Scotch Game: Cochrane Variation
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Bb4+ 5. c3 dxc3 6. bxc3 Ba5 7. e5
The Scotch Game: Cochrane Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C44, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Bb4+ 5. c3 dxc3 6. bxc3 Ba5 7. e5. It is a line of the Scotch Game. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 6 times by this move order. White won 50%, 0% were drawn and Black won 50%. The most popular continuation is 7… Nge7 (50% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.83 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 7… d5 8. exd6 Qxd6 9. Qb3 Qe7+ 10. Be3)
- ECO
- C44
- Moves
- 13 plies
- FEN
r1bqk1nr/pppp1ppp/2n5/b3P3/2B5/2P2N2/P4PPP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 0 7- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Bb4+ 5. c3 dxc3 6. bxc3 Ba5 7. e5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1 | |
| 1500-1999 | 5 | |
| All | 6 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7… Nge7 | 3 (50%) | |
| 7… Qe7 | 2 (33%) | |
| 7… h6 | 1 (17%) |
Master games
1 over-the-board game is classified under this line (White 0%, draw 0%, Black 100%). The strongest:
- FM Aleksandr E. Usov (2318) – IM Ortik Nigmatov (2418) 0-1 · Panchenko Mem Open A 2021 · 2021-09-21
Search all games of the Scotch Game: Cochrane Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Iambadatendgames (1976) – SERIALKILLER003 (1942) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 600 + 0s
- NestorLiban (1857) – Otgoonum (1888) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 300 + 0s
- Elionel27 (1849) – Sylvoute (1761) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 300 + 0s
Comes from
Scotch Game: Scotch Gambit, London Defense 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Bb4+
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-Shumov Defense 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.