The 3...Qd8 Scandinavian: Simple and Strong

By Karsten Müller and Daniel Lowinger

What's Old Is New and Surprisingly Strong! The world's oldest opening variation, 3...Qd8 in the Scandinavian Defense, has resurfaced in the last decade to give players at all levels a winning edge. Whether you prefer a sharp tactical game or slower positional maneuvering, the 3...Qd8 Scandinavian provides a genuine alternative for club players and grandmasters seeking to play for a win from the outset. Elite players such as Michael Adams, Josif Dorfman, Kiril Georgiev and Julian Hodgson, among others, have successfully raised the banner of the 3...Qd8 Scandinavian. As the author demonstrates, this variation's doubtful reputation is undeserved. It is completely playable and easy to learn! 3...Qd8 is not the ugly duckling sibling of 3...Qa5 and 3...Qd6 it is a superb alternative. Dan's a strong player, but he's an even stronger teacher. The book sparkles with practical insight, lucidly explained.-International Grandmaster Zviad Izoria

• Language: English
• Publisher: Russell Enterprises, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 4, 2015
• ISBN: 9781936490776

Book preview

The 3...Qd8 Scandinavian

Simple and Strong

by

Daniel Lowinger

Foreword by

Karsten Müller

2013

Russell Enterprises, Inc.

Milford, CT USA

Dedication:

To my wife, for her incredible support, in this and everything.

The 3...Qd8 Scandinavian

Simple and Strong

by

Daniel Lowinger

© Copyright 2013 Daniel Lowinger

All Rights Reserved

No part of this book may be used, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any manner or form whatsoever or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the express written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

ISBN: 978-1-936490-76-9 (print)

Published by:

Russell Enterprises, Inc.

PO Box 3131

Milford, CT 06460 USA

http://www.russell-enterprises.com

[e-mail]

Cover design by Janel Lowrance

Editing and proofreading by Peter Kurzdorfer

Table of Contents

Foreword by Karsten Müller

Introduction

Chapter 1

Divine Battles: The Origins of 3...Qd8

Chapter 2

Black Scores 65% with a new pawn move to the 6th!

1.e4 d5 2.e×d5 Q×d5 3.Nc3 Qd8 4.d4 Nf6 5.Bc4 a6!

Chapter 3

Michael Adams, the Main Line, and the Reversal of Ad Hominem

1.e4 d5 2.e×d5 Q×d5 3.Nc3 Qd8 4.d4 Nf6 5.Bc4 c6 6.Nf3 Bf5

Chapter 4

Vukovic’s Pet and More Alternatives

1.e4 d5 2.e×d5 Q×d5 3.Nc3 Qd8 4.d4 Nf6 5.Bc4 c6 6.Nf3 b5!? 1.e4 d5 2.e×d5 Q×d5 3.Nc3 Qd8 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 Bg4

Chapter 5

Lasker’s Bishop

1.e4 d5 2.e×d5 Q×d5 3.Nc3 Qd8 4.d4 Nf6 5.Bg5!?

Chapter 6

Mortal Battles – Quiet Continuations

Bibliography

Index of Variations

Player Index

Foreword

Scandinavian Surprise

Your opponent has probably played 1.e4 his entire life and knows how to answer 1.e4 d5 2.e×d5 Q×d5 3.Nc3 Qa5. He might also be familiar with 3...Qd6, but what about the direct retreat 3...Qd8? Can this really be good despite the loss of time? Your opponent will strongly doubt the soundness of your approach and will want to punish you directly. This might play into your hands as your very solid structure gives good long-term prospects, as in the other Scandinavian lines.

The short-term resources also seem to be sufficient, as strong players like Dorfman have repeatedly opted for this line, while Michael Adams has used it as an occasional surprise weapon. In particular, the two plans with ...a6 and ...h6 contain a lot of venom, and score very well in practice.

Regarding the first plan, 1.e4 d5 2.e×d5 Q×d5 3.Nc3 Qd8 4.d4 Nf6 5.Bc4, and now 5...a6!?, introduced by Dorfman in 1992, is dealt with by Lowinger in great detail in Chapter 2. Black even has a large plus score here. The second possibility, 1.e4 d5 2.e×d5 Q×d5 3.Nc3 Qd8 4.d4 Nf6 5.Bg5, and now 5...h6!? is favored by Djukic, who recently even beat German grandmaster Naiditsch with it – see Game 88. So Lowinger’s favorite quote of the Great Dane, Bent Larsen, When in doubt, push a rook’s pawn, applies here as well.

One way to learn an opening is to study games by a role model. Here grandmasters David Garcia and Nikola Djukic are natural choices. The author gives many of their games and annotates them in detail so that you can follow them not only in the opening, but also in the other important phases, such as the transition from opening to middlegame and even in the typical Scandinavian endgames.

The line 3...Qd8 has a bad reputation in chess theory and literature. The alternatives 3...Qa5 and 3...Qd6 are generally favored. Lowinger investigates the reasons for this and traces them back to a loss by Michael Adams against German grandmaster Christopher Lutz in a 1999 rapid game in Frankfurt (Game 52). He rightly concludes that this is not convincing, and that White’s advantage is as small as in the other cases. 3...Qd8 is a bit more passive but also more solid; this might even be an advantage if White does not act very dynamically, as Black does not have to spend additional time moving the queen around, something that often happens in the other two lines.

The author, Dan Lowinger, has played the line himself many times with good results, and his enthusiasm shines through in his treatment. So I wish you fun and success when employing the 3...Qd8 Scandinavian!

Grandmaster Dr. Karsten Müller

Hamburg, July 2013

Introduction

Why This Opening Is for You

Does the very mention of the opening make you a little bit nervous? Are you, like most of us, someone who only has a certain amount of time to devote to chess? Do you prefer your chess games to consist mostly of fun strategizing, rather than rote memorization, or finding your way through dangerous opening minefields? The Najdorf Sicilian may be well and good for the likes of Garry Kasparov or Vishy Anand, whose novelties are checked by teams of grandmasters and hours of computer analysis, but not all of us are professionals. Most of us just want a playable and comfortable game out of the opening; we want to be able to take a step forward without having the position blow up on us.

Once upon a time the Caro-Kann was a sanctuary where chess players could gather their strength, unconcerned about the tactical threats slung by aggressive 1.e4 players. After 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3, Black happily plays 3...d×e4, clipping White’s center. After 4.N×e4 comes the simple 4...Bf5, developing the bishop outside the pawn chain; after a later ...e6, Black has a comfortable position. Black’s queen pressures the d-pawn from the comfort of its home square and the ultra-solid pawn structure ensures that premature attacks on White’s part are bound to fail.

Troubles in the Caro-Kann

Then came World Champion Mikhail Tal. Undoubtedly, his games continue to give us great joy to replay, but in his zealous rampage through decades of competitive chess, he also managed to breach the walls of that great sanctuary. While his results against the Caro-Kann in his riveting matches with Botvinnik were inconclusive, he did manage to transform that once-peaceful opening into another minefield, replete with scary tactical dangers, should Black not display the utmost precision. The aptly named Tal Variation (1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.h4!?) is in fact in the midst of a renaissance, and seems destined to pose an endless series of tactical difficulties for Black. The following game from 2009, demonstrating a new application of an old attacking concept, puts Black’s difficulties in this line on full display:

(1) Perunovic (2580) – Lalith (2480)

Dubai 2009

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.h4 h5 5.Bg5!

White simply prevents Black from playing the natural ...e6. In fact, it is White who intends to play this move, jamming his pawn into the heart of Black’s position!

5...Qb6 6.Bd3!!

This is the point! White throws caution to the winds, trading Black’s developed pieces as a prelude to a fierce attack. He is ready to sacrifice his b-pawn and rook, in true Tal-like spirit!

6...B×d3 7.Q×d3 Q×b2 8.e6!! (D)

An attacking idea à la Tal surfaces in 2009!

White executes the aforementioned idea. Black’s king finds itself dangerously hemmed in.

8...Q×a1 9.Qb3 Q×d4

The queen gets out while there’s still time; otherwise, 9...b6 10.Nf3 f×e6 11.0-0 Nd7 12.Nbd2 is a possibility, when Black’s queen is forfeit.

10.Q×b7 f×e6 11.Be3!

The text is a nice finesse, preventing ...Qb6, which locks White’s queen in after it captures the rook.

11...Qa4 12.Q×a8 Qa5+ 13.Nd2 Qd8 14.Ngf3 Nf6 15.0-0

White completes his development. Black never completes his.

15...g6 16.Rb1 Nbd7 17.Q×c6 Bg7 18.Ng5 1-0

Black cannot prevent substantial loss of material.

Since 2009, strong players have discovered that the Tal Variation even has positional merit, though it arrives at its positional benefits in a highly modern manner. As I write these lines, world top-10 Fabiano Caruana defeated grandmaster Erwin L’Ami, despite an early trade of queens.

(2) Caruana (2781) – L’Ami (2627)

Tata Steel 2013

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.h4!

The renaissance continues unabated.

4...h6

Trying to play it calm, Black prepares a quiet nook in which to tuck his bishop. So what’s the problem?

5.g4!

White continues to ignore classical precepts, expanding on the kingside in brute force fashion.

5...Bd7

5...Bh7 meets with 6.e6!, employing the concept already discussed. White players boast a nearly 80% record after that move, according to the database. A sample continuation is: 6...f×e6 7.Bd3 B×d3 8.Q×d3, when the queen is headed for g6. Black will also be hard-pressed to keep White’s knight out of e5. It is clear that Black is suffering greatly.

6.h5

White continues to expand on the flank, heedless of piece development or events in the center.

6...e6 7.f4!

This is the seventh consecutive pawn move! White cramps Black and has a better position.

7...c5 8.c3 (D)

White has yet to develop a piece, yet lays claim to a significant advantage!

8...Qb6 9.Nf3

At long last, after nine moves, White develops a piece!

9...Bb5

Black trades his bad bishop.

10.B×b5+ Q×b5 11.Na3 Qb6 12.Qa4+ Nc6 13.Nc2 c×d4 14.c×d4 Qa5+

Trading queens, Black avoids the manner of Lalith’s destruction, but not his ultimate fate, as the Tal variation proves to promise its protagonist more than just attacking advantages. Black suffocates in the endgame from lack of space!

15.Q×a5 N×a5 16.Ke2!

Having ignored classical opening principles, White decides to heed endgame ones and quickly centralizes his king.

16...Ne7 17.b3 Rc8 18.Kd3! Nac6 19.Bd2 Rc7 20.Nh4 Nc8 21.f5

The phalanx continues to advance.

21...a5 22.Raf1 Rg8

Black is choking and finding useful moves is difficult. This move anticipates the opening of the g-file.

23.Rh2 f6?

These skirmishes do not work out in Black’s favor, but it is hard to suggest alternatives, as Black continues to gasp for air.

24.e×f6 g×f6 25.Ne3 e5

25...e×f5 26.N×d5 is equally hopeless, given the threat of 27.N×f6+.

26.N×d5 Rf7 27.Ng6

White’s knights settle into the enemy position.

27...N×d4 28.Be3 Nc6 29.Ke2

Black is bound hand and foot, so White has the luxury of repositioning his king.

29...Bg7 30.Kf3 Rd7 31.Rd2 Kf7 32.Rfd1 Rgd8 33.Kf2 Ke8 34.Ke1 Nd4

Passive play is hopeless, so Black tries to complicate matters.

35.B×d4 R×d5 36.Bc3 R×d2 37.B×d2 b6 38.Rc1 Kd7 39.Be3 Re8 40.Ke2 Kd6 41.Kd3 Kd7 42.Rc3 Bf8 43.Ke4 Bb4

Black tires of babysitting his hopelessly weak, fixed pawns.

44.Rc2 Nd6+ 45.Kd5!

The space advantage established in the opening continues to tell.

45...Nb5 46.B×h6 Nc3+ 47.R×c3!

This is the simplest and most direct.

47...B×c3 48.Be3 Bd4 49.B×d4 e×d4 50.K×d4 Kc6 51.h6 Rd8+ 52.Ke4 Rd7 53.g5! 1-0

53...f×g5 is impossible on account of 54.N×e5+. The pawn mass, supported by king and knight, proves overwhelming to the black rook.

An Improvement on the Caro

The legendary Bent Larsen could speak quite enigmatically at times. My favorite quote of his, When in doubt, push a rook’s pawn, is just the sort of statement likely to leave most of us, weaned on classical chess principles, scratching our heads in bemusement. Yet this statement, interpreted generously, proved exceptionally prescient. In fact, the early pushing of flank pawns has become a staple of modern chess, practically saturating the modern theory of the Caro-Kann, French, and Sicilian Defenses, to name a few. And what of Bent’s take on our topic? Well, he is reputed to have dubbed the Scandinavian an improvement on the Caro-Kann, and we should well heed his words.

The Scandinavian Defense meets 1.e4 with an immediate 1...d5, saving a tempo on the clash in the center and thereby greatly reducing White’s meaningful options. While 3.e5 may well prove the new main line in the Caro, giving White a mass of tactical opportunities, 2.e5?! against the Scandinavian is simply an error. After 2...c5, Black gains the upper hand in the center immediately. 2.Nc3 also proves perfectly harmless; after either 3...d4, fighting for a lasting space advantage, or the simpler 3...d×e4, Black experiences no opening difficulties. Curiously, Chessbase 11 reveals that after 1.e4 d5 2.Nc3 d×e4 3.N×e4, Black scores over 50% with 3...Qd5!?, when White’s best retreat is 4.Nc3, transposing back to the main line! Of course, Black can also play the Caro-inspired 3...Bf5, with a comfortable position.

Sometimes the position after 1.e4 d5 2.Nc3 is arrived at by transposition from the variously named Dunst/Van Geet Opening, which begins 1.Nc3?!. Players of a wily persuasion who bring a lot of opening traps to their games often employ this opening move. I should know, as my friend and coach of days past, FIDE master Asa Hoffmann, an acquaintance of Bobby Fischer and a minor legend of the New York chess scene, did much to popularize it there. International master Jay Bonin, for instance, unofficial holder of the world record for most tournament games played by any human being (he continues to participate in approximately four tournaments per week), also experiments routinely with Asa’s opening repertoire and has inspired some followers. These players tend to be hoping for games like the following entertaining sequence, one repeated in several of my games from my days as Asa’s student:

1.Nc3 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 e×d4 4.N×d4 Nf6 5.Bg5 Be7?

This is an unequivocal mistake, sparking White’s initiative.

6.Nf5!

This is the point of White’s play, which proves highly unpleasant for Black.

6...0-0 7.N×e7+ Q×e7 8.Nd5

This move always came as a surprise to opponents.

8...Qe5 9.B×f6 g×f6 10.e3 Q×b2?

The text is usually played out of frustration, but Black should hasten to trade White’s strongly posted centralized knight instead. Therefore, 10...Ne7 comes into consideration.

11.Bd3! (D)

A position I have reached many times. Black is busted.

White continues to develop and points his forces at the weakened enemy king.

11.N×c7?! is totally the wrong interpretation. This variation is about a quick mate!

11...b6?

11...Nb4? 12.Qg4+ Kh8 13.Q×b4 simply wins, since 13...Q×a1+ 14.Ke2 Q×h1 runs into 15.Q×f8 mate.

12.Qg4+ Kh8 13.Qf5 Q×a1+ 14.Ke2 Q×h1 15.Q×h7#

That sequence reveals precisely the sort of nerve-wracking mayhem our Scandinavian repertoire will avoid. To show the dangers of trying to enforce a wily Dunst/Van-Geet approach on a Scandinavian player, what better to look at than the master of wily play himself, Asa Hoffman:

(3) Hoffmann (2290) – Ivanov (2555)

New York 1992

1.Nc3 d5 2.e4 d4 3.Nce2 e5 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.Ng3 Qd6!?

Black anticipates White’s bishop development and seeks simplification immediately.

6.Bc4 Be6 7.Bb3 B×b3 8.a×b3 d3!

White will now experience difficulty both with completing his development and maintaining a comfortable and healthy pawn structure.

9.0-0 Nf6 10.c3 g6!

This kills the g3-knight’s aspirations.

11.b4 h5!

Black expands his space advantage and makes the g3-knight ever more uncomfortable. This advance is common in these variations.

12.Qa4 h4 13.b5 Nb8 14.Nh1 (D)

White’s just desserts for ignoring the fight for space!

14...Nbd7 15.Re1 h3 16.Ng3

The computer recommends 16.g3, entombing the knight forever. Sadly, this is better for White than the game continuation.

16...h×g2 17.Qc4 Nb6 18.Qb3 Ng4

White’s kingside is in shambles.

19.K×g2 Qf6 20.Rh1 Bc5

The rest requires no comment.

21.Qd1 N×f2 22.b4 N×d1 23. b×c5 Nd7 24. R×d1 N×c5 25.Ba3 Ne6 26. Re1 Nf4+ 27.Kh1 Qe6 28.Rg1 f6 29.Bc5 Qc4 30.Be3 Q×b5 31.Rab1 Qc6 0-1

So White is virtually forced to take on d5, and in practice this is really the only move Scandinavian players need to prepare for (Chessbase 11 reveals that exchanging is the most popular move, with roughly 82,000 games played, while 2.Nc3 lags behind with only about 3,000 total games, including the roughly 300 that transpose). Unlike in the Caro-Kann, where White alternates between several serious attempts for advantage – the Main Line, the Advance Variation, the Panov-Botvinnik Attack, and even the Fantasy Variation – Scandinavian players need only worry about a single variation. The branching comes later and Black will have a far more meaningful hand to play in determining the character and direction of the game than he does in the Caro.

The Two Common Objections

Throughout my innumerable hours playing this opening against all levels of opposition in tournaments, discussing it with friends and acquaintances from amateur to grandmaster, and in conducting research for this book, I have found two objections, above all, raised consistently against the 3...Qd8 line. The first is conceptual, reflecting the notion that the move violates a timeless principle of development; the second is theoretical, with experts quoting a couple of high-profile Michael Adams games from 1999. Let us take each of these objections in turn.

Regarding the former, there have always been those since time immemorial who, out of anxiety or control issues, or perhaps a desire to obtain a cultish following, like to pigeonhole complex problems and claim that they have watered them down to some simple rules of thumb. Thus, amateurish inheritors of a dogmatic classicism like to expound on knights on the rim being dim, doubled pawns being bad, the critical importance of developing one’s knights before bishops, the necessity of castling at the first opportunity, and an endless further series of such dogma. Surely such advice helps the child rated 101 raise his rating to theretofore untold heights, but does little to help the legions of class players, in particular adult class players, at whom this book is primarily aimed, reach an appreciable new level of play.

For inheritors of such dogma, hitting an improvement wall, whether it’s at 1400, or 1600, or 1800, is often seen as the end of the road with the only path forward being the memorization of large quantities of opening theory. Lest I fail to communicate this clearly, let me say that such a notion is completely false, and fails to capture even an iota of truth. Not only is the memorization of theory not the solution for such a player, but it alone will bring no real improvement without an attendant increase in the player’s tactical and strategic understanding, on which the opening theory would undoubtedly be based.

International master and celebrated author John Watson, among others, has worked tirelessly to unveil and distil the guiding principles of today’s grandmaster opening play. I highly recommend his book Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy: Advances since Nimzowitsch, and its companion, Chess Strategy in Action. They contain sections on Rule Independence, Knights that Live on the Edge, the Development of Development, and other revelations likely to yank misguided class players away from the cult of Tarrasch (insofar as his name represents the idea that simplistic, dogmatic play paves the path to