Scandinavian Defense: Richter Variation (3. d4 g6)
1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 g6
The Scandinavian Defense: Richter Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B01, reached after 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 g6. It is a line of the Scandinavian Defense. White is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 137 times by this move order. White won 52%, 4% were drawn and Black won 44%. The most popular continuation is 4. c4 (41% of games).
Engine evaluation: +1.03 (Stockfish, depth 34; best line 4. c4 Bg7 5. Nc3 O-O 6. Nf3 Bg4)
- ECO
- B01
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/ppp1pp1p/5np1/3P4/3P4/8/PPP2PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 g6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 19 | |
| 1500-1999 | 97 | |
| 2000+ | 21 | |
| All | 137 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. c4 | 56 (41%) | |
| 4. Nf3 | 50 (36%) | |
| 4. Nc3 | 17 (12%) | |
| 4. c3 | 6 (4%) | |
| 4. Bg5 | 3 (2%) | |
| 4. h3 | 2 (1%) | |
| 4. Bd3 | 2 (1%) | |
| 4. d6 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
10 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 40%, draw 0%, Black 60%). The strongest:
- FM Georg Halvax (2331) – Martin Baierlein (2036) 0-1 · Styrian Open 2015 · 2015-08-29
- CM Hui Li (1967) – FM Viktor Berezin (2307) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 18th Jan · 2022-01-18
- Boris Pogorelskiy (2065) – FM Bakhyt Temirov (2079) 1-0 · 37th Czech Rapid G1 2026 · 2026-07-23
- Jijo Joy (1969) – David J. Rueda Marquez (2110) 1-0 · 41st Barbera Open 2018 · 2018-07-10
- Ali Tutuncu (1811) – Tutku Kahraman Marasli (2149) 0-1 · TCh-TUR 2nd League 2023 · 2023-07-10
Search all games of the Scandinavian Defense: Richter Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- unbelievetab1e (2297) – Grzesiek1123 (2301) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 2s
- AlbertaGenuineDraft (2292) – boran65 (2176) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 300 + 0s
- ALEKSANDR19791979 (2203) – saif20 (2243) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Scandinavian Defense: Modern Variation (2… Nf6 3. d4) 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4
Continuations
- Scandinavian Defense: Modern Variation, Wing Gambit B01 · 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 g6 4. c4 b5
More Scandinavian Defense lines (all)
- Scandinavian Defense (1. e4 d5) B01
- Scandinavian Defense (1… d5 2. b3) B01
- Scandinavian Defense: Anderssen Counterattack B01
- Scandinavian Defense: Anderssen Counterattack, Collijn Variation B01
- Scandinavian Defense: Anderssen Counterattack, Goteborg System B01
- Scandinavian Defense: Anderssen Counterattack, Orthodox Attack B01
- Scandinavian Defense: Blackburne Gambit B01
- Scandinavian Defense: Blackburne-Kloosterboer Gambit B01
- Scandinavian Defense: Boehnke Gambit B01
- Scandinavian Defense: Bronstein Variation B01
- Scandinavian Defense: Classical Variation B01
- Scandinavian Defense: Grünfeld Variation B01
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.