Richter-Veresov Attack: Boyce Defense
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Bg5 Ne4
The Richter-Veresov Attack: Boyce Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO D01, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Bg5 Ne4. It is a line of the Richter-Veresov Attack. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 272 times by this move order. White won 54%, 6% were drawn and Black won 40%. The most popular continuation is 4. Nxe4 (92% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.55 (Stockfish, depth 34; best line 4. Nxe4 dxe4 5. e3 Bf5 6. Ne2 c6)
- ECO
- D01
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/ppp1pppp/8/3p2B1/3Pn3/2N5/PPP1PPPP/R2QKBNR w KQkq - 2 4- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Bg5 Ne4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 47 | |
| 1500-1999 | 115 | |
| 2000+ | 110 | |
| All | 272 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. Nxe4 | 249 (92%) | |
| 4. Bf4 | 6 (2%) | |
| 4. Nf3 | 4 (1%) | |
| 4. e3 | 3 (1%) | |
| 4. Bh4 | 3 (1%) | |
| 4. Qd2 | 2 (1%) | |
| 4. Bd2 | 1 (0%) | |
| 4. Be3 | 1 (0%) |
Master games
61 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 56%, draw 13%, Black 31%). The strongest:
- GM Denes Boros (2402) – FM Dmitry Petukhov (2350) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 14th Feb Early · 2023-02-14
- GM Melikset Khachiyan (2446) – FM Harilos Karabalis (2252) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tuesday 1st Feb A · 2022-02-01
- FM Olzhas Khamzin (2301) – IM Rakesh Kulkarni (2321) 0-1 · Titled Tue 22nd Mar Early · 2022-03-22
- IM Alexey Kornyukov (2452) – FM Evgeniy Burmakin (2166) 0-1 · Titled Tue 9th Jan Early · 2024-01-09
- GM Ramil Hasangatin (2479) – FM Aisen Mestnikov (2101) 1-0 · Titled Tue 24th May Early · 2022-05-24
Search all games of the Richter-Veresov Attack: Boyce Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- petergo (2481) – The_Fastest_Hand (2577) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- sokolovev77 (2426) – bearpoet (2570) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 2s
- fedyaivanov (2407) – VersneldeDraak (2406) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Richter-Veresov Attack (2… d5 3. Bg5) 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Bg5
More Richter-Veresov Attack 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.