In the recently introduced flamelet-generated manifold (FGM) method the ideas of the manifold and the flamelet approach are combined: a manifold is constructed using one-dimensional flamelets. In this paper the effect of flame stretch on theaccuracy of the FGM method is investigated. In order to isolate the effect of flame stretch, premixed methane/air counterflow flames are simulated. In the case of unit Lewis numbers a one-dimensional manifold is sufficient to model the main effects of flame stretch. A manifold with two progress variables reproduces the results computed using detailed kinetics almost exactly. When non-unit Lewis numbersare used, the enthalpy and element composition of the burnt mixture change, which may influence the mass...