Evgeny Sveshnikov

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Nick Ivell
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Joined: Wed Aug 31, 2011 6:33 pm

Re: Evgeny Sveshnikov

Post by Nick Ivell » Fri Aug 27, 2021 5:46 pm

Good to see you posting again, David.

I agree that unannotated games are of little value. That's not why we buy opening books (not that I buy opening books).

2...Nf6 has the virtue of LOGIC. It's the most natural move.

I'm sure 2...d5 is fine, but I've always had an almost visceral distrust of it. Probably dating back to my days as a junior, when I saw mathematical genius Richard Borcherds lose in about ten moves with it.

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Matt Mackenzie
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Re: Evgeny Sveshnikov

Post by Matt Mackenzie » Fri Aug 27, 2021 6:17 pm

It is certainly easier to go badly wrong with 2....d5 if you don't know what you are doing, I will say that much.

But if they *are* well prepared, many will find the resulting positions easier to play than those after 2....Nf6.

So there isn't any right or wrong answer on that one IMO. Of course other second moves - d6, e6, g6, b6 - have their merits too.

2....e5 genuinely sucks, though :)
"Set up your attacks so that when the fire is out, it isn't out!" (H N Pillsbury)

MartinCarpenter
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Re: Evgeny Sveshnikov

Post by MartinCarpenter » Sat Aug 28, 2021 10:02 am

Even 2.. e5 seems to be broadly alive as per a quick look at DB/Leela. Some distinctly non obvious pawn sacrifices for black.

You do have to be happy playing a slow Lopez of course, so I can't really see the attraction.

John Cox
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Re: Evgeny Sveshnikov

Post by John Cox » Wed Sep 08, 2021 12:24 am

Richard Borcherds! There's a name I haven't heard for a while. I wonder what happened to him - I see; he gave up chess and won the Fields Medal.

Somehow doesn't come as a surprise to read elsewhere that Sveshnikov was an anti-vaxxer (and died after contracting Covid).

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