With his last two moves, Black has deviated from the usual lines encountered in the Ruy Lopez: the Open Defense with 5...Ne4 and the Closed Defense with 5...Be7.
The tournament infancy of this maneuver dates back to the 1950's and perhaps earlier (cf. Krogius-Minev, Leningrad 1958). However, the litmus test occured at the Gorki Team Championship in 1963 when the players from the northeastern Russian seaport of Arkhangelsk "sprung" their curious innovation on the perplexed opponents.
From the very outset, Black declares his fighting spirit. He has intentionally postponed the development of his Kingside in order to create a masked bettery along the a8-h1 diagonal (Queenside Fianchetto), a noble but, as praxis has shown, risky endeavor during the opening phase of the game.
Despite its slow honing into maturity, the Arkhangelsk Variation remains a viable arsenal in any tournament player's repertoire.
