Caruana's Ruy Lopez: Dark Archangel - GM Fabiano Caruana

Opening Course on the Archangel variation presented by GM Fabiano Caruana
Includes video and PGN

Language: English
Lectures: 31
Total Running Time: 43 hours 21 minutes

From the course:

The “Dark” Repertoire for Beating the Ruy Lopez

Tired of grinding 20 difficult moves, trying to survive the Ruy Lopez? Bring the fight to White with Caruana’s Dark Archangel! It seizes control of the a7-g1 diagonal to put the squeeze on the enemy center and snipe their king.

Fabiano Caruana has won nearly everything there is to win in chess.

His peak rating of 2844 FIDE earned him a peak ranking of world #2, and made him the 3rd highest-rated player in history.

He also won the 2016, 2022 and 2023 US Championship — the 2018 Candidates Tournament and the right to play for the crown — plus many elite events featuring the world’s top 10.

Such massive success demands bold, ambitious play.

So when Caruana needs to win versus 1.e4 and the Ruy Lopez, he uncorks his Archangel Variation.

Instead of hiding behind the pawns with …Be7, the Archangel bishop leads the charge from c5 to set up initiative-grabbing strategies, such as:

Pinning the f3-knight, and turning up the pressure against d4. Launching the kingside pawns to take advantage of the pin on f2. And seizing central squares against less ambitious tries just to name a few.

Caruana has been playing the Archangel for over 14 years — routinely crushing 2700-Elo grandmasters with the opening’s central pressure and dark-squared attacking plans.

But while he needed thousands of hours analyzing and playing the opening to achieve mastery, you’re taking a shortcut.

That’s because Caruana himself is passing on to you…

Everything You Need To Know To Rock
The Ruy Lopez With The Archangel

We’re not exaggerating when we say:

Caruana spared nothing to ensure equality while fighting for the full point — regardless of what White plays.

His analysis, with almost 1000 MoveTrainer variations and 43 hours of video, covers ALL of the first player’s major responses after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 — so you get an all-in-one Ruy Lopez playbook for Black…

All the way up to the Archangel formation after 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O b5 6.Bb3 Bc5!

Plus, the average line depth of 19.58 moves keeps unpleasant surprises away — while you zoom to promising middlegames with active pieces and serious attacking chances.

But Caruana delivers so much more than cutting-edge analysis and encyclopedic coverage.

Understand The Intricacies, Even When Your
Knowledge Runs Out

“At some point, your knowledge of an opening will end. So I really hope to impart the understanding of the positions, the typical plans… So you can understand the intricacies of the position, even when your knowledge runs out.”

— Fabiano Caruana, 2018 World Championship Challenger


Inside, Caruana complements the Ruy Lopez’ tactical and positional ideas with crystal-clear instruction — simultaneously improving your opening and middlegame play.

You’ll be shown how to:

? Unleash your bishops to demote White’s strong center into a vulnerability, which requires constant defense.

? Cement your control of the f4, e5, and d4-squares against the Exchange Variation (4.Bxc6) — featuring a super-GM maneuver starting with …Qf6!?

? Punish club-favorite sidelines — like 5.Qe2 or 5.Nc3 — by grabbing the lion’s share of the center, or starting a pawn storm.

? Turn the classic Bg5 pin on its head… using it as a “hook” to whip up a pawn storm.

? And of course, launch kingside attacks for days!