Scotch Game: Cochrane-Shumov Defense
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Bc5 5. Ng5 Nh6 6. Nxf7 Nxf7 7. Bxf7+ Kxf7 8. Qh5+ g6 9. Qxc5 d5
The Scotch Game: Cochrane-Shumov Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO C44, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Bc5 5. Ng5 Nh6 6. Nxf7 Nxf7 7. Bxf7+ Kxf7 8. Qh5+ g6 9. Qxc5 d5. It is a line of the Scotch Game. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 15 times by this move order. White won 53%, 14% were drawn and Black won 33%. The most popular continuation is 10. O-O (60% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 56; best line 10. c3 dxe4 11. O-O Qd6 12. Qxd6 cxd6)
- ECO
- C44
- Moves
- 18 plies
- FEN
r1bq3r/ppp2k1p/2n3p1/2Qp4/3pP3/8/PPP2PPP/RNB1K2R w KQ - 0 10- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Bc5 5. Ng5 Nh6 6. Nxf7 Nxf7 7. Bxf7+ Kxf7 8. Qh5+ g6 9. Qxc5 d5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 2 | |
| 1500-1999 | 4 | |
| 2000+ | 9 | |
| All | 15 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 10. O-O | 9 (60%) | |
| 10. exd5 | 4 (27%) | |
| 10. Qxd5+ | 2 (13%) |
Master games
133 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 32%, draw 31%, Black 37%). The strongest:
- GM Alexander Grischuk (2766) – GM Sergey Karjakin (2773) 1/2-1/2 · Saint Louis Blitz 2018 · 2018-08-14
- GM Alexander Grischuk (2766) – GM Leinier Dominguez Perez (2739) 1-0 · Saint Louis Blitz 2018 · 2018-08-14
- GM Vladislav Kovalev (2655) – GM Vladimir Kramnik (2792) 1/2-1/2 · 46th GM 2018 · 2018-07-22
- GM Rauf Mamedov (2646) – GM So, W. (2766) 1/2-1/2 · Airthings Masters Div 1 W · 2023-02-06
- GM Rauf Mamedov (2646) – GM Viswanathan Anand (2756) 1/2-1/2 · 37th ECC Open 2022 · 2022-10-05
Search all games of the Scotch Game: Cochrane-Shumov Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- WalterLovers (2497) – slabovid4 (2510) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- StockfishGod2023 (2290) – MR_salamanka (2451) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- NM Calh3iros (2267) – Pafku (2207) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Scotch Game: Scotch Gambit, Sarratt Variation 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Bc5 5. Ng5
More Scotch Game lines (all)
- Scotch Game (2… Nc6 3. d4) C44
- Scotch Game (3. d4 exd4) C44
- Scotch Game: Benima Defense C44
- Scotch Game: Cochrane Variation C44
- Scotch Game: Göring Gambit C44
- Scotch Game: Göring Gambit, Bardeleben Variation C44
- Scotch Game: Göring Gambit, Double Pawn Sacrifice C44
- Scotch Game: Göring Gambit, Main Line C44
- Scotch Game: Hanneken Variation C44
- Scotch Game: Haxo Gambit C44
- Scotch Game: Lolli Variation (3. d4 Nxd4) C44
- Scotch Game: Lolli Variation (4… exd4 5. Qxd4) C44
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.