C44

Scotch Game: Scotch Gambit, Cochrane-Anderssen Variation

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Statistics from Lichess

195,615 games: White 41.7% / Draw 3.7% / Black 54.6%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	124,129124K
	23,30223K
	20,11520K
	13,42413K
	5,0825,082
	2,1612,161
	2,0422,042
	1,2111,211

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 6, 2026

Engine evaluation

−0.26 The position is about equal

Best play: 7. Qb3 Bxf3 8. Bxf7+ Kf8 9. gxf3 Nf6 10. Bd5 Nxd5 11. exd5 Ne5

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

By rating

Rating changes little here: Black scores 55% under 1400, 57% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	33K
1400–1799	132K
1800–2199	107K
2200 and up	6,656
Masters, over the board	42

Master games

Ponkratov, P. – Goryachkina, A. ½–½, 2021
Winckelmann, T. – Schön, W. 0–1, 2005
Fawzy, A. – Amin, B. 0–1, 2019
Blatny, P. – Krasenkow, M. ½–½, 1994
Pap, M. – Brkic, A. 0–1, 2012

Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 27, 2026

Overview

Scotch Game: Scotch Gambit, Cochrane-Anderssen Variation (ECO C44, Open Games) is a gambit in the Scotch Game: Haxo Gambit, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Bc5 5. O-O d6 6. c3 Bg4 (6 moves).

In 195,615 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 41.7%, Black 54.6% and 3.7% were drawn. White's most played move here is 7. cxd4, in 63% of those games.

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Description

How to play against the Scotch Game: Scotch Gambit, Cochrane-Anderssen Variation

7. Qb3 scores best for White: 54.7%, with White winning 52.5% and Black 43.2% of 20K games. The most played answer, 7. cxd4, scores lowest: 41.6% in 124K games. Stockfish's first choice is also 7. Qb3.

Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings

Popularity by year

The Scotch Game: Scotch Gambit, Cochrane-Anderssen Variation has gained ground since 2016: 0.0077% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.0054%.

0.0054%0.0077%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.0054%	1,937
2017	0.006%	3,295
2018	0.0067%	5,226
2019	0.0071%	8,915
2020	0.0074%	21,540
2021	0.0078%	30,560
2022	0.0078%	29,375
2023	0.0078%	29,349
2024	0.0078%	27,914
2025	0.0077%	26,746
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.0073%	8,008

Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Scotch Game: Scotch Gambit, Cochrane-Anderssen Variation (C44)”. Lichess data as of 6 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/scotch-game-scotch-gambit-cochrane-anderssen-variation