The Chess Mind

GM Vladimir Malakhov has again taken up the banner of Zvjaginsev's 2.Na3 anti-Sicilian, this time against Indian GM Krishnan Sasikiran. Sasikiran, as befits a grandmaster of his status, has devised a new, clever reply to the Na3 variation: 2...a6. This is a sensible idea: it prevents Bb5 lines, while allowing Black great flexibility in responding to whatever setup White chooses. Is this the cure? It's probably too soon to say with complete certainty, but it looks promising, both on general principles and in the workings of this game in particular.

As soon as I realized that 2.Na3 was in part a waiting move - waiting for 2...Nc6, which would be met by some combination of Bb5, c3 and f4 (before committing to Nf3), hoping for a favorable Rossolimo, I wondered why Black didn't respond with 2...d6. For those of you wondering the same thing, take a look at Malakhov-Nisipeanu, a high-level game played yesterday in the 36th Bosnia GM tournament.

Ironically, while 2...d6 has been rare and the game enters new territory on move six, it turns out that these trailblazers wind back up in familiar territory eight moves later...in a Modern Benoni!

The Sveshnikov Sicilian is dynamic variation featuring prominently in the opening repertoires of such contemporary greats as Kramnik, Leko and Radjabov, and has been played occasionally by Kasparov, Topalov and Shirov. And yet, even in the Sveshnikov, there are ways to take the air out of the ball. Check out these two vastly different games, both played this past week.