Evgeny Ellinovich Sveshnikov (born 1950) is a Latvian International Grandmaster of chess. He played in his first USSR Chess Championship when he was just 17 years old and became a Grandmaster in 1977. 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... The title International Grandmaster is awarded to world-class chess masters by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. ... Chess is an abstract strategy board game for two players. ... Winner list: 1991 (58th,Moscow) Minasian, Artashes 1990 (57th,Leningrad) Beliavsky, Alexander / Yudasin, Leonid / Bareev, Evgeny / Vyzmanavin, Alexey ex aequo 1989 (56th,Odessa) Vaganian, Rafael 1988 (55th,Moscow) Karpov, Anatoly / Kasparov, Garry ex aequo 1987 (54th,Minsk) Beliavsky, Alexander 1986 (53rd,Kiev) Tseshkovsky, Vitaly 1985 (52nd,Riga) Gavrikov, Viktor / Gurevich...

In earliest international competition, he shared first place (with Lev Polugaevsky) at Sochi 1976 and won category 8 tournaments at Le Havre 1977 and Cienfuegos 1979. At Novi Sad in 1979, he shared second prize with Efim Geller behind Florin Gheorghiu. Lev Polugaevsky (20 November 1934-30 August 1995, sometimes transliterated Polugayevsky) was an International Grandmaster of chess and frequent contender for the world chess championship, although he never achieved that title. ... Efim Petrovich Geller (March 2, 1925 – November 17, 1998) was a Soviet chess player. ... FLORIN GHEORGHIU (born April 6, 1944) is a Romanian chess master and university lecturer in foreign languages. ...

His current Elo rating (October 2005) is 2507, but has in recent times been as high as 2595. He is respected by his peers as a deep and original thinker and a master tactician. The ELO rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in two-player games such as chess and Go. ...

He has a chess-playing son, Vladimir who, with an Elo rating (October 2005) of 2209, could be considered an aspiring FIDE Master. FIDE Master (FM) is a title awarded by the world chess governing body, Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE). ...

Also known as one of the most outspoken and controversial Grandmasters on the circuit, Sveshnikov has in recent years been linked with player revolts over the handing in of gamescores. It is of course accepted practice that players submit copies of their gamescores to tournament organisers and these games later appear on the internet, in books, magazines and in database programs. Whilst the benefits to the development and popularisation of chess are obvious, Sveshnikov insists that it is not in the best interests of chess professionals to allow this to continue.

Most fundamentally, it is very difficult for chess players to earn a living; he speaks of many chess players in Russia and the Baltic States suffering severe depression and in some cases committing suicide ( - it is thought that Georgy Ilivitsky, Alvis Vitolins, Karen Grigorian, Lembit Oll and Alexey Vyzmanavin are prominent examples). He contends that gamescores are the labours and intellectual property of the two players concerned and therefore copyright permissions and royalty fees should apply. It is morally corrupt, he argues, that only authors, editors and owners of Chess Publishing Houses profit from the publication of gamescores. Effectively, players are even prevented from producing an exclusive book of their own best games as an investment for their retirement. Alexey Vyzmanavin (January 1, 1960 - January 6, 2000) was a Russian International Grandmaster of chess. ...

He also questions the wisdom of handing over such detailed information to future opponents, who will utilise databases to improve their chances of victory, regardless of original thought or chess playing ability.

His continued concern and constant pleas to FIDE over better conditions for players have, perhaps cruelly, earned him the epithet "Stress-nikov" in some chess circles. The Fédération Internationale des Échecs or World Chess Federation is an international organization that connects the various national chess federations around the world. ...

It is however the work that Sveshnikov did with his close friend Grandmaster Gennady Timoschenko during the 1960s and 1970s that bears greatest testimony to his chess achievements.

Previously known as the Lasker-Pelikan variation of the Sicilian Defence, Sveshnikov's system was considered of dubious merit until he transformed it into an exciting and fully playable opening. The balance between winning and losing is often on a knife edge, making it an attractive proposition for black players seeking the full point. Mark Taimanov, in an interview, described it as chess opening theory's "last great discovery". That it is now regularly played by the world's leading Grandmasters, supports this view. Vladimir Kramnik and Valery Salov are regarded as expert practitioners of the Sicilian Sveshnikov (categorised by the moves 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 - the Sveshnikov 'proper' continuing 6.Ndb5 a6), but Kasparov, Shirov, Leko and Khalifman have also enjoyed success. The opening is rich in it's tactical possibilities and despite being subjected to deep analysis, continues to flourish with new ideas being regularly unearthed. The Sicilian Defence is a chess opening which begins with: 1. ... Mark Evgenievich Taimanov (Марк Евгеньевич Тайманов) (born February 7, 1926) is a leading Russian chess player and concert pianist. ... The first moves of a chess game are the opening moves, collectively referred to as the opening. ... Vladimir Kramnik (Владимир Крамник), born June 25, 1975, is a Russian chess player and the current Classical Chess Champion (although, due to a political rift in the world of chess, FIDE some consider World Chess Champion Veselin Topalov the World Champion). ... Valery Salov (born May 26, 1964) is a Russian chess grandmaster. ...

Sveshnikov has also been a pioneer in the development of the Advance Variation of the French Defence. The French Defence. ...

References

• Hooper, David and Kenneth Whyld (1996). The Oxford Companion To Chess, Oxford University. ISBN 0192800493.