- Blind mode tutorial
lichess.org
Donate

Playing Scandi OTB

#3

@g6firste6second said in #2:

  1. Nc3 should sike you out a bit =]
    Haha you wish! 2... dxe4 3. Nxe4 Qd5, what now? :p
@g6firste6second said in #2: > 2. Nc3 should sike you out a bit =] Haha you wish! 2... dxe4 3. Nxe4 Qd5, what now? :p
#4

Great post. A lot of effort seems to have gone into making it unlike all the AI ones I see nowadays!! Maybe Scandi isnt so bad after all

Great post. A lot of effort seems to have gone into making it unlike all the AI ones I see nowadays!! Maybe Scandi isnt so bad after all
#5

@Ottery said in #4:

Great post.
Thanks!
A lot of effort seems to have gone into making it unlike all the AI ones I see nowadays!!
Technically yes, I spend quite some time on each one, but I enjoy the process, I've been playing around in graphic programs for 6 or 7 years now, so whenever I can do something digital, I really like to do so.
Maybe Scandi isnt so bad after all
yeah scandi has this 'engine says it's bad, grandmasters don't play it' tag glued to it, but, fun fact, accordong to Masters database, white scores better with 1. e4 (32-24%), than in the engine 'refutation' of the scandi (32-26%)

  1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 Bf5 6. Ne5 c6 7. Bc4 e6 8. g4 Bg6 9. h4 Nbd7 10. Nxd7 Nxd7 11. h5 Be4 12. O-O Bd5 13. Nxd5 cxd5 14. Bd3 Bd6 I'm talking about this position, which has a lot of play for black surprisingly with g6, f5 and e5 breaks, so 3 breaks we can choose from (sometimes we can achieve all 3). And we can choose where to castle aswell (long, of course)
@Ottery said in #4: > Great post. Thanks! > A lot of effort seems to have gone into making it unlike all the AI ones I see nowadays!! Technically yes, I spend quite some time on each one, but I enjoy the process, I've been playing around in graphic programs for 6 or 7 years now, so whenever I can do something digital, I really like to do so. > Maybe Scandi isnt so bad after all yeah scandi has this 'engine says it's bad, grandmasters don't play it' tag glued to it, but, fun fact, accordong to Masters database, white scores better with 1. e4 (32-24%), than in the engine 'refutation' of the scandi (32-26%) 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 Bf5 6. Ne5 c6 7. Bc4 e6 8. g4 Bg6 9. h4 Nbd7 10. Nxd7 Nxd7 11. h5 Be4 12. O-O Bd5 13. Nxd5 cxd5 14. Bd3 Bd6 I'm talking about this position, which has a lot of play for black surprisingly with g6, f5 and e5 breaks, so 3 breaks we can choose from (sometimes we can achieve all 3). And we can choose where to castle aswell (long, of course)
#6

@CkickyCheck said in #3:

Haha you wish! 2... dxe4 3. Nxe4 Qd5, what now? :p

i actually wont take back, i will ignore it and do 3. d4, if 3... exd3 i take back with bishop and we play a boring scandi game =]

its funny cause black, having no pieces out, has a slight advantage according to engine, but psychologically is no fun to play, this is how i set up to neutralize scandi, obviously you may not encounter this uncommon line ever, but just want to share with you in case you go more with scandi moving forward

@CkickyCheck said in #3: > Haha you wish! 2... dxe4 3. Nxe4 Qd5, what now? :p i actually wont take back, i will ignore it and do 3. d4, if 3... exd3 i take back with bishop and we play a boring scandi game =] its funny cause black, having no pieces out, has a slight advantage according to engine, but psychologically is no fun to play, this is how i set up to neutralize scandi, obviously you may not encounter this uncommon line ever, but just want to share with you in case you go more with scandi moving forward
#7

@g6firste6second said in #6:

i actually wont take back, i will ignore it and do 3. d4
so now we are in blacmkar-diemer with 3... Nf6. If 4. f3 Bf5 sorfot counters this gambit, in the sense, that White doesn't get the lead in development, and Black still maintains some advantage. 4. Bg5 is more interesting I think, but I havent faced it yet (or at leasst i don't remember)

@g6firste6second said in #6: > i actually wont take back, i will ignore it and do 3. d4 so now we are in blacmkar-diemer with 3... Nf6. If 4. f3 Bf5 sorfot counters this gambit, in the sense, that White doesn't get the lead in development, and Black still maintains some advantage. 4. Bg5 is more interesting I think, but I havent faced it yet (or at leasst i don't remember)
#8

Aren't you afraid of running into this line where Black cannot really deviate which leaves him with less space and without a bishop pair:

  1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 Bf5 6. Ne5 c6 7. Bc4 e6 8. g4 Bg6 9. h4 Nbd7 10. Nxd7 Nxd7 11. h5 Be4 12. O-O Bd5 13. Nxd5 cxd5 14. Bd3 Bd6 15. Bd2 Qb6 16. c3

For me it seems like Black has either to castle short into the White pawns here or castle long at some point where White will start playing a4 + b4. It looks strategically very unpleasant to play.

Aren't you afraid of running into this line where Black cannot really deviate which leaves him with less space and without a bishop pair: 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 Bf5 6. Ne5 c6 7. Bc4 e6 8. g4 Bg6 9. h4 Nbd7 10. Nxd7 Nxd7 11. h5 Be4 12. O-O Bd5 13. Nxd5 cxd5 14. Bd3 Bd6 15. Bd2 Qb6 16. c3 For me it seems like Black has either to castle short into the White pawns here or castle long at some point where White will start playing a4 + b4. It looks strategically very unpleasant to play.
#9

@Cyber_Demon said in #8:

Aren't you afraid of running into this line where Black cannot really deviate which leaves him with less space and without a bishop pair:

  1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 Bf5 6. Ne5 c6 7. Bc4 e6 8. g4 Bg6 9. h4 Nbd7 10. Nxd7 Nxd7 11. h5 Be4 12. O-O Bd5 13. Nxd5 cxd5 14. Bd3 Bd6 15. Bd2 Qb6 16. c3

Using lichess database 2200+ blitz or slower, the position after Bd3 happens roughly one in 250 games. With Bd2 and c3 its like one in 1000. And black also has counterplay with g6, f5 and e5.

Out of 86 games I played myself on lichess in the Scandi, I faced 7. Ne5 9 times, 8. Bc4 6 times, 9. g4 3 times, and 11. Nxd7 2 times.

So I faced 15. Bd2 twice, and the first time I went Qd8 and lost the game. The second I went Qb6 and won, getting much faster play in the centre than my opponent.

All that to say, I'm not scared, I'm excited to play that position. It's basically brand new to me, and it explodes very quickly with great chances for Black to win the game

And here is the game, if you are interested:

https://lichess.org/5jKm8c7p/black

@Cyber_Demon said in #8: > Aren't you afraid of running into this line where Black cannot really deviate which leaves him with less space and without a bishop pair: > 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 Bf5 6. Ne5 c6 7. Bc4 e6 8. g4 Bg6 9. h4 Nbd7 10. Nxd7 Nxd7 11. h5 Be4 12. O-O Bd5 13. Nxd5 cxd5 14. Bd3 Bd6 15. Bd2 Qb6 16. c3 Using lichess database 2200+ blitz or slower, the position after Bd3 happens roughly one in 250 games. With Bd2 and c3 its like one in 1000. And black also has counterplay with g6, f5 and e5. Out of 86 games I played myself on lichess in the Scandi, I faced 7. Ne5 9 times, 8. Bc4 6 times, 9. g4 3 times, and 11. Nxd7 2 times. So I faced 15. Bd2 twice, and the first time I went Qd8 and lost the game. The second I went Qb6 and won, getting much faster play in the centre than my opponent. All that to say, I'm not scared, I'm excited to play that position. It's basically brand new to me, and it explodes very quickly with great chances for Black to win the game And here is the game, if you are interested: https://lichess.org/5jKm8c7p/black
#10

I undestand that you are trying to argue from a 'likelihood' point of view that most people don't know the theory so deep, especially people who just play online chess.

However, you mentioned that you are using Scandi also as your OTB weapon. Considering that at a certain level people start target prepping against you, especially when you are known to be 'the Scandi guy', this variation might come up more frequently the more classical tournaments you start to play. That is one of the reasons why I was always afraid to touch Scandi as Black - I even stopped playing the Caro some years ago as people started playing some weird engine lines against me.

I agree, Black definitely has some chances in that line but I feel like White has to make quite a few inaccuracies in order for Black to gain back the momentum.

I undestand that you are trying to argue from a 'likelihood' point of view that most people don't know the theory so deep, especially people who just play online chess. However, you mentioned that you are using Scandi also as your OTB weapon. Considering that at a certain level people start target prepping against you, especially when you are known to be 'the Scandi guy', this variation might come up more frequently the more classical tournaments you start to play. That is one of the reasons why I was always afraid to touch Scandi as Black - I even stopped playing the Caro some years ago as people started playing some weird engine lines against me. I agree, Black definitely has some chances in that line but I feel like White has to make quite a few inaccuracies in order for Black to gain back the momentum.