French Defense: McCutcheon Variation
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Bb4
What Is The McCutcheon Variation?
The McCutcheon is Black's refusal to play defense against 4.Bg5. Where the Classical French covers f6 with 4...Be7, McCutcheon players strike back with 4...Bb4, pinning the c3 knight and attacking e4 a second time. Black answers White's pin with a counterpin, meeting a kingside threat with a queenside counterattack rather than a concession. After the main sequence 5.e5 h6 6.Bd2 Bxc3 7.bxc3 Ne4, the battle lines are fixed: White holds the dark squares and the bishop pair, Black targets the doubled c-pawns and the c4 square.
White's plan is direct: Qg4 hits g7, the king slides to d1 or castles long, and every trade of minor pieces exposes the holes ...h6 and ...Bxc3 left behind. Black counters with ...c5, ...Qa5 and ...Nc6, sending the king queenside or leaving it in the center. Games are decided by tempo count: land the attack on g7 first and Black's structural wins never cash in, but reach an endgame and those c-pawns fall.
What Do Players Choose At The Decision Point?
| Move | Share | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Be7 | 52% | 301 | |
| dxe4 | 31% | 178 | |
| Bb4 | 10% | 59 | |
| h6 | 5% | 28 |
How Does Play Continue From Here?
| Move | Share | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|
| e5 | 79% | 48 | |
| a3 | 7% | 4 | |
| Bxf6 | 7% | 4 | |
| Ne2 | 3% | 2 |
The Named Lines Of The McCutcheon Variation
| Line | Moves |
|---|---|
| Advance Variation | 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Bb4 5.e5 |
| Wolf Gambit | 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Ne2 Nf6 5.Bg5 |
| Exchange Variation | 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Bb4 5.exd5 |
| Bernstein Variation | 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Bb4 5.e5 h6 6.Bh4 |
| Dr. Olland Variation | 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Bb4 5.e5 h6 6.Bc1 |
| Janowski Variation | 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Bb4 5.e5 h6 6.Be3 |
| Chigorin Variation | 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Bb4 5.e5 h6 6.exf6 |
| Lasker Variation | 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Bb4 5.e5 h6 6.Bd2 Bxc3 7.bxc3 Ne4 8.Qg4 g6 |
| Tartakower Variation | 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Bb4 5.e5 h6 6.Bd2 Nfd7 |
| Bogoljubow Variation | 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Bb4 5.exd5 Qxd5 6.Bxf6 gxf6 7.Qd2 Qa5 |
| Duras Variation | 1.e4 e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 Nf6 4.Bg5 Bb4 5.e5 h6 6.Bd2 Bxc3 7.bxc3 Ne4 8.Qg4 Kf8 9.Bc1 |
| Grigoriev Variation | 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Bb4 5.e5 h6 6.exf6 hxg5 7.fxg7 Rg8 8.h4 gxh4 9.Qg4 |