Chessreads
Chess Opening Books
Published: March 12, 2026
Video Description
The Neo-Archangel (Arkhangelsk) Variation in the Ruy Lopez, 6...Bc5: theory, strategy and resources.
Annotated Ruy Lopez repertoires: https://www.patreon.com/posts/spanish-opening-150080716?
Here's what I use to learn openings: https://chessbook.com/hanging-pawns
Practice my Spanish repertoire against a sparring partner: https://go.noctie.ai/ruy-lopez-white
Sort books on the Spanish by specific variation: https://chessreads.com/spanish-opening
Learn the basics of the Ruy Lopez here: https://youtu.be/tiGEerTU6ms
The Neo-Archangel, or Arkhangelsk is an improvement to the Archangel defense, since black plays the less committal Bc5 instead of bb7 on move 6. It's also an improvement compared to the Moller variation, 5.Bc5, since black includes b5, thus reducing white's options. It's an aggressive opening, and it leads to much sharper play than the Closed Spanish variations.
0:00 Introduction to the Neo-Archangel
01:04 Resources on the Neo-Archangel
02:41 History of the Neo-Archangel
11:32 Strategy and Basics of the Neo-Archangel
24:46 Theory of the Neo-Archangel