The appeal of the Scandinavian Defence is easy to understand: it is very forcing - Black is virtually guaranteed to get his desired structure. There are no annoying 'Anti-Scandinavians' to study! But for many decades the Scandinavian was regarded with some suspicion, as Black apparently loses time recapturing on d5. Modern players have a different view. The great Danish player Bent Larsen kickstarted the revolution with his provocative assertion that it is an improved Caro-Kann (and, not least, beating Karpov with our opening)! But the 21st-century Scandinavian is a different beast altogether; the new main line of the whole opening (3...Qd6) has proven to have great strategic richness, with more than a few tactical tricks lurking just behind the scenes. The Scandinavian has been transformed into an opening that strong grandmasters are willing to use as their main defence, rather than as an occasional surprise weapon. This thoroughly modern guide focuses on these new approaches, while also covering the more traditional main lines. Kasparov guides the reader carefully through each system, explaining his recommendations with wit and clarity. With his help, you will have your opponents wishing there really were some 'Anti-Scandinavian' lines!

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

Grandmaster David Smerdon gives the Scandinavian a welcome twist by using it as an all-out attacking weapon. The repertoire he presents is one he has successfully employed at grandmaster level over many years, and the backbone is provided by the razor-sharp Portuguese and Icelandic gambits.

Jovanka Houska reveals everything you need to know about the Scandinavian, whether you are playing it as Black or facing it with White.

A complete guide to Scandinavia filled with travel tips, cultural and historical facts, recipes, and inspirational photography from the Nordic nations. Why are Scandinavians constantly topping the happiness table? How do you get more Scandi-style in your life? Just how do you use lagom? Whether you want your apartment to look like it belongs in Copenhagen, to workout like a Norwegian or to make cinnamon buns like a Swede, this is the ultimate insider’s guide to the countries of the north. Full of inspiration and ideas, how-tos and recipes to help you experience the very best of Scandinavian design, philosophy, cookery, and culture, this honest behind-the-scenes look at the culture provides an invaluable insight into the wonderful and visually stunning world of Scandinavia. Like her viking ancestors before her, Brontë Aurell left Denmark to explore the world beyond home shores and in her travels has come to understand the fascination with her kinfolk, as well as seeing the idiosyncrasies of the Scandinavian lifestyle that locals take for granted. With a signature wit and a keen eye for detail, she takes you on a journey through fjords and mountains, farmlands, and cities to better understand these three nations and what makes each one so unique. So get outdoors, learn the life lesson that there’s no such thing as bad weather (only bad clothing), and you may discover your inner Scandi sooner than you think . . . From the How To Live . . . series of insightful guides to some of the most intriguing cultures and locations on the planet, other books available include How To Live Japanese, How To Live Korean, and How to Live Icelandic.

"Even those unmoved by its subject will thrill to [Scandinavian Noir], a beautifully crafted inquiry into fiction, reality, crime and place . . . Perhaps when it comes to fiction and reality, what we need most are critics like Lesser, who can dissect the former with the tools of the latter." --Kate Tuttle, The New York Times Book Review An in-depth and personal exploration of Scandinavian crime fiction as a way into Scandinavian culture at large For nearly four decades, Wendy Lesser's primary source of information about three Scandinavian countries—Sweden, Norway, and Denmark—was mystery and crime novels, and the murders committed and solved in their pages. Having never visited the region, Lesser constructed a fictional Scandinavia of her own making, something between a map, a portrait, and a cultural history of a place that both exists and does not exist. Lesser’s Scandinavia is disproportionately populated with police officers, but also with the stuff of everyday life, the likes of which are relayed in great detail in the novels she read: a fully realized world complete with its own traditions, customs, and, of course, people. Over the course of many years, Lesser’s fictional Scandinavia grew more and more solidly visible to her, yet she never had a strong desire to visit the real countries that corresponded to the made-up ones. Until, she writes, “between one day and the next, that no longer seemed sufficient.” It was time to travel to Scandinavia. With vivid storytelling and an astonishing command of the literature, Wendy Lesser’s Scandinavian Noir: In Pursuit of a Mystery illuminates the vast, peculiar world of Scandinavian noir—first as it appears on the page, then as it grows in her mind, and finally, in the summer of 2018, as it exists in reality. Guided by sharp criticism, evocative travel writing, and a whimsical need to discover “the difference between existence and imagination, reality and dream,” Scandinavian Noir is a thrilling and inventive literary adventure from a masterful writer and critic.

The Scandinavian Defence is one of the most popular chess openings among amateur players, and it is easy to see why. Black players immediately limit the opening theory they have to know because there is no way White can side-step Black’s first move. What’s more, the Scandinavian requires only very little theoretical knowledge, so it has an extremely low maintenance factor. To cap it all, Black gets a solid structure. And that’s not even the end of the good news, as Thomas Willemze demonstrates. Playing the Scandinavian teaches invaluable techniques that you can use in almost all of your other games. Pressuring the centre, improving your piece coordination, trading the right pieces and exploiting your opponent’s weak points are all typical ‘Scandinavian’ spin-offs that Thomas Willemze teaches you in his trademark lucid style. This book presents everything you need to know to be fully prepared to meet 1.e4. Willemze not just uses examples from the games of elite grandmasters. As an experienced trainer he knows that discussing club player’s adventures are particularly instructive for his target group.

When opening a chess game with the Scandinavian, 1.e4 d5, Black decides on the very first move where the battle will be fought - a significant gain for any competitive player. Grandmaster Christian Bauer is one of the world's leading experts on the Scandinavian and in this book he reveals the secrets of his over-the-board success.Bauer focuses particularly on 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5, the established main line of the Scandinavian. An understanding of the move order nuances is essential, and Bauer is an ideally-qualified guide.

Introduction to Nordic Cultures is an innovative, interdisciplinary introduction to Nordic history, cultures and societies from medieval times to today. The textbook spans the whole Nordic region, covering historical periods from the Viking Age to modern society, and engages with a range of subjects: from runic inscriptions on iron rings and stone monuments, via eighteenth-century scientists, Ibsen’s dramas and turn-of-the-century travel, to twentieth-century health films and the welfare state, nature ideology, Greenlandic literature, Nordic Noir, migration, ‘new’ Scandinavians, and stereotypes of the Nordic. The chapters provide fundamental knowledge and insights into the history and structures of Nordic societies, while constructing critical analyses around specific case studies that help build an informed picture of how societies grow and of the interplay between history, politics, culture, geography and people. Introduction to Nordic Cultures is a tool for understanding issues related to the Nordic region as a whole, offering the reader engaging and stimulating ways of discovering a variety of cultural expressions, historical developments and local preoccupations. The textbook is a valuable resource for undergraduate students of Scandinavian and Nordic studies, as well as students of European history, culture, literature and linguistics.

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