French Defense: McCutcheon Variation, Bernstein Variation
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Bb4 5. e5 h6 6. Bh4
The French Defense: McCutcheon Variation, Bernstein Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C12, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Bb4 5. e5 h6 6. Bh4. It is a line of the French Defense. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 49 times by this move order. White won 43%, 4% were drawn and Black won 53%. The most popular continuation is 6… g5 (100% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 44; best line 6… g5 7. Bg3 Ne4 8. Ne2 Nxg3 9. hxg3)
- ECO
- C12
- Moves
- 11 plies
- FEN
rnbqk2r/ppp2pp1/4pn1p/3pP3/1b1P3B/2N5/PPP2PPP/R2QKBNR b KQkq - 1 6- PGN
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Bb4 5. e5 h6 6. Bh4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 2 | |
| 1500-1999 | 23 | |
| 2000+ | 24 | |
| All | 49 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6… g5 | 49 (100%) |
Master games
136 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 51%, draw 23%, Black 26%). The strongest:
- GM Andrey Stukopin (2572) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2816) 0-1 · Millionaire Chess Op 2015 · 2015-10-10
- GM Mateusz Bartel (2597) – GM Parham Maghsoodloo (2701) 1/2-1/2 · Chess.com RCC Wk19 Swiss · 2022-07-02
- GM Ivan Popov (2596) – GM Alexander Morozevich (2683) 1/2-1/2 · 70th Moscow Blitz · 2016-09-04
- GM Onischuk, V. (2630) – GM Haik M. Martirosyan (2635) 1-0 · 12th Asrian Memorial 2019 · 2019-06-16
- GM Onischuk, V. (2614) – GM Sergey Volkov (2599) 1-0 · 3rd Al Ain Chess Classic · 2014-12-25
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Wish_You_Were_Here (2632) – MIGV (2611) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- secret_mikalsen (2604) – SolaceOfNight (2541) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- IM calito1969 (2440) – FM Gransiurell (2377) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
French Defense: McCutcheon Variation, Advance Variation 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Bb4 5. e5
More French Defense lines (all)
- French Defense (1. e4 e6) C00
- French Defense (2. d4 d5) C00
- French Defense: Alapin Gambit C00
- French Defense: Baeuerle Gambit C00
- French Defense: Banzai-Leong Gambit C00
- French Defense: Banzai-Leong Gambit, Pinova Gambit C00
- French Defense: Bird Invitation C00
- French Defense: Carlson Gambit C00
- French Defense: Chigorin Variation C00
- French Defense: Diemer-Duhm Gambit C00
- French Defense: Diemer-Duhm Gambit Accepted C00
- French Defense: Franco-Hiva Gambit C00
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.