Playing the Sveshnikov

By

Milos Pavlovic

Quality Chess
www.qualitychess.co.uk
 First edition 2023 by Quality Chess UK Ltd

Copyright © 2023 Milos Pavlovic

PLAYING THE SVESHNIKOV

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 Contents
Key to Symbols Used & Bibliography 4
Preface 5
Introduction 6

9.¥xf6 gxf6 10.¤d5 f5

1 Opposite-Bishops Variation 11
2 15.£h5 & 15.¦e1 43
3 11.¥d3 ¥e6 – Other Lines 91
4 The Popular 11.c3 117
5 11.g3 & Others 149

10...¥g7
6 10...¥g7 Lines with c2-c3 179
7 Main Line with 14.c4 207

9.¤d5
8 Positional System – 11.c3 237
9 Positional System – 11.c4 257
10 8.¤a3 b5 273

Other Lines
11 The Trendy 7.¤d5 293
12 Early Sveshnikov Sidelines 331
13 Bonus Chapter – 3.¤c3 & 3.¥b5 341

Variation Index 356

166 9.¥xf6 gxf6 10.¤d5 f5

C) 11.¤xb5 axb5 12.¥xb5 After 13.exf5 White has good chances. The
 position is almost the same as in variation B2
of Chapter 3, except that the moves c2-c3 and
Ç  ...¥g7 have not been played. Transpositions
Æ   are possible, but White has some additional
possibilities such as a2-a4 followed by ¦a3 and
Å    lifting the rook to the kingside.
Ä 
à    13.exf5

Â     
Á  Ç  
À   Æ 
ÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏ Å   
This line became well known after Bronstein Ä 
played it twice in the late 1970s, although à    
a few other players tried it before him. It
subsequently became popular in the eighties. Â    
There is an obvious resemblance to the topical Á 
13.¤xb5 variation, as covered in variation B2
of Chapter 3 on page 105, which is a refinement
À  
of the present line. You should be happy to ÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏ
meet the present variant, as long as you know 13...¦a5!?
the best reply. White will get three pawns and The possibility of sacrificing an exchange for
knight on d5 is strong, so it’s important to the initiative makes this an attractive practical
know how to diminish this early initiative. I choice.
first analysed this variation in the eighties, by
which time my recommended antidote had 13...¦c8 14.c3 ¥g7 is an engine suggestion
been discovered. Since then, the whole line has which is sensible enough, and has scored well
almost entirely disappeared from tournament for Black in practice.
practice at grandmaster level.
13...¥h6!?N is another good option, with
12...¥b7! 14.£h5 ¦a5! a key point. If I was playing a
The bishop is perfectly placed here, for correspondence game, I might lean towards
reasons that will become clear. That’s why one of these engine-approved continuations.
nowadays White prefers to sacrifice on b5 only However, the text move is fully sound and
after the bishop has committed to e6, as we from a practical perspective I like the idea of
saw in Chapter 3. returning some material in order to fight for
the initiative ourselves.
12...¥d7?! has actually been the most popular
choice, and there are lots of examples of it from 14.a4
recent years, indicating that many players either Rushing with the pawn is the natural and
forgot or never learned about the best antidote. best choice.
 Chapter 5 – 11.g3 & Others 167

14.£e2 is never played, as it places the queen Black was successful with 15...¦xb5?!
on a vulnerable square. 14...¥h6 15.b4 0–0! 16.£xb5 ¥a8 in Efimov – Eljanov, Ohrid
16.c3 (16.bxa5? ¤d4 17.£g4† ¢h8 gives us a 2001, but White can claim a slight edge at
crushing attack; 16.¥xc6? ¥xc6 is also horrible this stage.
for White.) 16...¤a7! (16...¦xb5!? 17.£xb5 16.f6
£a8 also looks tempting.) 17.bxa5 ¥xd5 The The queen sacrifice 16.¥xc6!?N ¦c5
position is messy, but our active minor pieces 17.£xc5 dxc5 18.¥xb7 does not quite work,
should prove more effective than White’s rook because 18...£d7! exploits White’s poor
and pawns. coordination. After the further 19.¥a8 £a4
20.f6 ¥h6 21.¦d1 (21.¥b7 doesn’t help in
14.£d3 view of 21...£b5 [21...£e4† is a powerful
This is more logical than the line above, but alternative] 22.¥c8 £c6 when we pick up
it still doesn’t solve White’s problems. a piece anyway.) 21...£xa8 22.0–0 ¦g8,
14...¥g7 White does not have enough compensation.
14...¥h6?! 15.b4! is a bit annoying. Nevertheless, in view of the improvement
 we are about to see, this may be White’s best
Ç    chance to prolong the game.
The text move has been played in a couple
Æ  of correspondence games. Although Black
Å    achieved good results, we have a thunderous
Ä  improvement available.
à     
Â    Ç    
Á  Æ 
À    Å   
ÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏ Ä  
15.£c4 Ã   
15.b4 ¦a8 gave Black somewhat better
chances in Droessler – Norchenko, corr.
Â    
2013. We may have lost time with the rook, Á 
but b2-b4 has destabilized White’s position. À   
Also, compared with the analogous lines ÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏ
from Chapter 3, our bishop has a brighter 16...¤d4!!N
future on b7 than on d7. The natural 16...¥xf6 was played in both
After 15.b4, Black can also try: 15...e4!?N games, and after 17.¤xf6 (17.¥xc6 ¦c5
16.£xe4† ¢f8 17.bxa5 £xa5† 18.¢d1 also favoured Black in Lindam – Mason,
¥xa1 19.¥xc6 ¥xc6 20.£e7† ¢g8 21.£g5† corr. 2003) 17...£xf6 18.¥xc6 ¦c5 Black
¢f8 is an interesting line which results in went on to win in Gonzalez Diaz – Philippe,
a draw, but we can and should play more Paris 2005. The text move is much stronger
ambitiously. though.
15...¢f8! 17.fxg7† ¢xg7 18.a4
A clever way to defend c6 indirectly.
168 9.¥xf6 gxf6 10.¤d5 f5

 – Goetz, Zirndorf 1985; 17.c3? ¥xe3 18.fxe3

Ç     £h4† 19.g3 £e4 also left White without a
Æ  good defence in Staszewski – Tomczak, corr.
Å     1997.) 17...£b6 White’s position was horrible
Ä   in Kobese – Klaver, Cape Town 2007.
Ã  
16.c3?! ¥xd5 17.cxd4 and now 17...£g5!N
Â     offers us a clear advantage, although the
Á   game continuation of 17...¦g8 was also quite
À    problematic for White in Plantet – Dournes,
ÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏ corr. 1994.
18...£g5!
Attacking g2 and threatening ...¦c8.

18...¤xb5 19.¤e3 ¤d4 is good enough but Ç   
the text move is more accurate. Æ 
19.¤e3 ¦c8 20.£d3 ¤xb5
We are clearly winning, with an extra piece Å    
and a big lead in development. Ä 
 Ã   
Ç    Â    
Æ  Á   
Å    À  
Ä  ÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏ
Ã    16...£c8!
Hitting both c4 and f5, as well as threatening
Â     ...¥xd5 followed by a fork on c2, all before
Á   White can get coordinated.

À   17.¦a4

ÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏ White also has problems after: 17.£a4N
14...¦xb5! 15.axb5 ¤d4 ¥e7 18.b6† ¢f8 19.f6
The exchange sacrifice was our key idea, 
eliminating White’s strong bishop while Ç   
activating our own pieces.
Æ 
16.c4 Å    
This is the only half decent move. Alternatives Ä   
leave White on the verge of a quick defeat: Ã  
Â    
16.¤e3? ¥h6! gives White serious problems, Á   
for instance: 17.¦a7 (17.0–0? ¦g8 18.f4
¤xf5! was winning immediately in Heimrath À   
ÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏ
 Chapter 5 – 11.g3 & Others 169

19...¥xf6! 20.¤xf6 ¢e7 21.¤d5† ¥xd5 12...¦a5!?

22.cxd5 £g4 The attacking combination of This is far from the most popular
queen and knight is extremely dangerous. continuation, making it all the more effective
as a practical weapon. The idea has been
17...£xf5 18.0–0 ¦g8 known for a long time, at least to me, but it
Our pieces are active and White will have to never really caught on, for reasons that remain
take care not to be killed on the kingside. For a mystery to me. The idea is to eliminate one of
instance, if White’s queen takes a wrong step the enemy knights at a good moment – rather
then ...¦xg2† could end things quickly. like the previous variation.

19.f3 ¥h6 13.¤bc7†

Our last piece comes into play, targeting the This is White’s usual choice.
dark squares which were weakened by White’s
last move. Another possible continuation is:
13.a4!? ¦g8!?N
20.b6 ¢f8! It’s important for us to seek fast counterplay.
Black had the initiative and White was 14.0–0
unable to cope with the problems in Droessler This seems the most natural choice.
– Troia, corr. 2013. A sharp alternative is: 14.b4 ¤xb4! 15.¤xb4
¦xg2
D) 11.¥xb5 axb5 12.¤xb5 
 Ç  
Ç  Æ  
Æ   Å    
Ä  
Å    Ã  
Ä  Â    
à    Á  
Â     À  
Á  ÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏ
An important tactical point – now both
À   kings are in danger! 16.¢f1 (16.£f3 ¦g4
ÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏ 17.¤c6 £b6 18.¤xa5 £xa5† 19.¢f1 ¥d7
gives us a strong initiative for the exchange.)
This is a famous piece sacrifice which I
have played myself. It’s pure romanticism in a 16...¦g4!? (16...¦xf2† 17.¢xf2 £h4† leads
modern era. Nowadays it’s not popular because to an immediate draw.) The text move
various resources have been found for Black, continues the fight for a little longer, but
but it’s still important to know some details. the correct outcome is still a draw after
17.¤c6 £h4 18.¦a3 ¦f4 19.¦g3 ¦xa4
20.¤xd6† ¥xd6 21.£xd6 ¥a6† 22.¢g2
¦xf2† 23.¢xf2 £f4† 24.¢g2 £xe4† with
perpetual check.
 Abridged Variation Index
The Variation Index in the book is 5 pages long. Below is an abridged version giving just the main
variations, not the sub-variations.

Chapter 1

1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.d4 cxd4 4.¤xd4 ¤f6 5.¤c3 e5 6.¤db5 d6 7.¥g5 a6 8.¤a3 b5
9.¥xf6 gxf6 10.¤d5 f5 11.¥d3 ¥e6 12.0–0 ¥xd5 13.exd5 ¤e7

A) 14.¤xb5 13
B) 14.c4 ¥g7 18
C) 14.¦e1 24
D) 14.c3 ¥g7 15.¤c2 0–0 28

Chapter 2

1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.d4 cxd4 4.¤xd4 ¤f6 5.¤c3 e5 6.¤db5 d6 7.¥g5 a6 8.¤a3 b5
9.¥xf6 gxf6 10.¤d5 f5 11.¥d3 ¥e6 12.0–0 ¥xd5 13.exd5 ¤e7 14.c3 ¥g7

A) 15.£h5 e4 44
B) 15.¦e1 0–0 16.£h5 e4 17.¥f1 71

Chapter 3

1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.d4 cxd4 4.¤xd4 ¤f6 5.¤c3 e5 6.¤db5 d6 7.¥g5 a6 8.¤a3 b5
9.¥xf6 gxf6 10.¤d5 f5 11.¥d3 ¥e6

A) 12.£h5 92
B) 12.c3 ¥g7 96

Chapter 4

1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.d4 cxd4 4.¤xd4 ¤f6 5.¤c3 e5 6.¤db5 d6 7.¥g5 a6 8.¤a3 b5
9.¥xf6 gxf6 10.¤d5 f5 (10...¥g7 11.c3 f5) 11.c3 ¥g7 12.exf5 ¥xf5

A) 13.£f3?! 119
B) 13.¤c2 0–0 120
 Variation Index 357

Chapter 5

1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.d4 cxd4 4.¤xd4 ¤f6 5.¤c3 e5 6.¤db5 d6 7.¥g5 a6 8.¤a3 b5
9.¥xf6 gxf6 10.¤d5 f5

A) 11.g3 fxe4 12.¥g2 ¥g7 13.¥xe4 ¥e6 150

B) 11.exf5 (alternatives) 163
C) 11.¤xb5 166
D) 11.¥xb5 169
E) 11.c4?! 173
F) 11.£d3 174
G) 11.£f3? 176

Chapter 6

1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.d4 cxd4 4.¤xd4 ¤f6 5.¤c3 e5 6.¤db5 d6 7.¥g5 a6 8.¤a3 b5
9.¥xf6 gxf6 10.¤d5 ¥g7 11.¥d3 ¤e7 12.¤xe7 £xe7

A) 13.c3 184
B) 13.0–0 0–0 187
B1) 14.£f3 188
B2) 14.c3 f5 189

Chapter 7

1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.d4 cxd4 4.¤xd4 ¤f6 5.¤c3 e5 6.¤db5 d6 7.¥g5 a6 8.¤a3 b5 9.¥xf6
gxf6 10.¤d5 ¥g7 11.¥d3 ¤e7 12.¤xe7 £xe7 13.0–0 0–0 14.c4 f5

A) 15.cxb5 209
B) 15.£e2 211
C) 15.£h5 214
D) 15.£f3 d5 16.cxd5 fxe4 17.¥xe4 ¦b8 219

Chapter 8

1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.d4 cxd4 4.¤xd4 ¤f6 5.¤c3 e5 6.¤db5 d6 7.¥g5 a6 8.¤a3 b5
9.¤d5 ¥e7 10.¥xf6 ¥xf6 11.c3 ¥g5

A) 12.h4!? ¥h6 13.¤c2 0–0! 238

B) 12.¤c2 ¦b8! 243
358 Playing the Sveshnikov

Chapter 9

1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.d4 cxd4 4.¤xd4 ¤f6 5.¤c3 e5 6.¤db5 d6 7.¥g5 a6 8.¤a3 b5
9.¤d5 ¥e7 10.¥xf6 ¥xf6 11.c4 b4 12.¤c2 a5

A) 13.¥e2 261
B) 13.h4 263
C) 13.£f3!? ¥e7 264
D) 13.g3 g6!? 267

Chapter 10

1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.d4 cxd4 4.¤xd4 ¤f6 5.¤c3 e5 6.¤db5 d6 7.¥g5 a6 8.¤a3 b5

A) 9.¤d5 ¥e7 274

A1) 10.¥xf6 274
A2) 10.¤xe7 ¤xe7! 275
B) 9.¤ab1!? 289

Chapter 11

1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.d4 cxd4 4.¤xd4 ¤f6 5.¤c3 e5 6.¤db5 d6 7.¤d5 ¤xd5 8.exd5 ¤b8

A) 9.£f3!? 294
B) 9.c4 a6 299
C) 9.a4 ¥e7 318

Chapter 12

1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.d4 cxd4 4.¤xd4 ¤f6 5.¤c3 e5

A) 6.¤db5 d6 332
A1) 7.¤a3 332
A2) 7.¥e3 333
A3) 7.a4 334
B) 6.¤f5 335
C) 6.¤de2!? 337
D) 6.¤b3?! 339

Chapter 13

1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 ¤c6

A) 3.¤c3 342
B) 3.¥b5 ¤f6 343