Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation, Podebrady Variation
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Nb3
The Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation, Podebrady Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B62, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Nb3. 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 4 times by this move order. White won 50%, 0% were drawn and Black won 50%. The most popular continuation is 7… a6 (75% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 33; best line 7… a6 8. Qf3 Be7 9. O-O-O Qc7 10. Qg3)
- ECO
- B62
- Moves
- 13 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/pp3ppp/2nppn2/6B1/4P3/1NN5/PPP2PPP/R2QKB1R b KQkq - 1 7- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Nb3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2000+ | 4 | |
| All | 4 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7… a6 | 3 (75%) | |
| 7… Be7 | 1 (25%) |
Master games
5 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 20%, draw 40%, Black 40%). The strongest:
- Dhananjay S (2199) – GM M.R. Venkatesh (2484) 0-1 · 53rd ch-IND Challengers · 2015-08-18
- IM Karina Ambartsumova (2393) – FM Mikhail Chernov (2205) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 11th Apr Early · 2023-04-11
- CM Vahan Nalbandyan (2155) – FM Ivan Povshednyi (2291) 0-1 · Titled Tue 29th Apr Late · 2025-04-29
- CM Jonathan Pein (2252) – WFM Daria Zaichenko (2104) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 6th Dec Early · 2022-12-06
- Denis O. Danilenko (2011) – Jaroslaw Lebzak (2043) 1-0 · Lozovatsky Mem A 2022 · 2022-01-25
Highest-rated Lichess games
- BlackBond (2490) – Brokjes (2322) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- Fortune59 (2296) – rinatfazylov475 (2305) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 300 + 0s
- Fortune59 (2254) – rinatfazylov475 (2263) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 300 + 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.