If there is a way to refute the Arkhangelsk Variation by force, it will probably start with c3. The move can lead to wild complications, but black currently seems to be holding his own in them. The point is to accelerate the plan of d4 without bothering to defend e4, arguing that capturing on e4 will be dangerous for black as his king is still in the centre.
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Although black's kingside pawn structure looks a little weakened, practice has shown that black gets excellent play in this position. His two bishops look strong, he has a solid foothold in the centre, and he is ready to commence active operations on the kingside with moves like Nh5.
Once this idea was found, the Bg5 line decreased in popularity. The point is that a sacrifice on g5 has little value because the black king has not yet castled. Black gets out of the pin and is ready to castle afterwards.
One of the main moves, the other being Be3. This pin can be extremely annoying for black, but it seems like he has found a strong antidote in this instance.
By delaying d6 black is able to develop his dark-squared bishop to this more active square, and his two bishops now exert a lot of pressure on the centre and towards the white kingside.
The traditional main line, though d3 has gained in popularity recently. White defends e4 and prepares to follow up with c3 and d4, a typical plan in the Ruy Lopez.
The line which is currently causing Arkhangelsk practitioners some problems. Black can quickly run into trouble after Bc5, so he usually plays Be7 instead, leading to less active positions. d3 also strongpoints e4, making black's bishop on b7 look less than optimally placed. The d3 line is a good way of avoiding the sharper variations which arise after Re1 or c3.
The first move of the Arkhangelsk Variation, named after the Russian city of Arkhangelsk where many of its originial practitioners hail from. This is a combative and slightly offbeat line, but has been championed by several strong Grandmasters, such as Beliavsky, Malaniuk and Mikhalchishin.
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