Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation, Exchange Variation
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Nxc6
The Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation, Exchange 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. Nxc6. 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 16 times by this move order. White won 31%, 0% were drawn and Black won 69%. The most popular continuation is 7… bxc6 (100% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 36; best line 7… bxc6 8. Qf3 Be7 9. O-O-O e5 10. Qg3)
- ECO
- B62
- Moves
- 13 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/pp3ppp/2Nppn2/6B1/4P3/2N5/PPP2PPP/R2QKB1R b KQkq - 0 7- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Nxc6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 2 | |
| 1500-1999 | 5 | |
| 2000+ | 9 | |
| All | 16 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7… bxc6 | 16 (100%) |
Master games
20 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 30%, draw 5%, Black 65%). The strongest:
- GM Ante Brkic (2579) – IM Artiom Stribuk (2506) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 25th Nov 2025 · 2025-11-25
- FM Attila Jr. Forgacs (2259) – GM Pouya Idani (2633) 0-1 · Titled Tue 21st Mar Early · 2023-03-21
- CM Vladimir Mikhailovsky (2184) – GM Rinat Jumabayev (2628) 1-0 · Titled Tue 3rd May Early · 2022-05-03
- CM Mrithyunjay Mahadevan (2017) – GM Etienne Bacrot (2677) 0-1 · Titled Tue 2nd Jul Early · 2024-07-02
- WFM Nguyen Hong Nhung (2003) – GM Dmitrij Kollars (2606) 0-1 · Titled Tue 14th Feb Early · 2023-02-14
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Andrey0206 (2432) – Gero2003 (2404) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 2s
- AlbertaGenuineDraft (2294) – ERjungle49 (2355) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 300 + 0s
- nemogcster (2292) – Agent_Grey_Cat-13705 (2295) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 300 + 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.