Another point I wanted to add, I think that the scandinavian is a very good choice for beginners against 1.e4, for two reasons:

1. Usually the opening goes down a very narrow path, If black wants to and chooses a simple plan (Qa5, Bf5, Nf6, c6, maybe even Bb4 and so on). You start to FEEL the line, even if you are a bit worse objectively.

2. Black plays a very very simple game. capture the pawn, move the queen, develop knight then bishop... same schtick every game.

Just my 2 cents, been playing it from being 1450 to 1950, always getting good results. Can never understand why people are so biased against it. GM Rogers played it as one of his main weapons (Anand and Nisspueanu aren't good examples if it's only a surprise weapon they use).

While the Scandinavian's limitations are its strength, it's also its weakness. It's not an opening you can necessarily 'grow up' with as a chessplayer in my opinion. At some point I think any chess player dedicated to the Scandinavian will find it impedes your growth and you will want to try something like the Sicilian, 1. ... e5, the Pirc or the French to become a better player.
That said, the Scandinavian is an okay defense for black.

can anyone tell me what OTB means and who were the world champions after Kasparov (I took a break from chess). Basman Defense is 1. e4 g5 I think. Freds Defense is 1. e4 f5. I have played about 20 games on the black side but never used it seriously. Evans Gambit, Scandinavian (main line), Pirc, and Alekhine all belong in the same category as far as grandmaster chess is concermed. All of these openings are played by GM's and espically the Pirc and Alekhine not unfrequently, they are not however very popular but that dosn't mean they are bad. Scandinavian is a very good defense and I wouldnt be surprised to see it become the most popular defense to 1. e4 for GM's. The move _e5 is bad though because your asking for it and than asking for it again. After 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 we know that blacks last move was rather strange, asking white to build a big pawn center, black has no room to keep playing strange now black has to spend all of his enegry seriously defending his idea and 2._Ne4 dosent do it. What you should be trying to do is prove that a strange idea is good not that it is bad _e5 is not a good move here.

OFF-TOPIC:

OTB = Over The Board, meaning in an actual game with an actually physically existing chessboard and pieces. Generally speaking OTB is the opposite of internet chess (and correspondence).

I'm sure you didn't mean 1. ... e5 is bad (it's best along with 1. ... c5).

Undisputed World Champion
1985-1993 - Kasparov (took the title from Karpov)
1993-2006 - *Title split in two*
2006-2007 - Kramnik
2007-present - Anand

Classical World Champion
1993-2000 - Kasparov (or 1985-2000 including his time as undisputed world champion)
2000-2006 - Kramnik (or 2000-2007 including his time as undisputed world champion)

FIDE World Champion
1993-1999 - Karpov
1999-2000 - Khalifman
2000-2002 - Anand
2002-2004 - Ponomariov
2004-2005 - Kasimdzhanov
2005-2006 - Topalov

I think the strongest player in the world (or arguably the strongest player in the world) should be world champion. I don't think Ponomariov, Khalifman and Kasimdzhanov fit in that category.



Back to the Scandinavian if you please people.

There's a much easier "refutation" to this opening (the game is Tal-Skuja Latvian Championship, 1958):
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.d4 e5 5.Nf3 Bb4 6.Bd2 exd4 7.Qe2+ Ne7
8.Nxd4 0-0 9.a3 Bd6 10.Ndb5 Qb6 11.0-0-0 Be6 12.Bg5 Ng6 13.Nxd6 cxd6
14.h4 Nc6 15.Be3 Qa5 16.h5 Nge5 17.Rh4 d5 18.h6 g6 19.f4 Nc4 20.f5 Nxe3 21.Qxe3 Bxf5 22.Nxd5 Rad8 23.b4 Qa4 24.Qc3 Ne5 25.Ne7+ Kh8 26.Qxe5+ f6 27.Qxf6+ 1-0

This opening's variation is named Anderssen counter-attack. If White do logical moves, black can find some problems, principally due extra-time of white.

About this variation, games online in:
1 e4 d5 2 exd5 Qxd5 3 Nc3 Qa5 4 d4 e5 Anderssen counter-attack

Lucky!