The Marshall Attack [ペーパーバック]

This book is fifteen years old, but it still serves as a very useful guide to those who wish to play either side of the Marshall attack in the Ruy Lopez.

Those of us who play the Ruy with White start out with 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6. White can play the Exchange Variation with 4 Bxc6. But suppose we play the main line with 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 0-0 Be7 6 Re1 b5 7 Bb3. Black can now play 7...Bb7, the Trajkovic, but this book tells us how to get an advantage with 8 d4. So Black plays 7...0-0, threatening to play the Marshall. Now what?

Nunn and Harding analyze just about everything here. The best options are an anti-Marshall with 8 d4, an anti-Marshall with 8 a4, or simply 8 c3, calling Black's bluff in a sense. Sure, White may get a good game with 8 a4 b4 (8...Bb7 9 d3 Re8 is probably a better try for Black here) 9 d3 d6 10 a5, but I think White is better off letting Black play the Marshall. And this book tells us how to do that.

That means 8 c3 d5 (the Marshall) 9 exd5. Now there is a sideline that you have to know for White. Black can play 9...e4. You have to play 10 dxc6 (not 10 Ng5) exf3 11 d4 (not 11 Qxf3).

After 9 exd5, the main line is 9...Nxd5 10 Nxe5 Nxe5 11 Rxe5. Originally, Marshall tried 11...Nf6 against Capablanca and lost. It's not a good line for Black, and we learn to play 12 d4 against it. Against 11...Bb7, we play 12 Qf3 Bd6 13 Bxd5. That gets us back to the main line, 11...c6. We now play 12 d4 Bd6 13 Re1 Qh4 14 g3 Qh3. At this point, I like to play 15 Re4 g5! 16 Qf3!

However, the main line for White seems even better. After 15 Be3 Bg4 16 Qd3 Rae8 17 Nd2 Re6 18 a4, Black has a problem. I think the best move is Spassky's 18...Qh5, but after 19 axb5 axb5 20 Nf1, White is the only one with winning chances. These days, most folks try 18...bxa4 with Black.

This book suggests 18...f5 as the main line here, but I think this is no good. A few years ago, even Harding, one of the authors, agreed. It was pointed out that 19 axb5 (a move not in this book) ought to win for White. The problem with the position is strategic; White's counterplay on the Queenside is just too much. If 19...f4 20 Bxf4.

I used to play the Marshall for Black. Now I play it for White. I was considering giving it up as Black because White rarely let me play it. But a little over 20 years ago, a good player let me try it with Black, and here is what happened. I tried that main line, all the way through 18 a4 f5. I felt good about all this. I wanted to get in ...f4, and I thought that I'd get the chance to do that.

As I said, 19 axb5 is best here, but White tried 19 f4, stopping my intended ...f4. 19 f4 was considered a losing move in the book, so I felt pretty good for a little while. I played 19...Rfe8 (19...Rh6 is probably a better try) 20 axb5 Bxf4 after which we both thought for a while. This book gives 20...Bxf4! an exclam, but to put it mildly, I disagree.

While I was thinking, it occurred to me that 18...f5 had been a mistake. Sure, I might be okay after 21 gxf4 Rg6. But almost anything else seemed to be really good for White! I silently prayed to Caissa "Please save me! If you do, I swear I'll never play 18...f5 again here!" I was already thinking of giving up the Marshall completely with Black.

My opponent played 21 Bf2 and I almost resigned on the spot. Unless I took White's pawn on b5, White's Queenside counterplay would be fatal. So I decided to play 21...axb5 and resign if White played 22 Bxd5 cxd5 23 Qxb5. Instead, Caissa answered my prayer, and White inexplicably tried 22 Bxd5 cxd5 23 Nf1? Re2 24 b3. When I played 24...Bg5, White couldn't find a defence and resigned.

Needless to say, I have not tried the Marshall for Black since then. But I think the book is great (albeit a little dated) for those of you who do. And it's also excellent for those of us who play it with White.