Marshall Attack

The Marshall Attack (also called the Marshall Gambit) is a chess opening characterised by the moves:

1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bb5 a6
4. Ba4 Nf6
5. O-O Be7
6. Re1 b5
7. Bb3 O-O
8. c3 d5
Marshall Attack
abcdefgh
8
a8 black rook
c8 black bishop
d8 black queen
f8 black rook
g8 black king
c7 black pawn
e7 black bishop
f7 black pawn
g7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
a6 black pawn
c6 black knight
f6 black knight
b5 black pawn
d5 black pawn
e5 black pawn
e4 white pawn
b3 white bishop
c3 white pawn
f3 white knight
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
d2 white pawn
f2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
h2 white pawn
a1 white rook
b1 white knight
c1 white bishop
d1 white queen
e1 white rook
g1 white king
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
Moves1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d5
ECOC89
ParentRuy Lopez
Synonym(s)Marshall Gambit

The Marshall Attack is an aggressive line in the Ruy Lopez, where Black sacrifices a pawn by playing d5 to gain initiative and a kingside attack. Frank Marshall famously debuted it in his game against José Raúl Capablanca in 1918.[1] Although Marshall lost the game, the opening gained popularity and was adopted by many top players, still seeing use today at the top level by players such as Levon Aronian and Ding Liren. It is of particular theoretical importance as a way for Black to play actively and avoid the so-called "Spanish Torture" of the Closed Ruy Lopez.[2] Moreover, it has led to the development of several "Anti-Marshall" lines designed to avoid its complications.

History

The Marshall Attack had been played before 1918 by lesser known players[3][4] and by Marshall himself in 1917.[5][6] Its most famous game, called "one of the most famous games in history" by Chessbase Chess News,[7] is Marshall vs. Capablanca, played in 1918 at the Manhattan Chess Club in New York.[5]

Since its debut, many top players have adopted the opening and further developed its theory, notably Boris Spassky in his 1965 match against Mikhail Tal.[8] An important improvement over Marshall's game against Capablanca was 11... c6 instead of Nf6.[9] Even in the last decade, the theory has seen many improvements.[8]

Basics

abcdefgh
8
a8 black rook
c8 black bishop
f8 black rook
g8 black king
f7 black pawn
g7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
a6 black pawn
c6 black pawn
d6 black bishop
b5 black pawn
d5 black knight
d4 white pawn
h4 black queen
b3 white bishop
c3 white pawn
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
f2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
h2 white pawn
a1 white rook
b1 white knight
c1 white bishop
d1 white queen
e1 white rook
g1 white king
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
Main continuation in the Marshall Attack, illustrating Black's kingside attack.

After the main continuation to Black's pawn sacrifice, 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. Rxe5 c6 12. d4 Bd6 13. Re1, White's kingside has lost an important defender in the f3 knight and Black can start a powerful attack against the White king with 13... Qh4.

White also suffers from an under-developed queenside and faces some difficulties developing its remaining knight since the pawn on c3 blocks one of its squares. However, White may reach an endgame with a pawn advantage if able to withstand Black's attack.

Anti-Marshalls

Common "Anti-Marshalls" include substituting h3 or a4 instead of 8. c3. For many years, 8. a4 was the most common owing to Garry Kasparov's victory over Nigel Short in the 1993 World Chess Championship. Recently, however, the viability of 8... b4 in response to 8. a4 has led to increased use of 8. h3 instead.[10]

References

  1. "Jose Raul Capablanca vs Frank Marshall, New York 1918". Chessgames.com. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  2. Vigorito, David (2010). Understanding the Marshall attack. London: Gambit. p. 1. ISBN 978-1-906454-17-3. OCLC 435419347.
  3. Winter, Edward. "Soldatenkov". Chess Notes. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  4. "Opening: Ruy Lopez, Marshall". Chessgames.com. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  5. Winter, Edward. "The Marshall Gambit". Chess Notes. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  6. Chernev, Irving (1987). 1000 best short games of chess : a treasury of masterpieces in miniature. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 238. ISBN 0-671-53801-2. OCLC 15549438.
  7. Peterson, Macauley (2018-10-23). "Capablanca vs Marshall Attack, 100 years later". ChessBase. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  8. Pavlovic, Milos (2020). The modernized Marshall attack. Romain Edouard. Landegem, Belgium. ISBN 978-94-92510-85-3. OCLC 1198581727.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. Vigorito, David (2010). Understanding the Marshall attack. London: Gambit. p. 6. ISBN 978-1-906454-17-3. OCLC 435419347.
  10. Vigorito, David (2010). Understanding the Marshall attack. London: Gambit. p. 137. ISBN 978-1-906454-17-3. OCLC 435419347.
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