Sicilian Sveshnikov Chess Imbalances || Veselin Topalov vs Magnus Carlsen || Côte d'Ivoire 2019

Sveshnikov Sicilian Imbalances || Veselin Topalov vs Magnus Carlsen || Côte d'Ivoire 2019

FIDE CM Kingscrusher goes over amazing games of Chess every day, with a focus recently on games of Neural Networks which are opening up new concepts for how chess could be played more effectively.

Who is Magnus Carlsen ?

Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen (Norwegian: [svɛn ˈmɑŋnʉs øːn ˈkɑːɭsn̩]; born 30 November 1990) is a Norwegian chess grandmaster and the current World Chess Champion. In addition to his success in classical chess, he is also a two-time World Rapid Chess Champion and four-time World Blitz Chess Champion. Carlsen first reached the top of the FIDE world rankings in 2010, and trails only Garry Kasparov at time spent as the highest rated player in the world. His peak classical rating of 2882, achieved in May 2014 and equalled in August 2019, is the highest in history.

A chess prodigy, Carlsen tied for first place in the World U12 Chess Championship in 2002. Shortly after turning 13, he finished first in the C group of the Corus chess tournament, and earned the grandmaster title a few months later. At age 15, he won the Norwegian Chess Championship, and at 17, he finished joint first in the top group of Corus. He surpassed a rating of 2800 at age 18 and reached number one in the FIDE world rankings aged 19, becoming the youngest person ever to achieve those feats.

Carlsen became World Chess Champion in 2013 by defeating Viswanathan Anand. In the following year, he retained his title against Anand, and won both the 2014 World Rapid Championship and World Blitz Championship, thus becoming the first player to simultaneously hold all three titles. He defended his classical world title against Sergey Karjakin in 2016, and against Fabiano Caruana in 2018.

Known for his attacking style as a teenager, Carlsen has since developed into a universal player. He uses a variety of openings to make it more difficult for opponents to prepare against him and reduce the effect of computer analysis. He has stated the middlegame is his favourite part of the game as it "comes down to pure chess". His positional mastery and endgame prowess have drawn comparisons to those of former World Champions Bobby Fischer, Anatoly Karpov, Vasily Smyslov, and José Raúl Capablanca.

Who is Topalov?

Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov (pronounced [vɛsɛˈlin toˈpɑlof]; Bulgarian: Весели́н Александров Топа́лов; born 15 March 1975) is a Bulgarian chess grandmaster and former FIDE World Chess Champion.

Topalov became FIDE World Chess Champion by winning the FIDE World Chess Championship 2005. He lost his title in the World Chess Championship 2006 against Vladimir Kramnik. He challenged Viswanathan Anand at the World Chess Championship 2010, losing 6½–5½. He won the 2005 Chess Oscar.[1]

He was ranked world number one from April 2006 to January 2007. He regained the top ranking in October 2008 until January 2010. His peak rating was 2816 in July 2015, placing him joint-tenth on the list of highest FIDE-rated players of all time.

Topalov has competed at nine Chess Olympiads (1994-2000, 2008-2016), winning board one gold in 2014 and scoring best overall performance in 1994. He also won in Linares, Corus, Dortmund, Stavanger and Pearl Spring tournaments.

What is Sicilian Sveshnikov ?

Sveshnikov Variation: 4...Nf6 5.Nc3 e5
a b c d e f g h
8
Chessboard480.svga8 black rookc8 black bishopd8 black queene8 black kingf8 black bishoph8 black rooka7 black pawnb7 black pawnd7 black pawnf7 black pawng7 black pawnh7 black pawnc6 black knightf6 black knighte5 black pawnd4 white knighte4 white pawnc3 white knighta2 white pawnb2 white pawnc2 white pawnf2 white pawng2 white pawnh2 white pawna1 white rookc1 white bishopd1 white queene1 white kingf1 white bishoph1 white rook
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7 7
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5 5
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3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Sveshnikov Variation: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5
The Sveshnikov Variation was pioneered by Evgeny Sveshnikov and Gennadi Timoshchenko [ru] in the 1970s. Before their efforts, the variation was called the Lasker–Pelikan Variation. Emanuel Lasker played it once in his world championship match against Carl Schlechter, and Jorge Pelikan played it a few times in the 1950s, but Sveshnikov's treatment of the variation was the key to its revitalization. The move 5...e5 seems anti-positional as it leaves Black with a backwards d-pawn and a weakness on d5. Also, Black would have to accept the doubled f-pawns in the main line of the opening. The opening was popularised when Sveshnikov saw its dynamic potential for Black in the 1970s and 80s. Today, it is extremely popular among grandmasters and amateurs alike. Though some lines still give Black trouble, it has been established as a first-rate defence. The main line after 5...e5 runs as follows:

6. Ndb5

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