How does one counter and/or punish the Scandinavian defence?

The Scandinavian defence is an opening characterized by the moves:

1. e4 d5

As white i seem to play the Scandinavian defence a lot, and I was wondering about how to gain an advantage on my opponent; If people can comment some ideas I’d appreciate it a lot!

i mean, odds are taking then nc3 followed up with nf3 bc4 bd2 0-0 and then going for an attack is great for white. personally, i played 2. nc3 and most people play d4, then i play nce2 and i get a setup with nf3 ng3 bc4 d3 0-0 and i get really strong attacking positions. but just taking is the best move, and then just develop quickly

A bunch of GM games, some of them annotated, copied from my database:

 

The standard idea is 2. exd5 Qxd5 (or Nf6) 3. Nc3 and then develop. I've sometimes surprised Scandi players by playing 2. Nc3, which is rare in the Scandinavian but the most common position in the Van Geet opening (i.e. 1. Nc3 d5 2. e4). If 2. ... dxe4, then 3. Nxe4, while 2. ... d4 3. Ne2 e5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Ng3 is a typical continuation. In the opening phase there is typically a lot of knight manouvering so if you like it, you can try it. If the mainline of the Scandinavian is the only thing Black knows well, then they can feel uncomfortable when the opening transposes to Van Geet.

Interesting

At the OP’s rating, players as black tend to use the Scandi for tricks. The use it as sort of a pseudo-wayward queen attack.

This is what I do. Checking the king immediately as black is the go-to move. What I do is block with the queen and offer a trade. They will not accept because the only know queen tricks. If they trade, you are up a tempo. If the move kingside, you can often attack the queen while developing.

Be very careful not to hang any pieces and blunder, but you need to attack and chase that queen. Coordinate attacks with knight and bishop.

You will have pieces developed and they will have all their pieces on the back rank and much better.

This just happened to me, thanks for the advice!

4.Qe2 is not a good move.

main problem with this line is after 2...dxe4 3.nxe4 qd5, white can almost force a scandinavian transposition . (ng3 simply isnt good, and d3 is too passive but 4. qf3!? actually is ok).

 

Personally i like lines 3.nc3 qa5 4.g3. White gets a simple clean advantage without giving black a d4 target  just yet.  sometimes white has b4- rb1 ideas too.

Yeah with Qe2 you are letting Black off the hook. Be2 just gives White a huge advantage and an exposed queen to attack

Scandi is sound. Develop normally and don't try artificial ways of 'punishing' black. 

It’s important to note the OPs rating. Talking about mainline theory and best moves ignores how the Scandi is used by advanced beginners (500-1000).

A typical sub 1000 Scandi player will bring out the queen and try to play for tricks. I mean like almost always! It plays almost exactly like a wayward queen.

Talking about main lines isn’t helpful. Yes a 1500+ player can punish excessive early queen moves, but it’s hard for lower-rated players.

The point of Qe2 is NOT that it’s a good move, it’s that it befuddles black Scandi players at lower ratings—trust me on this. They will spend time thinking what to do and keep moving their queen around as you chase it. I’ve played games where I have almost all of my pieces developed and black has everything on the back row. It’s not a good move, but black usually responds with worse moves.