As a sveshnikov player I value piece activity over everything else- structure, material, pish posh- give me an attack. The following game follows a not too uncommon line in the Sveshnikov, where on move 12 black really lays down the gauntlet with a gambit. In theory, white should be ok but the traps that lay in wait are far from obvious.
This Sunday while most people were focused on the Super Bowl, I was at the Marshall Chess Club looking at a different kind of sideline, 7.Nd5 against the Sveshnikov. There are some sidelines that are very popular against the Svesh that I see on FICS all the time, but among them the simplifying 7.Nd5 is without a doubt the most popular. It’s probably the choice of many club players because it side steps the ocean of theory and gives white a simple straightforward game. In blitz it just leaves white with basically nothing to worry about, however, this can also be said for black. Sidelines that are chosen for their simplicity are rarely testing either. In any case, after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Nbd5 d6 7.Nd5 the following position is reached.
