Nowadays, one seldom stumbles on a genuine opening novelty. But, as seen in the game below, it happens!

With 13.Qf3… White chooses a continuation of the Sicilian Pelikan which has gone out of favor for some time now. Moreover, after 20.h3?!… White treads a treacherous path (20.h4!... seems a better move, providing an escape to the King and freeing the h3 square for the Rook).

Thus, Black was content to keep on with book moves, homing in for something promising - or so he thought!... And then, came the entirely new: 24.g3!...

A surprising move - and one that even the master of the Pelikan, Evgenny Sveshnikov, had seemingly failed to notice (cf. with his analysis given below, bearing in mind, so as not to be confused, that the position above was arrived at not through the direct Pelikan but through the Old Sicilian Normal, i.e. a delay of one move - e.g. what in the game reads as 20.h3, in the book is 19.h3... etc).

The problem with 24.g3!... for White, if White is playing for a win, is that it allows Black to opt for an immediate draw – a draw which White might be well advised to accept. If Black, on the other hand, wants to press on, he may expect to bank on the slightest inaccuracy of his opponent - quite frankly, a double edged sword, since most continuations get more chaotic than one might wish.

Thank you, umur!...

wow nice game! I also find it really cool that your humble enough to post the game even if its you that got 'tricked'. I did a bit of quick reseach and found some interesting games you might like.

take note of Black's  20th move ...

TonyH, thank you for the interesting variations, much obliged for this input. Btw, people, my good friend popovnikol is NOT to be trusted when he starts with these ..."I need time to sort out..." comments. He is an absolutely outstanding, humble and lethal player at that!

Very nice, IM pfren!... Too bad my book (which is 23 years old) gave 18/19 ...Qd2! as the best continuation (with a passing mention of Qxb2 as an alternative)...

pfren wrote:

Even Qxb2 is superior to Qd2, according to the engines, but given the awesome strength of 18/19...Bh6! (virtually winning by force) this is purely of academical interest.

..........................

Purely out of academic interst: How is it that the variation's godfather, E. Sveshnikov, could have missed that continuation? IMHO his is one of the finest in depth monographs on the Pelikan ever published...

Those were the days, my fren!...

Today, with a little help from the engines, we know the price of every variation (in ...centipawns, no less) and the value (magic, history, evolution, beauty) of none...