McCutcheon Variation

The McCutcheon Variation arises in the Classical French after 4. Bg5. White threatens 5. e5, and Black, rather than answering with 4...Be7 or 4...dxe4, ignores the threat and counterattacks with 4...Bb4, pinning the c3-knight. White nearly always pushes 5. e5 regardless, and Black replies 5...h6 to question the g5-bishop. The main line runs 6. Bd2 Bxc3 7. bxc3 Ne4 8. Qg4, where Black chooses between 8...g6, which loosens the dark squares near the king but keeps queenside castling available, and 8...Kf8. White can instead retreat with 6. Bh4, the Bernstein Variation, or 6. Be3, the Janowski, or carry out the threat with 6. exf6 hxg5 7. fxg7 Rg8, the more forcing Chigorin Variation. Less frequent fifth moves are 5. Ne2, the Wolf Gambit, 5. exd5 and 5. Bxf6.

The line is named after John Lindsay McCutcheon of Philadelphia, who used it to defeat Steinitz in an 1885 simultaneous exhibition in New York. It was most popular between 1905 and 1925, then largely disappeared before a revival around 1990. Engines give White a slight edge, while Lichess results are close to even, with Black marginally ahead.