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Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e6/2. d4/2...d5/3. Nc3/3...Nf6/4. Bg5/4...Bb4

< Chess Opening Theory | 1. e4 | 1...e6 | 2. d4 | 2...d5 | 3. Nc3 | 3...Nf6 | 4. Bg5
The latest reviewed version was checked on 2 February 2022. There is 1 pending change awaiting review.

The McCutcheon variation first became well-known as the result of an 1885 simultaneous exhibition game played in New York by World Champion Steinitz as White against John Lindsay McCutcheon, a lawyer from Pennsylvania. McCutcheon won convincingly in just 28 moves, and thus brought attention to the variation. It is still (2024) considered to be a completely sound defense for Black. There is no record of a previous game with this variation, so it is possible (though impossible to prove) that McCutcheon created a true novelty.

McCutcheon variation
a b c d e f g h
8a8 black rookb8 black knightc8 black bishopd8 black queene8 black kingf8 black kingg8 black kingh8 black rook8
7a7 black pawnb7 black pawnc7 black pawnd7 black kinge7 black kingf7 black pawng7 black pawnh7 black pawn7
6a6 black kingb6 black kingc6 black kingd6 black kinge6 black pawnf6 black knightg6 black kingh6 black king6
5a5 black kingb5 black kingc5 black kingd5 black pawne5 black kingf5 black kingg5 white bishoph5 black king5
4a4 black kingb4 black bishopc4 black kingd4 white pawne4 white pawnf4 black kingg4 black kingh4 black king4
3a3 black kingb3 black kingc3 white knightd3 black kinge3 black kingf3 black kingg3 black kingh3 black king3
2a2 white pawnb2 white pawnc2 white pawnd2 black kinge2 black kingf2 white pawng2 white pawnh2 white pawn2
1a1 white rookb1 black kingc1 black kingd1 white queene1 white kingf1 white bishopg1 white knighth1 white rook1
a b c d e f g h
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN)

rnbqk2r/ppp2ppp/4pn2/3p2B1/1b1PP3/2N5/PPP2PPP/R2QKBNR w

Moves: 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Bb4

Wikipedia has related information at French Defence

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