- The 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
- OpeningRuy Lopez
- Chosen byBlack
- ECOC89
- Also calledMarshall Gambit
The Marshall Attack arises in the 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 castles before …d6, and when White plays 8.c3 to prepare d4, Black strikes with 8…d5. The pawn is sacrificed for quick development and an attack on White's king. It is also Black's way of escaping the long, grinding pressure known as the Spanish torture.
Frank Marshall played the gambit against José Raúl Capablanca at the Manhattan Chess Club in New York in 1918. Capablanca took the pawn, defended accurately and won, but the opening lived on. It is often said that Marshall had kept it secret since losing his 1909 match to Capablanca, but that is hardly true: earlier the same year he had already played the gambit in a consultation game in New York. Lesser-known players had also tried the idea long before: in Havana in 1893, four Cuban amateurs consulting together played the gambit against the visiting master Carl Walbrodt.
The big improvement came later: 11…c6 instead of Marshall's 11…Nf6, a move found independently by Marshall and by Stuart Milner-Barry in the late 1930s. Boris Spassky used the attack in his 1965 match against Mikhail Tal, and today it is played by Levon Aronian and Ding Liren among others. In places the theory has been explored thirty moves deep.
The main line, move by move
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 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. Rxe5 c6 12. d4 Bd6 13. Re1 Qh4 14. g3 Qh3 15. Be3 Bg4 16. Qd3 Rae8 17. Nd2
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The plans
White wants to
- Develop the queenside: d4, Be3, Nd2, and often a4 to bring the a1-rook into the game.
- Trade pieces and head for an endgame where the extra pawn counts.
- Be ready to give the pawn back to bring calm around the king.
Black wants to
- Aim the pieces at White's king: …Bd6, …Qh4–h3, …Bg4 and …Rae8.
- Use the e-file, and sometimes …Re6–h6 or …f5–f4.
- Keep the initiative. If the attack runs dry, Black is simply a pawn down.
The pawn structure
The e-pawns are gone from the board. White has an extra pawn and a sound structure with the d-pawn in the center. Black has six pawns against White's seven, but active pieces and open lines toward White's king.
The pawns in front of White's king are Black's target: after g3 the f3 and h3 squares are weak, and that is where Black's pieces want to go.
Important lines
15.Re4: the sharp road
Instead of 15.Be3, White can play 15.Re4. The rook on the fourth rank covers g4 and can swing over to the kingside. Black often answers 15…g5, and the game becomes a risky middlegame in which White often sacrifices the exchange to shore up the defense.
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 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. Rxe5 c6 12. d4 Bd6 13. Re1 Qh4 14. g3 Qh3 15. Re4 g5
15. Re4
The rook covers g4 and stops …Bg4.
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Marshall's own move: 11…Nf6
Marshall played 11…Nf6 against Capablanca in 1918. After 12.Re1 Bd6 13.h3 Ng4 14.Qf3 Qh4 15.d4 he sacrificed the knight with 15…Nxf2, but Capablanca defended and won. Today 11…Nf6 is considered not quite enough: in the game's position after 15.d4, White is better even after Black's best move, 15…h5.
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 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. Rxe5 Nf6 12. Re1 Bd6 13. h3 Ng4 14. Qf3 Qh4 15. d4 Nxf2
11… Nf6
Marshall's move. The knight goes back and prepares …Bd6 and …Ng4.
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Anti-Marshall: 8.a4
Many top players avoid the Marshall Attack with White, more because of all the draws than because of the risk. Instead of 8.c3 they play 8.a4, 8.h3 or 8.d4. For a long time 8.a4 was the most popular choice, after Garry Kasparov's win against Nigel Short in the 1993 world championship match. Once Black showed that 8…b4 holds, 8.h3 became more common.
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. a4 b4 9. d3 d6
How it goes in real games
How the games ended once they had reached the positions, in blitz, rapid and classical games. White wins, draws and Black wins, as a percentage of the games. A position counts however the game got there.
| Position | Level | Games | White wins | Draw | Black wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marshall Attack 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 | Club players | 700,570 | 41% | 5% | 53% |
| Strong players | 342,749 | 42% | 6% | 51% | |
| Marshall Attack, main line 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 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 | Club players | 435,083 | 39% | 5% | 56% |
| Strong players | 216,804 | 41% | 6% | 53% | |
| Anti-Marshall: 8.a4 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. a4 | Club players | 189,722 | 51% | 6% | 43% |
| Strong players | 138,423 | 51% | 7% | 42% |
The most common moves 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
Share of the games in the position, for club players and strong players. A dash means the move isn't among the most common in that group.
| Move | Club players | Strong players |
|---|---|---|
| 9.exd5 | 89% (624,450) | 90% (308,158) |
| 9.d3 | 5% (34,447) | 5% (16,114) |
| 9.d4 | 4% (30,314) | 4% (14,989) |
Source: games on Lichess, fetched November 7, 2026. Club players means games where the players average 1600 or more, strong players games where they average 2000 or more. Positions that aren't in our numbers aren't shown.
Explore the position on the analysis board: the moves club players choose from here, how the games tend to end, and what Lavi thinks of each move.
A famous game
The game that made the gambit famous: Marshall sacrifices a pawn, a knight and a bishop, and Capablanca defends and wins. Capablanca vs. Marshall, New York 1918
The main line with all the comments as text
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O Black castles before …d6. That is the signal. 8. c3 White prepares d4 and allows the attack. 8… d5 The Marshall Attack. The pawn is sacrificed to open lines before White has developed the queenside. 9. exd5 White accepts the offer, as almost always. 9… Nxd5 10. Nxe5 White takes another pawn and is now a pawn up. 10… Nxe5 11. Rxe5 White has won a pawn, but the rook is exposed and the queenside pieces are still at home. 11… c6 Today's main line. The pawn supports the knight on d5, and the next move is …Bd6 against the king. 12. d4 White closes the bishop's diagonal toward f2 and opens the way for the bishop on c1. 12… Bd6 The bishop aims at h2 and White's king. 13. Re1 The rook retreats to safety. 13… Qh4 The queen joins in, and …Qxh2+ is threatened. 14. g3 White shuts the road to h2, but the f3 and h3 squares around the king become weak. 14… Qh3 The queen gets in on h3. Black wants to go on with …Bg4, …Rae8 and sometimes …f5–f4. 15. Be3 The older and more principled move: the bishop develops and blocks the e-file. 15… Bg4 With tempo against the queen. 16. Qd3 The queen steps aside and can go on to f1 to defend the king. 16… Rae8 Now every black piece is part of the attack. 17. Nd2 White finally develops the knight. Black has full compensation for the pawn, and with best play the position is balanced.
Read more
Ruy Lopez
The bishop to b5 presses on e5 from a distance. The masters' favorite since the 1800s.
Berlin Defense
3…Nf6 and the Berlin Wall: the endgame that stopped Kasparov.
Every move on this page has been checked against the rules of chess.
Updated November 14, 2026
8… d5
The Marshall Attack. The pawn is sacrificed to open lines before White has developed the queenside.