The Scandinavian Defense

I need some help. Can anyone tell me of a good book to read which deals with the Scandinavian Defense? How about a few masters that employ this defense whose games I could study? It's one of the oldest, so there's a lot of stuff. But I'm looking for the good stuff. All suggestions are welcomed.

P.S.

No Englund or Charlick Gambit.

I have 3 recommendations for you.

If you want a book that covers all lines , but not in too much depth, then 'The Scandinavian Defence' by James Plaskett is a good bet. The presentation is a bit haphazard at times, but it's a reasonable overview of the defence.

If you intend to go down the ; 1.e4, d5 2.e x d5, Q x d5, then a book that may give you an edge over your opponents is 'Scandinavian Defence; The Dynamic 3....Qd6'  by Michael Melts . Loads of games, well annotated, by someone who champions this line.

In my opinion, if you want to play for a win ( and not afraid of losing ) then the 2....Nf6 line is well worth investigating. Although a bit dated, get a copy of 'Center Counter Defense; The Portuguese Variation', by Selby Anderson. It covers all white's possible replys, and gives black real counterattacking possibilities.

It will worry most e4 players!!

And don't forget, Capablanca used to play this defence before he took up the Caro-Kan, so it can't be all bad.

i luve englund gambit and icelandic

   Just play   1.e4  1.d5   2.exd5  2.Qxd5   3.Nc3  3.Qd6   for practical play.

THe Scandinavian Defense IS AN OPENING U WILL FALL IN LOVE WITH. IT JUST TAUNTS UR OPP.TO ATTACK AND GET SURPRISE THAT THEY CANT GET THROUGH.  MY FAV. ARE 

1)NADJORF

2)SCANDIANVIAN 

THE CLASSICAL IS SO SO TO ME. U MUST.....AND I STRESS MUST STUDY UR ENDGAME TO PLAY ANY ONE OF THESE OPENINGS. DON'T BE AFARID TO TRADE UR QUEEN ONLY TO PROVE UR POSITION NOT WHITE

This is a very good line. It beats having to learn 'all' those open sicilian lines and anti sicilian lines if you were to play 1...c5.

1...d5, yes please!

Agreed. A very good book. This variation makes for a very hard-fought middle game, and can often lead to dynamic end games. I play it as a good way to throw off players used to the standard Center Counter. Plus, since it is more of a system, it's easy to learn.

Keep in mind that you need to have responses ready for 1. e4, d5 2. e5, c5 3. ?

2.e5 shouldnt cause many problems.

The Scandinavian is like an old friend of mine from back when I first started playing online. I have responded to 1.e4 with 1...d5 a total of 43 times with 23 wins - 1 draw - 19 losses. It's great if you want to avoid the Sicilian(s) and the other well known replys to 1.e4. It's already been mentioned (above) that you need to complete the repertoir with the 2...Nf6 version and also the 2.e5 version. I also have the book about the "dynamic" 3...Qd6. But I suggest you study that variation real well before you try to use it. The first time I played 3...Qd6 I got beat so badly that I lost interest in the Scandinavian altogether a short time after that. 1.e5 d5 leads to some akward positions and wild games. It's a lot of fun. Good luck with it.

As far as a book is concerned I personally has come to trust the everyman books and there is one on the Scandinavian by John Emms. I saw some (used) at Amazon for $5.00.

Kentering, 5 ... Qd6 seems like a safe bet.

i prefer the islandic defense.  i think that's the best variation of scandinavian defense. 

Will any of you chessgeeks who advocate the Scandanavian defence please challenge me to a few games using said defence ( with me playing white ). During the game you can give me a running commentary about the moves, this would be extremely helpful to me.

White has no traps in 3...Qa5 that are worth preparing against, it is just common consipracy that there is some useful discovery with the d2 bishop

 And a response to 1. e4  d5  2. d4

And then? Shoud white continue with hunting the Queen or develop with Nf3?

I think an early Nb5 is not the best choice, but here's a game played in that line:

And here's how Nakamura handles the gambit:

If your'e thinking of picking up the Scandinavian, consider waiting for Houska's new book on the subject, which is due in less than a month. She explains things well.