote above. He also suggests Bg4. If White challenges the bishop with h3, just trade it off for the knight. His comment is that Black gets a French-like structure, but without the problem of having the light-squared bishop stuck on on c8.
I play Bf5, and then e6. And then at some point I try to tuck the bishop away on h7 to help support a pawn advance on the queenside. Smerdon's book is a great resource, if you're one of those who prefers old-timey learning from books rather than youtube.
Jasonosaurus wrote:
I have GM David Smerdon's book on the Scandinavian. He endorses all of what .... etc
hey there, thanks much appreciated.
I don play Bf5. The key for black is fight for d4 square so i play Nc6 and eventualy Nh6 and if white plays Nf3 then pin the knight with Bg4.
bla bla
hh oo ww tt oo pp ll aa yy cc hh ee ss ss
hi guys 
just had a very similar game to the example quoted, so thought i might share this game in the thread. any feedback, insight on what i could have played better i would appreciate and be interested to hear. https://www.chess.com/game/live/118652896183
I am very much liking the structure suggested by Arcticon_Tiger (in the screenshot)
. however although i won the game, feel it could have gone both ways as my defence was not very tight, not sure if it was a good move to trade the h pawn with the g5 one after the bishop / knight trade. it opened the h file for my rook and eventually helped, but perhaps 8... moving my white squared bishop to g6 would have kept my side closed for castling, giving me a safer game (?)... (for example, site review suggests bishop d3, attacking the f1 rook)
also, following the example in the quoted reply.. would it make more sense to castle left side or towards the right? i like to have a sharp attack, keeping the opponent busy, however should the ball roll and he takes the lead, i feel my pieces are very scattered and open.
any insight, opinions would be greatly appreciated.
. however although i won the game, feel it could have gone both ways as my defence was not very tight, not sure if it was a good move to trade the h pawn with the g5 one after the bishop / knight trade. it opened the h file for my rook and eventually helped, but perhaps 8... moving my white squared bishop to g6 would have kept my side closed for castling, giving me a safer game (?)... (for example, site review suggests bishop d3, attacking the f1 rook)
also, following the example in the quoted reply.. would it make more sense to castle left side or towards the right? i like to have a sharp attack, keeping the opponent busy, however should the ball roll and he takes the lead, i feel my pieces are very scattered and open.
any insight, opinions would be greatly appreciated.
Arcticon_Tiger wrote:
Yeah; like @borovicka75 said, this is good for you because this is more akin to the advance Caro Kann except you are on move after 3.f4. There are two things that immediately strike me as how Black should go about taking control here:
(a) Control the light squares, as White has abandoned them
(b) Render his dark-squared advanced pawn formation useless by playing around them and making the squares they control not matter.
So 3...Bf5 immediately sticks out as a candidate move. It controls the e4 square, gets your light-squared bishop on a good diagonal, and is outside of your pawn chain when you inevitably play pawn to e6. With no knight on f3, you wouldn't even be bothered by Nh4. You definitely expect to play e6 at some point, because it connects your pawn chain, gives your bishop some scope, and may provide a square for the knight, since it won't be going to f6.
However, you might as well play 3...Nc6 first. It is the obvious move - you're not going to develop that knight anywhere else - it develops, fights for the centre, and it blocks a check from Bb5 before it happens. The engine does recommend White pin the knight, but you can play Qb6, and White's best move is to give up the bishop pair with Bxc6+. The resulting position is easier for Black to play.
Another idea to bear in mind is pawn to h5. You may need h7 as a retreat square for your bishop, but you don't want to block h6, because you might need it for the knight to get out (the knight will also want the f5 square in that case). If you exchange off White's light-squared bishop for the c6 knight, then Ne7-c6 might be another route into the game. It depends on context.
hi, my first post here.
i have recently been playing the scandinavian defence. sometimes, instead of taking, white pushes pawn forward to e5, to which i play 2.c5 (with the intention of blocking 3.d4 to keep e5 pawn isolated, then playing 3 Nc6, attacking e5.
this is the order:
1 e4, e5
2 e5, c5
i m looking for tips, areas to study on, suggestions when white plays 3. f4.. as it gets harder to break white's pawn structue' then. so far been responding with 3. f6, with the idea of developing with the knight if, or once white takes. however looking for something better...
any tips, or sources to look into would be greatly appreciated.
thanks.