Chessville Reviews - The Sveshnikov Reloaded - by GM Dorian Rogozenko

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The Sveshnikov Reloaded
Reviewed by S. Evan Kreider, June 2006

by GM Dorian Rogozenko

Quality Chess, 2005

ISBN: 9197524352

softcover, 341 pages

figurine algebraic notation

It used to be that Sveshnikov Sicilian (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5, see diagram at right) was a good choice for the Black player looking to take up the open Sicilian while avoiding the reams of theory associated with the Najdorf, Scheveningen, or Dragon. Even just a few years ago, the theory was still fairly undeveloped, and Black could get by playing on a general understanding of the plans and strategies of the opening and memorizing no more than a handful of lines. Well, times have changed. Nowadays the Sveshnikov is as densely theoretical as most openings, and nowhere else does this show as well as it does in GM Rogozenko’s The Sveshnikov Reloaded.

First, a word about the title. I expected that the introduction would explain the “reloaded,” but no such luck. Barring a reference to the Matrix trilogy, I’m assuming it has something to do with the following:

In 2000 I also wrote a CD-ROM on the Sveshnikov. Inevitably time has corrected some of my previous assessments. New ideas have been introduced that have changed many conclusions of other Sveshnikov specialists and authors of different books as well. I am happy to have the opportunity now to present a completely upgraded material of the previous works in the field.

From this, I take “reloaded” to mean “the most recent and thorough work of Sveshnikov theory available.” If that is indeed what it means, then the book has earned its title. GM Rogozenko has produced a marvelously encyclopedic work of theory.

The book as a whole is just over 340 pages—that’s pages with double columns and a medium-small font size, so that means tons and tons of theory. It’s not hard to believe that this is the single most comprehensive work on the Sveshnikov available. About 230 pages are devoted to the main lines after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Bxf6 gxf6 10. Nd5. That’s about right, given that this is the central theoretical battleground for the Sveshnikov. About 70 pages are devoted to the lines after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Nd5. These more positional lines are quieter and generally less theoretical, but still popular (favored by Karpov and Kasparov, not to mention your esteemed reviewer :-), so this is probably more than enough coverage. Then about 20 pages are devoted to various sidelines. There’s not much theory involved with these, so as long as Black learns a few lines and keeps an eye out for some traps, White won’t find any advantage here.

Though this is primarily a theoretical text, it has a great deal of instructive value as well. Frequent explanatory comments are interspersed within the variations. The explanation is fairly high level, though, so I suspect that this book would be of most value to players of at least class A on up – high class B players with some previous experience with the opening might be able to keep up with it as well. For any Sveshnikov aficionado, this is a must have.

The Sveshnikov Reloaded
by GM Dorian Rogozenko

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