Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e6/2. d4/2...d5/3. Nc3/3...Nf6/4. Bg5/4...Bb4

The McCutcheon variation first became well-known as the result of an 1885 simultaneous exhibition game played in New York by World Champion Steinitz as White against John Lindsay McCutcheon, a lawyer from Pennsylvania. McCutcheon won convincingly in just 28 moves, and thus brought attention to the variation. It is still (2024) considered to be a completely sound defense for Black. There is no record of a previous game with this variation, so it is possible (though impossible to prove) that McCutcheon created a true novelty.