Today the Rossolimo Variation is the most important option for White after 2...Nc6 if he does not want to open up the centre at once with 3.d4. Born in Kiev, Nicolas Rossolimo (1910–1975) who went on to live in France and in the USA, played the move successfully in various tournaments from the late1940s on. In recent years, 3.Bb5 was above all popular as an anti-Sveshnikov weapon. If White is inclined to play 3.d4, he has no good way to deviate from the move order of the Sveshnikov. This led to those players who did not like going in for sharp and long theoretical variations giving their preference to 3.Bb5.
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