Chessstack

Ruy Lopez: Marshall Attack

ECO code
C89
Moves
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About this variation

In the Closed Ruy Lopez Black gives up a pawn with ...d5 for a strong attack on White's king. Many top players avoid it with anti-Marshall moves.

The Marshall Attack arises from the Closed Ruy Lopez after 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. Black gives up the e5 pawn after 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. Rxe5 c6 in return for a lead in development and a strong attack against White's king.

Frank Marshall made the gambit famous as a prepared weapon against Capablanca at New York 1918. Capablanca won that game, but the attack has since been refined and is now considered fully sound; at top level it is often a drawing weapon. In the main line Black plays ...Bd6, ...Qh4 and often ...Bg4 or ...Bf5, bringing every piece towards White's king, while White defends with g3, Re1, d3 or d4, and patient moves such as Qf3 and Be3.

The positions are concrete and heavily analyzed. White often has to return the extra pawn to complete development, and many lines end in a draw after forced sequences. Because of that, top players frequently avoid the Marshall with anti-Marshall moves such as 8. a4, 8. h3 or 8. d4, which lead to slower Ruy Lopez positions instead.

The Marshall suits Black players who enjoy attacking chances and are willing to study long forcing lines. For White, knowing at least one anti-Marshall system is essential when playing the Closed Ruy Lopez against well-prepared opponents.

Because the Marshall is so well prepared at top level, many White players avoid it with anti-Marshall moves such as 8. a4 or 8. h3 instead of 8. c3. Black players who adopt the Marshall need answers to those lines as well, which usually lead to slower Ruy Lopez positions where Black's development is already comfortable and the extra tempo is not a problem.

It is one of the main lines of the Ruy Lopez.

Ruy Lopez: Marshall Attack statistics

The Ruy Lopez: Marshall Attack was reached in 19,794 master games (<0.1% of all master games), and White scored 50% from there. On Lichess it comes up in <0.1% of games, most often among players rated 2001–2200 (<0.1%).

Master games

19,794

<0.1% of games between players rated 2500+

Club games on Lichess

22,745

<0.1% of games between players rated up to 2400

White wins Draws Black wins

How often it comes up, by rating

  • 1201–1400 <0.1%
  • 1401–1600 <0.1%
  • 1601–1800 <0.1%
  • 1801–2000 <0.1%
  • 2001–2200 <0.1%
  • 2201–2400 <0.1%

Most common next moves in master games

MoveGamesPlayedResults
9. exd518,22492%
9. d41,1295.7%
9. d33912.0%
9. h3420.2%
9. a48<0.1%

Famous players with the most games here

  • Daniel Naroditsky 57 games
  • Hikaru Nakamura 24 games
  • Magnus Carlsen 21 games
  • Judit Polgar 17 games
  • Fabiano Caruana 13 games
  • Ding Liren 10 games

Master games from the Chessmont database (CC BY-SA 4.0). Club games from the Lichess open database.

Other Ruy Lopez variations