Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation (6… e6 7. Qd3)
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd3
The Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B62, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd3. 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 42 times by this move order. White won 38%, 5% were drawn and Black won 57%. The most popular continuation is 7… Be7 (40% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.28 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 7… Be7 8. O-O-O O-O 9. f4 Nxd4 10. Qxd4)
- ECO
- B62
- Moves
- 13 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/pp3ppp/2nppn2/6B1/3NP3/2NQ4/PPP2PPP/R3KB1R b KQkq - 1 7- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 2 | |
| 2000+ | 40 | |
| All | 42 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7… Be7 | 17 (40%) | |
| 7… a6 | 11 (26%) | |
| 7… Bd7 | 10 (24%) | |
| 7… Nb4 | 1 (2%) | |
| 7… Qb6 | 1 (2%) | |
| 7… h6 | 1 (2%) | |
| 7… Ne5 | 1 (2%) |
Master games
938 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 47%, draw 21%, Black 32%). The strongest:
- rofChade 2.303 (3661) – Stockfish 202005232210 (3796) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 18 Premier 2020 · 2020-05-30
- Stockfish 202005232210 (3796) – rofChade 2.303 (3661) 1-0 · TCEC 18 Premier 2020 · 2020-05-26
- Stockfish 202008260719_nn-82215d0fd0df (3551) – Fire 8_beta (3457) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 19 Premier 2020 · 2020-09-26
- Fire 8_beta (3457) – Stockfish 202008260719_nn-82215d0fd0df (3551) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 19 Premier 2020 · 2020-09-22
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2804) – GM Sam Shankland (2674) 1-0 · Titled Tue 13th Feb Late · 2024-02-13
Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Nana_jede_cevape (2859) – vwemby (2575) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- El_Banditoff (2751) – atsaynm (2645) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- T-80BVM (2668) – Fide_MaSk (2664) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation (6. Bg5 e6) 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 e6
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.