Alekhine: Scandinavian, Exchange, 4.Nxd5: what should Black play?

In the Alekhine: Scandinavian, Exchange, 4.Nxd5, Black faces an immediate tactical opportunity following White's inaccurate pawn thrust to b3. The decisive response is Qe5+, which checks the white king and exploits the undefended a1 along the long diagonal. With 269,002 games recorded at this position, Black holds a significant tactical advantage, and engine analysis evaluates the position at -3.72 in Black's favor after the winning queen check.

Exploiting the a1-h8 Diagonal with Qe5+

The critical flaw in White's setup is the weakening of the long diagonal caused by advancing the pawn to b3. By playing Qe5+, Black delivers a check that White cannot parry without abandoning the rook on a1. The primary engine continuation demonstrates the severity of White's concession: Qe5+ Be2 Qxa1 Nf3 Qf6 d4. After capturing the trapped rook, Black safely retreats the queen to f6 and consolidates a decisive material advantage.

Other Positional Replies

Should Black decline the immediate tactical win, other moves still preserve a slight edge thanks to White's loose queenside. The alternative check Qe4+ scores an engine evaluation of -0.85, running into Qe4+ Ne2 e5 d3 Qg6 Qd2. Natural development is also playable; Nc6 reaches an evaluation of -0.74 in the sequence Nc6 Nf3 Bg4 c3 Ne5 Be2.

Minor Continuations

Further down the ranking, Black can also develop the light-squared bishop via Bf5 (-0.40) following Bf5 Nf3 Nc6 c3 e5 Bc4, or seize central space immediately with e5 (-0.28), which meets e5 Qf3 e4 Qf4 Bd6 Bc4. However, none of these slower developmental choices match the objective strength of Qe5+, which nets decisive material immediately.