Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation, Modern Variation (6… Bd7 7. Qd2)
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bg5 Bd7 7. Qd2
The Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation, Modern Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B61, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bg5 Bd7 7. Qd2. 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 26 times by this move order. White won 42%, 8% were drawn and Black won 50%. The most popular continuation is 7… Rc8 (58% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.48 (Stockfish, depth 40; best line 7… a6 8. O-O-O e6 9. f3 Nxd4 10. Qxd4)
- ECO
- B61
- Moves
- 13 plies
- FEN
r2qkb1r/pp1bpppp/2np1n2/6B1/3NP3/2N5/PPPQ1PPP/R3KB1R b KQkq - 3 7- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bg5 Bd7 7. Qd2
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 3 | |
| 2000+ | 23 | |
| All | 26 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7… Rc8 | 15 (58%) | |
| 7… Nxd4 | 4 (15%) | |
| 7… e6 | 4 (15%) | |
| 7… a6 | 3 (12%) |
Master games
578 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 38%, draw 22%, Black 40%). The strongest:
- GM Sergey Karjakin (2779) – GM Alexander Morozevich (2770) 1/2-1/2 · World Blitz Final · 2012-07-09
- GM Aryan Tari (2633) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2863) 0-1 · 8th Norway Chess 2020 · 2020-10-07
- GM Liren Ding (2777) – GM Xiangzhi Bu (2719) 1-0 · TCh-CHN 2016 · 2016-09-26
- GM Yi Wei (2748) – GM Levon Aronian (2742) 1-0 · CHN YanChen GM Rapid · 2025-07-06
- GM Santosh Gujrathi Vidit (2731) – GM Yangyi Yu (2729) 0-1 · Armageddon Asia&Oceania L · 2023-04-05
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Ante373 (2666) – CM misha111228 (2636) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- chessgrandfather1975 (2610) – Lmkt (2666) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- FNENAD (2557) – Dziczkacy (2653) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Open (4. Nxd4 Nf6) 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6
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.