2.4K games from Lichess · Updated January 2026
At all ratings, the Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation, Neo-Modern Variation, Nyezhmetdinov Attack has a 53.0% expected score for White (we're 90% confident it's between 51.4% and 54.7%), based on 2.4K Lichess games.
Deep-dive datasets for this opening
Declines with rating: 60% → 31%
Best in Blitz (45%), worst in Bullet (24%)
Click any cell to filter. Green = above 50%, Red = below 50%.
| Rating | UB | Bulle | Blitz | Rapid | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-999 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1000-1199 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1200-1399 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1400-1599 | — | — | |||
| 1600-1799 | — | ||||
| 1800-1999 | — | ||||
| 2000-2199 | — | ||||
| 2200-2499 | — | ||||
| 2500+ | — |
Expected score matrix by rating bracket and time control
The Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation, Neo-Modern Variation, Nyezhmetdinov Attack has a 39.4% (90% CI: 37.8%-41.1%) win rate for white, based on 2.4K rated games from Lichess.
The Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation, Neo-Modern Variation, Nyezhmetdinov Attack performs best at 2200-2499 Elo with a 50.2% win rate for white (903 games). Win rate tends to decline at higher ratings as opponents know the theory better.
Blitz (45.2%) outperforms Bullet (23.9%) by 21.3%. Choose your time control wisely.
The Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation, Neo-Modern Variation, Nyezhmetdinov Attack has a sharpness score of 72.9 (drawish), meaning 72.9% of games end decisively. Average game length is 47 moves.
At 2000-2199 Elo, the Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation, Neo-Modern Variation, Nyezhmetdinov Attack has a 50.7% (90% CI: 42.9%-58.4%) win rate for white, based on 110 Lichess games. Average game length is 37 moves with a 9.4% draw rate.
At 2200-2499 Elo, the Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation, Neo-Modern Variation, Nyezhmetdinov Attack has a 50.2% (90% CI: 47.5%-53.0%) win rate for white, based on 903 Lichess games. Average game length is 39 moves with a 6.8% draw rate.
At 2500+ Elo, the Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation, Neo-Modern Variation, Nyezhmetdinov Attack has a 30.9% (90% CI: 28.8%-33.0%) win rate for white, based on 1.3K Lichess games. Average game length is 53 moves with a 43.3% draw rate.
In Bullet games, the Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation, Neo-Modern Variation, Nyezhmetdinov Attack has a 23.9% (90% CI: 21.0%-26.9%) win rate for white (553 Lichess games). Draw rate is 50.9%.
In Blitz games, the Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation, Neo-Modern Variation, Nyezhmetdinov Attack has a 45.2% (90% CI: 43.2%-47.2%) win rate for white (1.6K Lichess games). Draw rate is 18.0%.
In Rapid games, the Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation, Neo-Modern Variation, Nyezhmetdinov Attack has a 34.9% (90% CI: 29.0%-40.9%) win rate for white (172 Lichess games). Draw rate is 37.2%.
The Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation, Neo-Modern Variation, Nyezhmetdinov Attack is statistically balanced with a 39.4% (90% CI: 37.8%-41.1%) win rate across all ratings. It performs best at 2200-2499 Elo. Your results depend on your rating, time control, and how well you know the typical plans.