Scandinavian Defense: The Dynamic 3... Qd6 [Paperback]

Michael Melts (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2001

Every chess player needs a defense to 1 e4, the most popular first move for White. The ideal response is the easy-to-learn, unrefuted and surprising Scandinavian Defense: The Dynamic 3 Qd6 is such a system. It gives players room for creativity and offers strategic ideas they can understand quickly. With brand-new analysis, correspondence master Michael Melts shows that this long-nelglected line is a little-known but venomous response lying in wait for unsuspecting players of White. For beginners, to master- and international-level competitors, the opening covered in this volume offers a complete system against 1 e4. GMs Roman Dzindzichashvili, Kiril Georgiev, legendary world championship contender David Bronstein and dozens of other top players have called on this variation for important encounters. Forty complete and deeply annotated games are presented along with the relevant portions of hundreds of other contests.

Product Details

• Paperback: 214 pages
• Publisher: Russell Enterprises; 1st edition (November 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1888690119
• ISBN-13: 978-1888690118
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,851,233 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you play the Qd6 Scandinavian, you need this book, June 21, 2006

By 

C. Durand - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Scandinavian Defense: The Dynamic 3... Qd6 (Paperback)

This is one of the better opening books I've seen, and I've seen a lot. Regarding the Qd6 Scandinavian, Melts argues it is an offbeat but viable line that offers black many opportunities for reaching reasonable middlegames with counterplay.

As another reviewer noted, the book is heavy on theory. Melts provides comprehensive coverage of the Qd6 Scandinavian via 40 stem games with hundreds of other games and lines included. While most books that use the "model game" format (as opposed to the "tree of variations" format) fail to include many reasonable moves, Melts' comprehensive work does not suffer from this problem. The games and variations have minimal text commentary (though there are some Informator symbols in the lines). Normally this would be a problem for most players, myself included (USCF 1500s), but Melts finishes each game with a brief summary of the merits of the main variations demonstrated in each game, such as which lines are dubious, risky, solid, or offer the best chances for counterplay. For these reasons the book is excellent as a reference (since so many moves are included) and for picking a repertoire using the Qd6 Scandinavian, but there is little if any material on how to play the resulting middlegame positions. The book also has a well-organized index of variations that makes it very easy to find the lines you are interested in (i.e. after a game), though as always one must look out for transpositions. If you are serious about playing the Qd6 Scandinavian, you simply must have this book.

I should also note that this book works well with Andrew Martin's Chessbase DVD "The Scandinavian the Easy Way". Martin does a good job of picking out lines for a black repertoire using the Qd6 Scandinavian, and the Melts book is the perfect reference for looking up the "book" continuation when your opponent deviates from Martin's lines or for supplementing Martin's material.

If you are considering playing the Qd6 Scandinavian as part (or all) of your black repertoire against 1.e4, I would recommend getting Martin's DVD to see if you like the opening, then follow up by getting this book.

Plusses:
- Well organized
- Excellent reference w/ comprehensive theoretical coverage

Minuses:
- Minimal content on the resulting middlegames.

Despite being light on explanations, I still think the book deserves five stars.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful book on a viable line, September 23, 2003

By 

johnnyqb (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Scandinavian Defense: The Dynamic 3... Qd6 (Paperback)

This is a great work on the Scandinavian Defence with 3... Qd6. This is an excellent opening to play, as you have a good chance of knowing it much better than white. The book is light on instruction, heavy on variations. But there is a nice history section and good sumamries of chapters to let you know the overview of what's going on. The format of the book is quite a bit like the Blackmar-Diemer Keybook II by Sawyer, with 40 base games, filled with hundreds of game fragments. There is an excellent index and bibliography. Plus, the book has the excellent Russell Enterprises production values. I have used this book a lot and really like it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A GOOD BUY.......BUT, July 6, 2009

By 

James R. Mcgee (Las Vegas, NV United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Scandinavian Defense: The Dynamic 3... Qd6 (Paperback)

while playing at a local tournament I came across this book in the chess book store. The only thing keeping me from buying it was the $29.95 price tag. Between rounds I checked with Amazon and found it there for $19.95 so I ordered it on the spot. Little did I know the edition at Amazon was the first printing whereas the chess store was selling the second printing which is, as I found out, higher in price. That being said let me say that I'm not disappointed in the book in the least. Anyone playing the Scandinavian should have this book in their arsenal. It is a rather obscure line, probably not for long, but a very viable alternative to the other lines offered by most books. I intend to play this variation at my next tournament to see how it fares under fire. Only reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is this book, first printing, doesnt have some of the material included in the second. However this edition will more than acquaint you with all you need to play it successfully. For the money its a good buy.