Viswanathan Anand pays tribute to Evgeny Sveshnikov: 'Always admired his love for chess'

Viswanathan Anand, a five-time world champion, mourned the demise of renowned Russian GM Evgeny Sveshnikov, who passed away at the age of 71 on Wednesday. Sveshnikov became the master of the game at a young age of 17. Anand said he appreciated Sveshnikov’s dedication to the game and always shared the willingness to excel in the same. Anand tweeted, "Very sad to hear about the passing away of GM Evgeny Sveshnikov. In my career, I have spent a lot of time studying Sveshnikov. I always admired his love for the game and his willingness to share it. I treasure the memory of my games with him. RIP."

Sveshnikov's illustrious career

Sveshnikov was born in Chelyabinsk in 1950 and won the gold medal in the USSR Junior Master Candidate Championship along with a qualification for the USSR Championship in 1974. Across the stretch of his career, he took part in nine USSR championships. As per the International Chess Federation (FIDE), Sveshnikov's outstanding record at tournaments includes the victories at Decin 1974, Sochi 1976 (both jointly), Le Havre 1977 and Cienfuegos 1979. He also won the joint third in Wijk aan Zee in 1981.

He also won the Latvian Chess Championship in 2003 and 2010. Even after being past his glory days, he emerged as the winner of the 65+ section of the World Senior Chess Championship in 2017. Sveshnikov represented his country Latvia at the Olympiads of 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2010 and the European Team Championship in 2011. In 2016, he played on the top board of the gold medal-winning Russian team in the 65+ section of the World Senior Team Championship. FIDE said in a release that his contribution to the theory of openings is immense. At a very young age, he developed the Sveshnikov Sicilian. It is one of the most used tactical systems these days.

(With ANI inputs)