Evgeny Sveshnikov

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JustinHorton
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Evgeny Sveshnikov

Post by JustinHorton » Wed Aug 18, 2021 12:18 pm

Has died according to Ruchess (via Mark Crowther). He was 71.
"Do you play chess?"
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Matt Mackenzie
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Re: Evgeny Sveshnikov

Post by Matt Mackenzie » Wed Aug 18, 2021 1:08 pm

Ah, all 2c3 Sicilian devotees (of which I am one) will feel this keenly.

Also played regularly the Advance French, another of my openings.

But may be best remembered for his role in revolutionising Sicilian theory from the Black side.
"Set up your attacks so that when the fire is out, it isn't out!" (H N Pillsbury)

Keith Arkell
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Re: Evgeny Sveshnikov

Post by Keith Arkell » Wed Aug 18, 2021 2:19 pm

It's always more shocking when you knew the person.

We played each other on top board in the penultimate round of the 2014 World Senior ( 50+) Championship, and afterwards he granted me a warm, friendly post-mortem even though I had swindled him horribly.

Always a gentleman, he shook my hand on every occasion thereafter, when we were at the same even together.

There is no mention on Evgeny's Wiki page but I believe that he had a very good score over a large number of games against World Champions.

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John Upham
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Re: Evgeny Sveshnikov

Post by John Upham » Wed Aug 18, 2021 4:05 pm

Keith Arkell wrote:
Wed Aug 18, 2021 2:19 pm
There is no mention on Evgeny's Wiki page but I believe that he had a very good score over a large number of games against World Champions.
A quick glance reveals
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Evgeny Sveshnikov
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Wadih Khoury
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Re: Evgeny Sveshnikov

Post by Wadih Khoury » Wed Aug 18, 2021 5:14 pm

I remember spending weeks trying to find a cheap copy of his c3 Sicilian book. Seems he wrote the bible of the Alapin.

Simon Rogers
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Re: Evgeny Sveshnikov

Post by Simon Rogers » Wed Aug 18, 2021 5:25 pm

Thanks for informing us Justin. Very sad news, a terrible shock. Evgeny was a legend of the game.
We have a couple of Latvian players at Poulton-le-Fylde Chess Club who I believe met him in Latvia before they moved to the UK.

Kevin Thurlow
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Re: Evgeny Sveshnikov

Post by Kevin Thurlow » Wed Aug 18, 2021 5:58 pm

A quick search of my small database reveals

+2=10-1 vs Smyslov
+3=8-4 vs Tal
+2=4-2 vs Petrosian
+0=0-1 vs Spassky
+1=5-3 vs Karpov
+0=2-1 vs Kasparov
+1=1-0 vs Anand
=0=1-0 vs Ponomariov
+0=1-0 vs Kramnik
+0=5-2 vs Khalifman

Yes, I know that people don't regard all of them as world champions. I found no games against Botvinnik, Fischer, Carlsen e.g.

He played at Guernsey in 2010 and seemed affable. Every time he got black (4 out of 7), I went to look at the opening, but all his opponents played d4 or c4.

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Joey Stewart
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Re: Evgeny Sveshnikov

Post by Joey Stewart » Fri Aug 27, 2021 3:42 am

Matt Mackenzie wrote:
Wed Aug 18, 2021 1:08 pm
Ah, all 2c3 Sicilian devotees (of which I am one) will feel this keenly.

I think he would be turning in his grave to think that such an awful
anti opening designed to wreck the dynamic black system he invented should be associated in any way with his namesake.
Lose one queen and it is a disaster, Lose 1000 queens and it is just a statistic.

Wadih Khoury
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Re: Evgeny Sveshnikov

Post by Wadih Khoury » Fri Aug 27, 2021 8:43 am

On the contrary, I read that he often praised the c3 saying it fed his family for 40 years.

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Joey Stewart
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Re: Evgeny Sveshnikov

Post by Joey Stewart » Fri Aug 27, 2021 11:02 am

It boggles the mind that he on one hand played a super sharp and uncompromising black opening and then a really negative white one - he must have been a somewhat complex personality.
Lose one queen and it is a disaster, Lose 1000 queens and it is just a statistic.

Paul Cooksey
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Re: Evgeny Sveshnikov

Post by Paul Cooksey » Fri Aug 27, 2021 11:19 am

I think it is a Frankenstein/ Frankenstein's monster thing.

Sveshnikov only played his Sicilian for a few years before switching to 4...e5, which is more positional whatever Everyman want us to call it.

I am sure he deserves his reputation as a great innovator. But the kind of innovator who came up with new positional ideas rather than a tactical maverick.

Richard Bates
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Re: Evgeny Sveshnikov

Post by Richard Bates » Fri Aug 27, 2021 12:10 pm

I suspect there is a high correlation between people who seek to portray various anti-Sicilian systems as “negative” or “cowardly” and, er, Sicilian black side devotees...

Anyway regardless of the other counterpoints put, it is hardly unusual when individuals have particular favourite openings to seek ways to avoid being confronted with “playing against themselves”.

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Matt Mackenzie
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Re: Evgeny Sveshnikov

Post by Matt Mackenzie » Fri Aug 27, 2021 3:39 pm

One day I may just post a few of my games in the supposedly "deadly dull" 2c3 Sicilian.

Of course, the fact that many are quick tactical crushes of the Black side may not make Joey feel any better :)
"Set up your attacks so that when the fire is out, it isn't out!" (H N Pillsbury)

Nick Ivell
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Re: Evgeny Sveshnikov

Post by Nick Ivell » Fri Aug 27, 2021 4:07 pm

In my experience, c3 is the move that devotees of the Sicilian least like to face.

Open lines? Objectively they are the strongest, but we know our stuff there - or at least we are meant to.

The c3 lines are a different kettle of fish. Equality is not easy to find. We can play it safe with 2...e6, but Sicilian players tend not to be at home in the French!

David Robertson

Re: Evgeny Sveshnikov

Post by David Robertson » Fri Aug 27, 2021 5:31 pm

Nick Ivell wrote:
Fri Aug 27, 2021 4:07 pm
The c3 lines are a different kettle of fish. Equality is not easy to find
Sveshnikov's The Complete C3 Sicilian is a book I've actually read (as opposed to simply looking at it wistfully on the shelf). It's a house-brick of a tome in day-glo yellow which, alas, promises more than it delivers. The bulk of the book contains hundreds of unannotated games, hence any real value comes in the early pages where the Great Man instructs us in the ups & downs of positions emerging from 2...d5; and 2...Nf6.

So come on then, Evgeny, I haven't got all day - which is better? Well, he hums and haws, and if and buts, but eventually he reckons 2...Nf6 gives Black better prospects. And that's how I now respond, changing from 2...d5 (with which I once beat Nigel Short :) ).

Thanks for everything, Evgeny, especially Sicilian 5...e5. Our game is the better for you. RIP

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