Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...c5/2. Nf3/2...Nc6/3. d4/3...cxd4/4. Nxd4/4...Nf6/5. Nc3/5...e5/6. Ndb5/6...d6

Sveshnikov Sicilian
a b c d e f g h 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 a b c d e f g h
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN) r1bqkb1r/pp3ppp/2np1n2/1N2p3/4P3/2N5/PPP2PPP/R1BQKB1R w
Moves: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6

Sveshnikov Sicilian

Moves:1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6

A little fact that is often forgotten by Sveshnikov players: the d5 square is genuinely weak and likely to remain so. Black's activity doesn't come easy but as compensation for taking on that weakness - an important distinction. White therefore has a logical mini-plan: occupy d5, preferably with a knight, preferably one that can't be instantly captured.

The immediate Nd5 has its followers, as the e-pawn is clearly immune from capture due to Nbc7+. This line was chosen four times by Fabiano Caruana in the World Chess Championship 2018 match against Magnus Carlsen. After Black plays 7...Nxd5, the nice outpost vanishes after 8.exd5 (8.Qxd5 a6 9. Nc3 Be6 is miserable - capturing on d5 with the queen is usually a sign that something's gone wrong). One plan for black is to play 8...Nb8 with ...Nd7 and ...f5 to follow. In their match, Carlsen also tried 8...Ne7 9.c4 Ng6.

White more often pins down the f6 knight with Bg5 - it's important to see this move as a means of increasing control of d5, rather than just pinning a knight out of boredom.

Theory table

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6

	7	8	9	10	11
	Bg5 a6	Na3 b5	Bxf6 gxf6	Nd5 f5	Bd3 Be6	+=
	Nd5 Nxd5	exd5 Nb8!	c4 a6	Nc3 Bf5		=
	a4 a6	Na3 Be7	Be3 Be6			=

References

• Kasparov, Garry, & Keene, Raymond 1989 Batsford chess openings 2. ISBN 0-8050-3409-9.