Colle System: Rhamphorhynchus Variation
1. Nf3 c5 2. e3 g6 3. d4 Bg7 4. dxc5 Qa5+
The Colle System: Rhamphorhynchus Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO A04, reached after 1. Nf3 c5 2. e3 g6 3. d4 Bg7 4. dxc5 Qa5+. It is a line of the Colle System. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 3 times by this move order. White won 100%, 0% were drawn and Black won 0%. The most popular continuation is 5. Bd2 (67% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.17 (Stockfish, depth 32; best line 5. Nbd2 Qxc5 6. c4 d6 7. Be2 Nf6)
- ECO
- A04
- Moves
- 8 plies
- FEN
rnb1k1nr/pp1pppbp/6p1/q1P5/8/4PN2/PPP2PPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 1 5- PGN
1. Nf3 c5 2. e3 g6 3. d4 Bg7 4. dxc5 Qa5+
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2000+ | 3 | |
| All | 3 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5. Bd2 | 2 (67%) | |
| 5. Nbd2 | 1 (33%) |
Master games
31 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 39%, draw 29%, Black 32%). The strongest:
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2736) – GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac (2625) 1-0 · Speed Chess Super Swiss · 2020-10-03
- GM Aleksej Aleksandrov (2563) – GM Igor Kovalenko (2643) 0-1 · Gipslis Memorial Blitz · 2021-02-13
- IM Faustino Oro (2537) – GM Jonas Buhl Bjerre (2626) 1/2-1/2 · 2nd 3-0 Thu 11th Jun 2026 · 2026-06-11
- GM Daniel Fridman (2581) – GM Sipke Ernst (2523) 1/2-1/2 · 2nd Bundesliga Nord 25-26 · 2026-02-07
- GM Christopher Woojin Yoo (2607) – IM Yoseph Theolifus Taher (2451) 1/2-1/2 · 3rd 3-0 Thu 23rd Jul 2026 · 2026-07-23
Search all games of the Colle System: Rhamphorhynchus Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- SM_junior (2603) – Logan-007 (2649) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- GM rookoco (2486) – VendettaXXL (2536) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- CaptainJeckSparrow7 (2417) – Enchnomad (2355) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Zukertort Opening: Sicilian Invitation 1. Nf3 c5
More Colle System lines (all)
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.