3/2/2015 – Wilhelm Steinitz was proud on his defensive skills but they did not help him when he faced the McCutcheon variation in the French Defence for the first time. One example that shows how dangerous the whole line is for White. Rustam Kasimdzhanov has many more and more modern examples to offer - and an exciting repertoire for players who like to play for a win.
Your personal chess trainer. Your toughest opponent. Your strongest ally. FRITZ 20 is more than just a chess engine – it is a training revolution for ambitious players and professionals. Whether you are taking your first steps into the world of serious chess training, or already playing at tournament level, FRITZ 20 will help you train more efficiently, intelligently and individually than ever before.
Winning starts with what you know The new version 18 offers completely new possibilities for chess training and analysis: playing style analysis, search for strategic themes, access to 6 billion Lichess games, player preparation by matching Lichess games, download Chess.com games with built-in API, built-in cloud engine and much more.
The ChessBase Mega Database 2025 is the premiere chess database with over 11 million games from
1475 to 2024
€229.90
Rustam Kasimdzhanov: The new McCutcheon - A Review
By GM Hedinn Steingrimsson
The McCutcheon Variation is named after John Lindsay McCutcheon, who after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 played the new move 4…Bb4 and won convincingly against World Champion Wilhelm Steinitz, in a simul in New York back in 1885. It is a sharp, counterattacking variation, which often leads to unbalanced positions with chances for both sides. In recent times, it has been chosen by combative players, who are willing to take some risk like GM Nepomniachtchi, GM Pons Vallejo and GM Nakamura.
Former FIDE-World Champion GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov plays for the OSG Baden Baden in the Bundesliga and is the top player of Uzbekistan. Apart from his success over the board, he also worked successfully as a coach and opening theoretician. He was one of Anand’s seconds in two World Championship matches and with his ideas in the Meran variation he contributed substantially to Anand’s win over Kramnik in their World Championship in Bonn 2008.
In this DVD, GM Kasimdzhanov presents a complete repertoire for black, based on the McCutcheon variation in the French Defense. The McCutcheon is a comparably little explored opening and in some cases a sound path for black had yet to be established. As an example, in the rare line 5.e5 h6 6.Bh4 g5 7.Bg3 line, black needs to be very careful and find sufficient counter play quickly, because white threatens to create long-term weaknesses on the black kingside with h4. The Russian GM Sergey Volkov, one of the main specialists in the McCutcheon, recently lost a game after choosing one of the continuations which Kasimdzhanov thinks are less favorable here for black.
But Kasimdzhanov manages to find decent, sometimes rarely played, options for black in this and other lines. He has an excellent feel for the initiative and his recommendations usually lead to comparably safe positions for black. However, he usually does not go into much detail in his analysis, preferring to point out the right direction, the main ideas and plans, which options he considers to be playable and what you should avoid. He leaves it to the audience to figure out the details.
Wilhelm Steinitz - First victim of the McCutcheon variation (Photo: Wikipedia)
But it helps that Kasimdzhanov’s assessments are usually right. And even though he presents a repertoire for Black, he is neutral in his assessments. Thus, this DVD is also very useful if you play against the McCutcheon with White. In fact, in one of the key games of the DVD, played at the Olympiad 2014, we see Kasimdzhanov playing with White against GM David Smerdon from Australia.
A position that gives black chances to unbalance the game and play for a win
The McCutcheon suits GM Kasimdzhanov’s active style and his thoughts on the different lines are of high quality and he shows a large amount of original analysis. The line he recommends resembles the strategically risky and offbeat counterattacking variation in the Meran, with which Anand won two games against Kramnik in the World Championship match mentioned above, and which Kasimdzhanov analysed to perfection. In both cases White cannot rely on general principles and is forced to dive into concrete and sharp variations with ample chances to go wrong.
It would not be surprising if the McCutcheon gets more popular after this DVD is out, because Kasimdzhanov’s shows the pitfalls and sheds light on the dark, unexplored corners of the variation. At least on some of the unexplored corners, leaving the viewers ample room for own research.
I can recommend this DVD to players who prefer to play unbalanced positions with chances for both sides. Kasimdzhanov’s presentation and analyses are well accessible to club players but professionals will without doubt also benefit from them. If you play the French the McCutcheon is an excellent way to expand your repertoire with a sharp variation, which gives Black good chances to fight for the full point. Rustam Kasimdzhanov shows the way.
Sample video
Rustam Kasimdzhanov: The new McCutcheon
• Video running time: 4 hours 42 minutes
• With interactive training including video feedback
• Full analysis of the variation by Kasimdzhanov
• Exclusive database with 78 Grandmaster games
• Including CB 12 Reader
€29.90
€25.13 without VAT (for Customers outside the EU)
$28.52 (without VAT)
This DVD can be purchased as a hard copy or it can be downloaded directly from the Internet.
In this insightful video course, Grandmaster David Navara shares practical advice on when to calculate deeply in a position — and just as importantly, when not to.
The Trompowsky is especially suited for faster time controls as you don‘t have to memorise endless lines of theory, and you push your opponent out of their comfort zone after your second move.
Trompowsky Powerbook 2025 is based on 53,000 computer games from the engine room of playchess.com as well as 49,000 games from Mega and correspondence chess.
Trompowsky Powerbase 2025 is a database and contains a total of 8727 games from Mega 2025 and the Correspondence Database 2024, of which 316 are annotated.
2025 European Championship with a German double victory and analyses by Bluebaum, Svane, Rodshtein, Yuffa, Navara and many more. Opening videos by Engel, King and Marin. Training sections “The Fortress”, “The Trap” and “Fundamental Endgame Knowledge" etc.
In this dynamic and practical video course, IM Andrew Martin arms you with powerful antidotes to White’s most annoying sidelines.
€34.90
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, analysis cookies and marketing cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies. Here you can make detailed settings or revoke your consent (if necessary partially) with effect for the future. Further information can be found in our data protection declaration.
Pop-up for detailed settings
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies, analysis cookies and marketing cookies. You can decide which cookies to use by selecting the appropriate options below. Please note that your selection may affect the functionality of the service. Further information can be found in our privacy policy.
Technically required cookies
Technically required cookies: so that you can navigate and use the basic functions and store preferences.
Analysis Cookies
To help us determine how visitors interact with our website to improve the user experience.
Marketing-Cookies
To help us offer and evaluate relevant content and interesting and appropriate advertisement.