Sicilian Defense: Nyezhmetdinov-Rossolimo Attack, Fianchetto Variation, Gufeld Gambit
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. O-O Bg7 5. c3 e5 6. d4
The Sicilian Defense: Nyezhmetdinov-Rossolimo Attack, Fianchetto Variation, Gufeld Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO B31, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. O-O Bg7 5. c3 e5 6. d4. It is a line of the Sicilian Defense. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 70 times by this move order. White won 56%, 5% were drawn and Black won 39%. The most popular continuation is 6… cxd4 (76% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.20 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 6… cxd4 7. cxd4 exd4 8. Bf4 a6 9. Ba4)
- ECO
- B31
- Moves
- 11 plies
- FEN
r1bqk1nr/pp1p1pbp/2n3p1/1Bp1p3/3PP3/2P2N2/PP3PPP/RNBQ1RK1 b kq - 0 6- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. O-O Bg7 5. c3 e5 6. d4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1 | |
| 1500-1999 | 18 | |
| 2000+ | 51 | |
| All | 70 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6… cxd4 | 53 (76%) | |
| 6… exd4 | 17 (24%) |
Master games
617 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 53%, draw 20%, Black 27%). The strongest:
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2828) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2863) 1/2-1/2 · 8th Norway Chess 2020 · 2020-10-12
- GM Alireza Firouzja (2760) – GM Fabiano Caruana (2803) 1-0 · Chessable Masters Winners · 2025-02-18
- GM Viswanathan Anand (2751) – GM Hao Wang (2744) 1-0 · 10th Norway Armageddon · 2022-06-02
- GM So, W. (2778) – GM Vladimir Fedoseev (2704) 1-0 · Chess.com Rapid Wk5 Swiss · 2022-03-12
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2812) – GM Vladimir Fedoseev (2664) 1-0 · FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss · 2019-10-15
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Vnebo (2667) – ana_7azeen (2470) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- ex-champion (2537) – very_slow (2539) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- IM German308 (2535) – Sawa-169 (2507) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Nyezhmetdinov-Rossolimo Attack, Fianchetto Variation 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6
More Sicilian Defense lines (all)
- Sicilian Defense (1. e4 c5) B20
- Sicilian Defense: Amazon Attack B20
- Sicilian Defense: Big Clamp Formation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Bowdler Attack B20
- Sicilian Defense: Brick Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Czerniak Attack B20
- Sicilian Defense: Czerniak Attack, Queen Fianchetto Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Euwe Attack, Prins Gambit B20
- Sicilian Defense: Gloria Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Grob Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Keres Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: King David's Opening B20
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.