1031:, the Calcutta Chess Club as a group made one of the largest donations to the tournament's funds, and in addition its principal officers Cochrane and T.C. Morton made two of the largest personal contributions. During his second period in India Cochrane became known as the Father of the Calcutta Bar (local association of barristers). Staunton also published an incident in which Cochrane gave the whole of his fee for a case to a group of famine-stricken Indians
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103:. Cochrane is known for his dashing playing style – liberally sacrificing pieces and always attacking. His best-known opening innovations are generally regarded as dubious, although the Cochrane Gambit is still occasionally used as a surprise weapon in master chess. Commentators during his life and after his death expressed strong affection for him.
19:
622:, and in these games their scores were equal. Although Cochrane was annoyed with Staunton for under-representing Cochrane's wins in his chess articles, he helped Staunton to prepare for his second match against Saint-Amant, which Staunton won and therefore was for several years regarded as the world's strongest player.
1046:(1810–1876). He was a keen spectator at more serious contests and, as he was going deaf by this time, his comments on the play were often loud enough to be heard by players and amuse bystanders. He became known for his entertaining but always amiable conversation, and for the encouragement he gave to young players.
68:, which established Staunton as the world's leading player. Cochrane returned to India, where he became known as the "Father of the Calcutta Bar" (association of barristers) and a leading member of the Calcutta Chess Club; the Club and Cochrane personally both made significant financial contributions to the
986:
Even after
Cochrane returned to India, later in 1843, Staunton's articles and books continued to publish Cochrane's games, and contain most of the games by Cochrane that are still known about, whether played in England or India. It was Staunton who made British chess aware of how strong Cochrane was
80:. When he returned to the UK for good, Cochrane continued to practise law part-time, mainly in important cases that arose in India, and wrote articles and books about the law. By this time he was too old for serious chess competition but played many casual games with strong players.
1073:
described
Cochrane's approach to the game:"Mr. Cochrane is the most brilliant player I have ever had the honour to look over or confront; not even excepting De la Bourdonnais; and pity it is that his very brilliancy so often mars success." Cochrane was also a well-known
618:, who had been a schoolboy when Cochrane published his book. Staunton and Cochrane played at least 120 games on level terms, of which Staunton won about twice as many as Cochrane. Just before Cochrane's return to India, Staunton began to give him the odds of
606:, the London team obtained a winning position by following Cochrane's plan, but blundered after his departure. In India Cochrane became a successful and respected barrister, and also lost no opportunity to play chess with other expatriates and with Indians.
587:, who were acknowledged to be Europe's strongest players from 1800 to 1820 and from 1820 to 1840 respectively; his games against them may have been played between 1822 and 1824, but by the time of Cochrane's death commentators were unsure of the dates.
1042:. At the time of his death he was working on another law book. His enthusiasm for chess remained equally strong, although he restricted himself to casual games that typically lasted about 15 minutes – many of them with the veteran master
72:, which Staunton organised. Cochrane continued to play chess and to send games to the UK for publication, mostly in Staunton's columns. His two main opponents were Indians, and against one of them he made the first recorded use of the
609:
By the early 1840s
Cochrane had accumulated a lot of leave, and he spent 1841 to 1843 in the UK. Naturally he spent a lot of time at the top London chess clubs, where he beat almost everyone – including
1082:
were generally unsound, and only he could get away with playing them. However the
Cochrane Gambit still appears occasionally as a surprise weapon in serious competition, for example
1507:
Hindoo Law – Defence of the Daya Bhaga – Notice of the Case on
Prosoono Coomar Tagore's Will – Judgment of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council – Examination of Such Judgment
41:. While studying law, he became a very strong chess player and published a book on the game, which included the Cochrane variation of the Salvio Gambit, a main line of the
987:
at his peak, and described him as "Father of the
English Chess School". During the second part of Cochrane's career in India his main opponents were the Indian players
529:
While he was a student he first came to notice as a chess player. The first records of John
Cochrane as a chess-player are five games (−3 =1 +1) played receiving the
1038:
and writing legal treatises. His most important law book, the "Defence of the Daya Bhaga" (1872), was written in support of the native law of inheritance in
575:. However Cochrane's book contained significant amounts of his own analysis, including the Cochrane variation of the Salvio Gambit, a line in the
1058:
602:
team, which lasted from 1824 to 1828, and which the
Edinburgh team won. The best-known game of this match was the second, in which, according to
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50:
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127:
65:
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1034:
When
Cochrane returned to the UK for good, he continued to work part-time as a barrister, arguing several Indian appeals before the UK's
1665:
1122:
1035:
84:
1062:
1603:
1565:
1438:
122:
Cochrane was "a member of a distinguished
Scottish family of which the Earl of Dundonald was the head". He was probably the son of
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154:
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1685:
1070:
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1028:
69:
1521:
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1328:
1213:
1153:
542:
114:
1680:
1690:
1636:
1020:
123:
18:
1049:
Cochrane was one of the earliest notable British chess masters, his playing career beginning during those of
1406:
1383:
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988:
580:
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in 1848. Bannerjee's fondness for fianchettoed openings, as reported by Cochrane, eventually led to the
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1043:
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594:. Before he left, however, he took a leading part for the London team in the early stages of a
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42:
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A Treatise on the Game of Chess: Containing the Games on Odds, from the Traité des Amateurs
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73:
61:
1003:. Cochrane's first recorded use of the Cochrane Gambit against Petrov's Defence was in a
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30:
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614:, who was France's strongest player. However the rising star of British chess was
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64:, whom he then helped to prepare for his victorious match against the Frenchman
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135:
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34:
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Soon after qualifying as a barrister, Cochrane decided to make his career in
1549:
1527:
1483:
1336:
1221:
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599:
38:
524:). Position after 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 g5 4.Bc4 g4 5.Ne5 Qh4+ 6.Kf1 f3
153:
made promotion prospects poor, and Cochrane switched to a career as a
53:, who were acknowledged to be Europe's strongest players at the time.
1039:
1255:
Cochrane, John; Rio, Ercole del; Ponziani, Domenico Lorenzo (1822).
149:
to Britain in 1815. The downsizing of the Navy after the end of the
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1482:. London: T. Fisher Unwin. pp. 122–123. Archived from
1065:, and was a successful writer about the game in 1822, when
1451:
Internet Archive: The Chess Tournament, by Howard Staunton
1186:, No. 118 (6 April 1878), p. 1884, "Death of Mr. Cochrane"
1061:
before anyone had heard of the Frenchman's great opponent
1097:
is the method most often chosen by top-class players to
1446:
This can be viewed online at or downloaded as PDF from
1322:
1320:
1285:
1283:
1281:
1279:
1023:
and beating Cochrane in a game that opened with the
45:. Around this time he played against the Frenchmen
979:Position after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nxf7
60:, he returned to the UK and beat everyone except
626:
165:
126:, an army paymaster and merchant and the son of
29:(4 February 1798 – 2 March 1878) was a Scottish
1011:class of openings. Another game, published in
8:
579:. It is known that Cochrane played against
520:Cochrane's variation of the Salvio Gambit (
83:Cochrane is credited with discovering the
1271:cochrane Treatise on the Game of Chess.
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1027:. When Staunton organised the world's
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161:without first attending a university.
128:Thomas Cochrane, 8th Earl of Dundonald
1464:1851 london tournament book staunton.
1244:G. Walker, Chess studies, London 1844
1220:: 73–75. 1 April 1878. Archived from
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7:
1029:first international chess tournament
138:, and is said to have served aboard
70:first international chess tournament
1526:. London. p. x. Archived from
1160:: 217. 1 April 1878. Archived from
1078:, although his innovations in the
14:
1392:The City of London Chess Magazine
1019:shows Bannerjee playing with the
33:and lawyer. After serving in the
1509:. London: Wm. H. Allen & Co.
1327:Staunton. H. (19 January 1867).
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1057:(1787–1870). He played against
1025:King's Indian Four Pawns Attack
547:A Treatise on the Game of Chess
1184:Scientific American Supplement
1:
1595:The Oxford Companion to Chess
1017:City of London Chess Magazine
545:) in 1819. In 1822 published
56:After a long tour of duty in
1622:player profile and games at
1363:"The Mighty Cochrane Gambit"
1218:The Chess Player's Chronicle
130:. As a youth Cochrane was a
1633:The Legacy of John Cochrane
1333:The Illustrated London News
541:(operated, at the time, by
37:Cochrane chose to become a
1707:
1666:19th-century chess players
1479:Indian & Home Memories
1476:Cotton, Sir Henry (1910).
1261:. London: T. and J. Allman
549:, of which the section on
145:when the ship transported
110:
1448:Staunton, Howard (1852).
1414:Cite uses generic title (
1295:"Howard Staunton: part I"
1069:was a schoolboy. In 1844
157:, apparently joining the
117:to describe chess moves.
1554:Secrets of Rook Endings
1214:"The Late Mr. Cochrane"
1676:Scottish chess players
1384:William Norwood Potter
1299:British Chess Magazine
1158:The Westminster Papers
1013:William Norwood Potter
1005:game against Bannerjee
989:Moheschunder Bannerjee
23:
1671:British chess players
1598:. Oxford University.
1505:Cochrane, J. (1872).
1086:drew with it against
612:Pierre de Saint-Amant
21:
1433:. Hardinge Simpole.
1431:The Chess Tournament
1335:: 75. Archived from
596:correspondence match
1686:Chess theoreticians
1558:Gambit Publications
1520:Walker, G. (1844).
1063:Alexander McDonnell
1051:Jacob Henry Sarratt
1001:Shyamacharan Ghatak
556:Traité des Amateurs
99:against a rook and
1305:on 8 December 2007
1109:versus a rook and
1091:at Linares in 1999
1076:chess theoretician
147:Napoleon Bonaparte
115:algebraic notation
113:This section uses
24:
1293:(November 1908).
993:Saumchurn Guttack
972:
971:
553:was based on the
518:
517:
87:, a technique to
1698:
1681:Scottish lawyers
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1301:. Archived from
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1171:
1169:
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1123:Cochrane Defense
1095:Cochrane Defense
1088:Vladimir Kramnik
1053:(1772–1819) and
1044:Johann Löwenthal
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85:Cochrane Defense
78:Petrov's Defence
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1699:
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1696:
1695:
1691:Cochrane family
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1359:
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1342:
1340:
1329:"John Cochrane"
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1167:
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1154:"John Cochrane"
1152:
1151:
1136:
1131:
1119:
1084:Veselin Topalov
1067:Howard Staunton
984:
983:
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981:
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976:Cochrane Gambit
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604:Howard Staunton
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151:Napoleonic Wars
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74:Cochrane Gambit
62:Howard Staunton
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1644:
1643:
1629:Minev, Nikolay
1626:
1624:Chessgames.com
1615:
1614:External links
1612:
1611:
1610:
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1590:Whyld, Kenneth
1580:
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1386:, ed. (1874).
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1009:Indian defence
995:also known as
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91:the difficult
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1641:Chesscafe.com
1638:
1634:
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1625:
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1620:John Cochrane
1618:
1617:
1613:
1607:
1605:0-19-280049-3
1601:
1597:
1596:
1591:
1587:
1586:Hooper, David
1583:
1582:
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1567:1-901983-18-8
1563:
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1542:
1530:on 9 May 2007
1529:
1525:
1524:
1523:Chess Studies
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1486:on 9 May 2007
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1440:1-84382-089-7
1436:
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1429:Staunton, H.
1425:
1422:
1417:
1408:
1407:cite magazine
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1361:Ginsburg, M.
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1355:
1351:
1339:on 9 May 2007
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1224:on 9 May 2007
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1164:on 9 May 2007
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1656:1798 births
1454:. H.G. Bohn
1388:"(unknown)"
598:against an
142:Bellerophon
66:Saint-Amant
1650:Categories
1579:References
1550:Nunn, John
1234:(obituary)
1174:(obituary)
997:Somacarana
136:Royal Navy
132:midshipman
35:Royal Navy
600:Edinburgh
155:barrister
107:Biography
39:barrister
1631:(2005).
1592:(1996).
1552:(1999).
1117:See also
1080:openings
538:The Turk
76:against
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1458:19 June
1397:21 July
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1103:endgame
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565:Bernard
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134:in the
93:endgame
1602:
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1093:. The
1040:Bengal
543:Mouret
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1129:Notes
592:India
573:Leger
535:from
58:India
1600:ISBN
1562:ISBN
1536:2008
1492:2008
1460:2008
1435:ISBN
1416:help
1399:2008
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1170:2008
1107:rook
1099:draw
991:and
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140:HMS
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