Scotch Game: Scotch Gambit, Cochrane-Anderssen Variation
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Bc5 5. O-O d6 6. c3 Bg4
The Scotch Game: Scotch Gambit, Cochrane-Anderssen Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C44, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Bc5 5. O-O d6 6. c3 Bg4. 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 55 times by this move order. White won 42%, 2% were drawn and Black won 56%. The most popular continuation is 7. h3 (45% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.15 (Stockfish, depth 38; best line 7. Qb3 Bxf3 8. Bxf7+ Kf8 9. gxf3 Nf6)
- ECO
- C44
- Moves
- 12 plies
- FEN
r2qk1nr/ppp2ppp/2np4/2b5/2BpP1b1/2P2N2/PP3PPP/RNBQ1RK1 w kq - 1 7- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Bc5 5. O-O d6 6. c3 Bg4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 9 | |
| 1500-1999 | 33 | |
| 2000+ | 13 | |
| All | 55 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7. h3 | 25 (45%) | |
| 7. cxd4 | 11 (20%) | |
| 7. Qb3 | 9 (16%) | |
| 7. Nbd2 | 2 (4%) | |
| 7. Bxf7+ | 2 (4%) | |
| 7. b4 | 2 (4%) | |
| 7. Re1 | 1 (2%) | |
| 7. Qd3 | 1 (2%) |
Master games
53 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 21%, draw 15%, Black 64%). The strongest:
- GM Pavel Ponkratov (2659) – GM Aleksandra Goryachkina (2602) 1/2-1/2 · 74th ch-RUS 2021 · 2021-10-09
- IM Adham Fawzy (2476) – GM Bassem Amin (2707) 0-1 · ch-Africa 2019 · 2019-07-14
- IM Thomas Beerdsen (2521) – GM Eltaj Safarli (2616) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 4th Oct Early · 2022-10-04
- IM Yusup Atabayev (2415) – GM Dennis Wagner (2581) 0-1 · Online Olym Div2 A 2020 · 2020-08-14
- FM Wei Xuan Timothy Chan (2393) – GM Igor Lysyj (2589) 0-1 · Titled Tue 9th Jan Early · 2024-01-09
Highest-rated Lichess games
- pt_24 (2364) – AnalitikZeka21 (2283) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 2s
- Chess123easy (2317) – esfandyekali86 (2323) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- Hany_Hussein (2126) – SparkyMarky (2430) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Scotch Game: Haxo Gambit 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Bc5
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: 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: 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.