Arkhangelsk

Later, the variation was intensively analysed by players from Lvov - among them Mikhalchishin and Beliavsky – and applied in tournament practice. In the second half of the seventies it gained great popularity for the first time. In the Archangelsk Variation, Black defines the position of this queen’s bishop early on with 6. ... Bb7 in order to exert pressure against the opponent’s centre, in particular the point e4. White must decide whether he protects this pawn solidly with 7.d3 or goes for the unfathomable complications after 7.c3 Nxe4. Another option is 7.Re1 Bc5 8.c3 d6 9.d4 Bb6, which is closely related to the Moller System. The experienced trainer and Grandmaster Adrian Mikhalchishin is an outstanding connoisseur of these variations, the ideas of which he goes on to explain in nearly five hours video playing time.