BobbyDigital80 wrote on 08/24/18 at 00:16:47:

I understand your argument. I too thought the answer to ...Bb7 was d3.

There is a new Ebook at ForwardChess:
The Original Arkhangelsk by Tibor Karoly, Dec 16, 2025

He includes a sample game which starts:
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Bb7 7. d3 Bd6!?


Frankly, the bishop looks ugly to me on d6. However in subsequent play black plays ...0-0 ...h6 ...Re8 and ...Bf8. Black gets the same positioning of pieces as in the Zaitsev.

I don't know how much the author relies on ...Bd6 as one of his sample games has black playing ...Bc5 instead.

The author explains his book better than I can. However, I'll mention my thoughts as they are the only ones I have. After ...Bb7 and d3, the bishop "bites on granite." ok. On the other hand, d3 never struck me as being as good as d4. Yet the chess world has come to accept d3 in the Ruy Lopez and Italian game.

Perhaps ...Bd6-f8 adds to the discussion. The bishop initially supports the e-pawn then proceeds as in the Zaitsev and Breyer variations. On d6, the bishop is less vulnerable to d4 than would be the case if it were on c5.

Time and practice will tell. For the moment, anyone who liked the original Archangel should be interested in this Ebook.

So you are correct about the 30% discount, and I was incorrect about the VAT because they didn't automatically deduct the 16% for that. Also shipping to the USA is expensive, so I didn't go through with a purchase.

cathexis wrote on 11/19/24 at 18:47:12:

I didn't see any discounts on their website.

I think what you are seeing is the price with and without VAT. UK VAT is 1/5 of net price or 1/6 of gross price. So $35 with VAT becomes $29.17 without VAT. For UK tax you need to provide a delivery address to qualify for the non-VAT price. If you gave a US address then chess.co.uk would automatically not charge you the VAT.

Consider that if you were paying VAT and getting a 30% discount it would only be $24.50. If you were not paying VAT the discounted price would be even less.

Thanks to you both!

Download included, as of my last purchase from modern-chess.

cathexis - Since you've expressed an interest in the Arkhangelsk, you might want to check into the new product from modern-chess.com - Top-Level Repertoire against Ruy Lopez by GM Arjun Kalyan. He recommends the Arkhangelsk Variation with the main line going 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 7.a4 Rb8 8.c3 d6 9.d4 Bb6 10.a5 Ba7 11.h3 0-0. The preview in the link also gives information on the departures from the main line that are covered.

https://www.modern-chess.com/top-level-repertoire-against-ruy-lopez-3h-and-43min...

I think the "old" DVD referred to by OP is the below one from 2009. I couldn't find it in the ChessBase shop.
https://www.niggemann.com/en/arkhangelsk.html

Michalchishin also did a "60 Minutes" thing in 2018.
https://shop.chessbase.com/en/products/mikhalchishn_new_developments_in_the_arkh...

Both of those are exclusively about 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 b5 6.Bb3 Bb7. The 2024 DVD is about three overlapping variations. 
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0

• 5...b5 6.Bb3 Bb7
• 5...b5 6.Bb3 Bc5
• 5...Bc5

Unless you are preparing for both colors, I think you would be better served by a product that picks one of those variations.

I also don't particularly like Black's position in the line where White goes Re1/c3/d4/Be3, then at some point plays d4-d5, takes on b6 and plays a4.