Starting out: the Sicilian Sveshnikov

Publisher: Everyman Chess, 2007, Pages: 271, Paperback

No opening in recent times has captured the imagination of the chess public more than the Sicilian Sveshnikov. Initially popularized in the 1970s, the Sveshnikov has exploded onto the chess scene at the highest levels and is now regarded by many experts as one of Black's most promising answers to 1 e4. One of its major attractions is that more often than not the opening leads to incredibly sharp and complex play. In such situations both sides must play with extreme accuracy just to stay on the board as a single slip may lead to disaster! This uncompromising and modern approach with the black pieces has found favour with many of today's leading Grandmasters, including Vladimir Kramnik and Peter Leko, while Garry Kasparov also began playing it towards the end of his career.