It was Gavriil Veresov, however, who greatly strengthened both the theory and practice of the opening from World War II to his heyday in the 1950s and 1960s.

He is credited with demonstrating that the opening contained more subtlety and depth than was previously considered, often culminating in a central advance or direct assault on the enemy king.

[1] Moving into the last third of the 20th century, grandmasters of the calibre of Spassky, Tal, Smyslov, Larsen, and Bronstein all experimented with the Veresov Opening as an occasional surprise weapon.

Other, more frequent practitioners have included Héctor Rossetto, Lev Alburt, Victor Ciocaltea, Nikola Padevsky, and Tony Miles.

Grandmaster Jonny Hector has become an adherent of the Veresov and some interest has also been shown by leading GM Alexander Morozevich.