The Sicilian Defence, Chekhover Variation (also sometimes called the Szily Variation or Hungarian Variation) is a

chess opening A chess opening or simply an opening is the initial stage of a chess game. It usually consists of established theory; the other phases are the middlegame and the endgame. Many opening sequences have standard names such as the "Sicilian Defen ...

named after Vitaly Chekhover, from the game Chekhover–Lisitsin, Leningrad 1938. It is defined by the moves: :1. e4 c5 :2. Nf3 d6 :3. d4 cxd4 :4. Qxd4 On move four

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ignores the standard opening principle to not develop the

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too early in the game. Although the Chekhover Variation is somewhat rare at grandmaster level, it is not uncommon among amateurs. The ''

Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings The ''Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings'' () is a reference work describing the state of opening theory in chess, originally published in five volumes from 1974 to 1979 by the Serbian company Šahovski Informator (Chess Informant). It is curre ...

'' (ECO) assigns code B53 to this opening.

Main line: 4...Nc6

Black's main response to the Chekhover Variation is 4... Nc6 immediately attacking White's queen, leading to: * 5. Bb5 pinning the knight: 5...Bd7 6.Bxc6 Bxc6. * 5. Qa4?! avoiding an exchange and keeping the light-square bishop. *5. Qe3 a non-ambitious reply, often played in conjunction with Be2, O-O, Nc3 (with or without c4), and Bd2. This system has been coined the Harikrishna System by IM Alexandru-Bogdan Banzea, as it has recently been used by

super grandmaster Grandmaster (GM) is a title awarded to chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. Once achieved, the title is held for life, though exceptionally it ha ...

Pentala Harikrishna Pentala Harikrishna (born 10 May 1986) is an Indian chess grandmaster. He became the youngest grandmaster from India after attaining the title in 2001, a record now held by Gukesh D. He was Commonwealth Champion in 2001, World Junior ...

in over-the-board games with positive results as White.

Other continuations

* 4... a6 prevents a future pin: 5.c4 Nc6 6.Qd1. * 4... Bd7 prepares 5...Nc6. * 4... Nf6 avoids exchanges and continues with

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Example games

Evgeni Vasiukov Evgeni Andreyevich Vasiukov (russian: Евгений Андреевич Васюко́в, March 5, 1933 – May 10, 2018) was a Russian chess player, one of the strongest in the world during his peak. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by ...

Loek van Wely Loek van Wely (born 7 October 1972) is a Dutch chess player and politician. He was awarded the title Grandmaster by FIDE in 1993, and was rated among the world's top ten in 2001 with a rating of 2714. In March 2019, he was elected to the Dutch ...

, 2002 :1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Bb5 Bd7 6.Bxc6 Bxc6 7.Nc3 Nf6 8.Bg5 e6 9.O-O-O Be7 10.Rhe1 O-O 11.Kb1 Qa5 12.Qd2 Qa6 13.Nd4 Rfc8 14.f4 h6 15.h4 Qc4 16.g4 Kf8 17.f5 hxg5 18.hxg5 Nd7 19.fxe6 Ne5 20.Rh1 fxe6 21.b3 Qb4 22.Rh8 Kf7 23.Qf4 Bf6 24.Rh7 Kg8 25.gxf6 Kxh7 26.Qg5 Rc7 27.Nxe6 Rac8 28.fxg7 Kg8 29.Rh1 Bxe4 30.Rh8 Kf7 31.Nxc7 Qxc3 32.g8=Q

Mikhail Tal Mikhail Nekhemyevich Tal; rus, Михаил Нехемьевич Таль, ''Mikhail Nekhem'yevich Tal' '', ; sometimes transliterated ''Mihails Tals'' or ''Mihail Tal'' (9 November 1936 – 28 June 1992) was a Soviet-Latvian chess player ...

Robert Eugene Byrne Robert Eugene Byrne (April 20, 1928 – April 12, 2013) was an American chess player and chess author who held the FIDE title of Grandmaster (GM). He won the U.S. Championship in 1972, and was a World Chess Championship Candidate in 1974. By ...

, 1976 :1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4. Qxd4 Nc6 5.Bb5 Bd7 6.Bxc6 Bxc6 7.Nc3 Nf6 8.Bg5 e6 9.O-O-O Be7 10.Rhe1 O-O 11.Qd2 Qa5 12.Nd4 Rac8 13.Kb1 Kh8 14.f4 h6 15.h4 hxg5 16.hxg5 Nxe4 17.Qd3 Bxg5 18.Nxe4 Bxe4 19.Rxe4 Bh6 20.g4 f5 21.Rxe6 Bxf4 22.Nxf5Mikhail Tal vs Robert Eugene Byrne (1976)
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References

{{Chess Chess openings

Main line: 4...Nc6

Other continuations

Example games

See also

References