---
title: "Scandinavian Defense win rate"
url: "https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/scandinavian-defense.md"
canonical_url: "https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/scandinavian-defense"
last_updated: "2026-11-07"
type: "reference"
summary: "White scored 51.3% in 86,344 Scandinavian Defense games on Lichess, 1 September 2026. Results by rating band, time control and the most played lines."
related: ["https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics.md", "https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/under-1200.md", "https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/1200-1599.md", "https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/1600-1999.md", "https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/2000-plus.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary.md"]
---

# Scandinavian Defense win rate

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White scored 51.3% in 86,344 Scandinavian Defense games on Lichess, 1 September 2026. Results by rating band, time control and the most played lines.

White scored 51.3% (margin 0.3 points) in 86,344 rated games of the Scandinavian Defense, ECO B01, played between players within 100 rating points on 1 September 2026. It ranked number 5 of 117 openings by popularity and made up 5.3% of all games.

## How often does White win in the Scandinavian Defense?

White won 49.2% of the 86,344 games, 4.3% were drawn and Black won 46.6%. White's score of 51.3% is no clear difference from White's score across all openings (51.9%): the gap of 0.6 points is larger than the margin of 0.3 points but under the 1 point treated as clear.

**Results of 86,344 Scandinavian Defense games, 1 September 2026.**

| Result | Games | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| White wins | 42,440 | 49.2% |
| Draws | 3,677 | 4.3% |
| Black wins | 40,227 | 46.6% |

## Does the Scandinavian Defense score differently at different ratings?

White's score is highest at under 1200 (52.3%) and lowest at 2000 and above (49.7%). That spread of 2.6 points is larger than the two margins added together, so the score does differ between these rating bands.

Players rated under 1200 choose the Scandinavian Defense most often relative to their other openings, in 6.1 percent of their games.

**White's score in the Scandinavian Defense by the lower rating of the two players, 1 September 2026.**

| Rating band | Games | Share of the band | White score | Margin (points) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| under 1200 | 16,863 | 6.1% | 52.3% | 0.7 |
| 1200 to 1599 | 33,160 | 5.7% | 51.5% | 0.5 |
| 1600 to 1999 | 31,645 | 5.2% | 50.8% | 0.5 |
| 2000 and above | 4,676 | 3.0% | 49.7% | 1.4 |

## How does the Scandinavian Defense do in blitz, rapid and classical?

The time control changes who tends to win, because the clock matters more in faster games. Rows with fewer than 1,500 games are left out.

**White's score in the Scandinavian Defense by time control, 1 September 2026.**

| Time control | Games | White score | Margin (points) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Blitz | 65,170 | 50.8% | 0.4 |
| Rapid | 20,685 | 52.8% | 0.7 |

## What are the most played lines of the Scandinavian Defense?

The most played named line is the Mieses-Kotroc Variation, with 20,671 games and a White score of 53.3%. The table lists the ten most played lines that reached 300 games; a line below that is counted in the last row.

**Named lines of the Scandinavian Defense, most played first, 1 September 2026.**

| Line | Games | White score | Margin (points) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Mieses-Kotroc Variation | 20,671 | 53.3% | 0.7 |
| Valencian Variation | 11,461 | 52.1% | 0.9 |
| Main Line | 10,385 | 50.5% | 0.9 |
| Modern Variation | 9,250 | 49.7% | 1.0 |
| Gubinsky-Melts Defense | 1,719 | 50.6% | 2.3 |
| Boehnke Gambit | 1,632 | 51.7% | 2.4 |
| Main Line, Mieses Variation | 1,322 | 48.3% | 2.6 |
| Icelandic-Palme Gambit | 1,320 | 48.0% | 2.6 |
| Panov Transfer | 1,227 | 44.4% | 2.7 |
| Blackburne Gambit | 1,118 | 49.9% | 2.9 |
| Main line and less played lines | 22,490 | 50.6% | 0.6 |

## How were these opening statistics measured?

Rated Blitz, Rapid and Classical games on 1 September 2026 between players within 100 rating points, banded by the lower rating. A score is wins plus half the draws, with a 95 percent margin. The hub page explains the method in full.

## Frequently asked questions

**What is the win rate of the Scandinavian Defense?**

White won 49.2%, drew 4.3% and lost 46.6% of 86,344 games, a White score of 51.3% with a margin of 0.3 points. These are games on Lichess on 1 September 2026.

**Is the Scandinavian Defense good for White?**

At these ratings White's score was no clear difference from White's score across all openings (51.9%): the gap of 0.6 points is larger than the margin of 0.3 points but under the 1 point treated as clear. A difference of a point or two is small, and the side that picks an opening also picks which games reach it, so the number describes what happened at these ratings and is not a ruling on the opening.

**What is the most popular line of the Scandinavian Defense?**

The Mieses-Kotroc Variation was the most played named line, with 20,671 games, which is 23.9% of the Scandinavian Defense games.

## Sources

- [Lichess open database, standard rated games (CC0), file for September 2026](https://database.lichess.org/), read 2026-10-22

## Related

- [Caro-Kann Defense win rate and statistics](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/caro-kann-defense.md)
- [Italian Game win rate and statistics](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/italian-game.md)
- [French Defense win rate and statistics](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/french-defense.md)
- [King's Pawn Game win rate and statistics](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/kings-pawn-game.md)
- [Queen's Pawn Game win rate and statistics](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/queens-pawn-game.md)
- [English Opening win rate and statistics](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/english-opening.md)
- [Chess opening statistics for players rated under 1200](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/under-1200.md)
- [Chess opening statistics for players rated 1200 to 1599](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/1200-1599.md)
- [Chess opening statistics for players rated 1600 to 1999](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/1600-1999.md)
- [Chess opening statistics for players rated 2000 and above](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/2000-plus.md)
- [Most popular chess openings and win rates](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics.md)
- [Chess terms glossary](https://georgelichess.com/glossary.md)
- [Book your first lesson](https://georgelichess.com/book/first-lesson.md)

Last updated 2026-10-22.

## Related

- [Most popular chess openings and win rates](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics.md)
- [Chess openings by rating: under 1200](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/under-1200.md)
- [Chess openings by rating: 1200 to 1599](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/1200-1599.md)
- [Chess openings by rating: 1600 to 1999](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/1600-1999.md)
- [Chess openings by rating: 2000 and above](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/2000-plus.md)
- [Chess terms glossary: plain definitions](https://georgelichess.com/glossary.md)