Breakdown of Этот сильный соперник — известный гроссмейстер, его защита работает идеально.
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
работать
to work
известный
famous
сильный
strong
его
his / its (possessive)
идеально
perfectly / is ideal (for)
соперник
the opponent
гроссмейстер
the grandmaster
защита
the defense
Questions & Answers about Этот сильный соперник — известный гроссмейстер, его защита работает идеально.
Why is there a dash (—) instead of a verb between соперник and известный?
In Russian, the present tense of 'to be' is usually omitted. When both the subject (соперник) and the predicate (гроссмейстер) are nouns in the nominative case, you use a long dash to replace the missing 'is' even when adjectives are attached to them.
Why is его used for 'his defense' here instead of the reflexive pronoun свой?
The word свой always reflects back to the subject of the clause it is in. In the second half of this sentence, его защита is the subject itself. Because it is the subject, and not an object belonging to a different subject in that clause, you cannot use свой and must use его.
Could I use противник instead of соперник to mean 'opponent' here?
Yes, but соперник is usually a better fit for games like chess. It specifically means a rival or competitor in a sport, match, or contest. Противник also means opponent but can carry a more hostile tone, translating closer to 'enemy' or 'adversary'.
How could I apply the current lesson's grammar to the second clause to say 'he is forced to defend himself perfectly'?
You would use the masculine short adjective вынужден to match the grandmaster, followed by an infinitive verb. The phrase would become он вынужден идеально защищаться.
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