John Cochrane (1798 - 1878), was a Scottish chess master and lawyer. An amateur player, he was the epitome of the early romantic phase of chess history.
Cochrane is the eponym of the Cochrane Gambit, a variation of the Petroff Defence with the moves (in algebraic notation) 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nxf7.
Chronology
- 1821 Visited Paris where he was beaten by Deschapelles and Bourdonnais
- 1822 Published A Treatise on the Game of Chess. Joined the bar.
- 1824 Played on the London team in a correspondence chess match against Edinburgh. Made the Scotch Gambit fashionable.
- 1841-3 Played hundreds of casual games with Howard Staunton
- 1869 Retired from practicing law.
References The Oxford Companion to Chess, 2nd Ed., by David Hooper and Kenneth Whyld. 1992 page 83
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