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
8a8 black rookb8 black kingc8 black bishopd8 black queene8 black kingf8 black bishopg8 black kingh8 black rook8
7a7 black pawnb7 black pawnc7 black kingd7 black kinge7 black kingf7 black pawng7 black pawnh7 black pawn7
6a6 black kingb6 black kingc6 black knightd6 black pawne6 black kingf6 black knightg6 black kingh6 black king6
5a5 black kingb5 white knightc5 black kingd5 black kinge5 black pawnf5 black kingg5 black kingh5 black king5
4a4 black kingb4 black kingc4 black kingd4 black kinge4 white pawnf4 black kingg4 black kingh4 black king4
3a3 black kingb3 black kingc3 white knightd3 black kinge3 black kingf3 black kingg3 black kingh3 black king3
2a2 white pawnb2 white pawnc2 white pawnd2 black kinge2 black kingf2 white pawng2 white pawnh2 white pawn2
1a1 white rookb1 black kingc1 white bishopd1 white queene1 white kingf1 white bishopg1 black kingh1 white rook1
a b c d e f g h
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN)
Moves: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6

Sveshnikov Sicilian

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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

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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
=

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References

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