Common Lines in the Sicilian Defense

Popularized by Evgeny Sveshnikov in the 1970s, the Sveshnikov is marked by an early e5 thrust by Black (for instance: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5). This is one of the riskier Sicilians for Black to play, but also one that gives the second player many chances to play for a win. For that reason, the Sveshnikov Variation is quite popular at the top levels of chess.