The Scandinavian Defense (1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 [2...Nf6 is also an option]) has long been a favorite for club players, and has proponents all the way up to the grandmaster level. For most of its history, the main line after White plays 3. Nc3 has been 3...Qa5, but other choices are possible. In Scandinavian Defense: The Dynamic 3...Qd6, Correspondence Master Michael Melts examines one such option that has been gaining in popularity over the last decade.
Two Books in One
Melts' work is divided into two main sections: Part I, which gives enough information for club players to employ 3...Qd6, and Parts II-VI, which delve deeply into the various possibilities in this line. The two sections are very different, and I came away with the impression that there were almost two distinct books -- a basic guide to the opening, and a serious analytical work for anyone who wanted to learn this variation inside-out.
I'm not much of an expert on the Scandinavian (or openings in general, to be quite honest), so my attention was drawn more to Part I. This section features everyone you absolutely need to know to play 3...Qd6, starting with a discussion on why the Scandinavian is an excellent choice for club players; there is less theory relative to most other major replies to 1. e4, and opponents are unlikely to know much (if anything) about the 3...Qd6 line he recommends.
Next, Melts takes us through some games where either White or Black went terribly wrong in the opening. Placing these games was smart; not only is it vitally important to understand the traps both sides might fall into in the early going, these games are also inspirational to players who want to see the potential rewards of playing a new system. While doing that, these miniatures also set the groundwork for learning the basic ideas in the opening. Finally, the section ends with a few pages of recommendations on plans and specific lines the player can employ. For most casual and club players, that's all they need to know to play this opening: no fuss, no muss.
The Meat
The section for club players ends on page 47 -- leaving over 200 pages of material to go. This is the meat of the book, where Melts' work really shows. There are 40 stem games which delve into the major variations after 3...Qd6; the analysis of those games alone would probably make a strong opening manual. In addition, there are hundreds of other games (and partial games) given as alternate variations. Most of these games are fairly new, with most of the given dates being after 2000.
This section of the book is extremely dense. There is little text annotation, but there are countless variations, sub-variations and alternatives given with evaluations. Working through this material completely would take...well, it would take a very long time, probably more than most players care to spend learning one opening. That said, if one were to spend the time to learn all of this material, there's no doubt that they'd have a mastery of the Scandinavian, and would rarely run into a situation they hadn't seen before. For the rest of us, it serves as an excellent reference text; I've always been of the opinion that the best way to learn an opening is by looking up your games in an opening text after playing, and seeing where you deviated from the book line. The impressive amount of material Melts has put together guarantees that the average player will almost always find a recommended line for the position that gave them trouble.
Recommendation
From playing through the games presented in the book, and playing some blitz games online, I certainly get the feeling that 3...Qd6 is a fun, dynamic line for club players that's fairly simple to start playing, without any obvious exploitable holes. I can't speak to how the line will work for stronger players, but the fact that several strong players (including GM Sergei Tiviakov) have used it in serious games tells me it has merit at every level.
I highly recommend The Dynamic 3...Qd6 for any club player who has struggled to find a line against 1. e4 they feel comfortable with. The material in this book provides more than enough ammunition to allow the average player security again just about anything White throws at them. Given the amount of effort that Michael Melts has put into this text, I have no doubt there will be plenty of stronger players who will want a copy too.
