The Modernized Marshall Attack

En hyperaktuell bok høsten 2020 om det teoretisk hotte Marshall-angrepet 8 c3 d5! mot Spansk. Behandler også Anti-Marshall-trekkene 8 d3, d4 og a4, pluss Avbyttevarianten 4 Lxc6.

Fra forordet til forfatteren Milos Pavlovic:

I think that nowadays it is pretty much common knowledge that the inventor of the Marshall Attack was the legendary grandmaster Frank Marshall. He famously played it for the first time in a game against Capablanca in Manhattan in 1918. Capablanca was able to pick his way through the complications and win that game, but despite its inauspicious beginnings the idea has not only survived but thrived in tournament play. The former world champion, Boris Spassky, reinvented the opening in his match against Mikhail Tal in 1965, and since then the Marshall Attack has been a key weapon in the Black arsenal against the Ruy Lopez. Indeed, today it is commonly considered as one of the top three best openings against 1.e4, along with the Berlin Defence and the Najdorf Sicilian.

The list of famous players who have used and continue to use the Marshall is long indeed, with notable names being Nunn, Leko, Aronian, Svidler, and many others. I have noticed that Ding Liren is including the Marshall in his repertoire at the very highest levels. On a personal note, my knowledge of the Marshall helped me to become a grandmaster and has allowed me to play some of my best games.

This book is about the Marshall Attack and the lines which can be grouped together under the banner of the so-called Anti-Marshall. The theory has developed so much in the last decade that there is more than enough material to be going on with just in those areas, but I also decided to include a detailed look at an important line in the Exchange Variation.

Black’s key concept in the Marshall is giving up a central pawn in return for activity, and I have tried to give as many lines as possible which adhere closely to this principle. Why is this so significant? Well, for starters, usually in the Ruy Lopez Black is looking for long, slow games in solid, closed positions. The Marshall flips this on its head and Black tries to accelerate the play and radically change the character of the game at an early stage.