In his early international competitions, he was a joint winner at Děčín 1974, shared first place (with Lev Polugaevsky) at Sochi 1976 and won category 8 tournaments at Le Havre 1977 and Cienfuegos 1979.

[4] He contended that game scores were the labors and intellectual property of the two players concerned and therefore copyright permissions and royalty fees should apply.

It is morally corrupt, he argued, that only authors, editors and owners of Chess Publishing Houses profit from the publication of game scores.

He also questioned the wisdom of handing over such detailed information to future opponents, who would utilise databases to improve their chances of victory, regardless of original thought or chess-playing ability.

Previously known as the Lasker–Pelikan variation of the Sicilian Defence, Sveshnikov's system was considered of dubious merit until he transformed it into an exciting and fully playable opening.

The balance between winning and losing is often on a knife edge, making it an attractive proposition for black players seeking the full point.