When I was a 1.e4 player, the opening I lived for was the Ruy Lopez. The rich strategic situations attracted me, and its amazing age (Lucena first mentioned it in 1490!) made me feel like I was reliving a part of chess history. Thus, when my 1.e4 was met by 1.e5 I always felt a certain excitement. Of course, there is always a fly in the ointment, and in this case the bothersome "buzzing" appears after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 when, instead of enjoying the intricate maneuvering that occurs after 7.d6 8.c3, Black is threatening to take over the initiative by 7.0-0 8.c3 d5 (The Marshall Attack) 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5 c6 followed by 12.Bd6 with a strong kingside attack.

To show the effect this can have on a player, I'll relate what happened to me at the 1978 Lloyds Bank tournament in London. It was the first round and the game (I was White) had started 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7. Suddenly I decided that my opponent was going to meet 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 with 7.0-0. Getting angry, I thought, "He's not going to push me around like that! I'll surprise him with 6.d4 and see how he reacts when I choose the system!" Of course, I lost, and afterwards he made it clear that he had no intention whatsoever of playing the Marshall.

A couple rounds later this exact scenario was repeated. This time I "dared" my opponent to castle after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 and, of course, he did just that! Again I avoided the Marshall, again I lost, and again I had to experience pure frustration when another opponent told me he wouldn't have played it (he intended to meet 8.c3 with 8.d6, transposing back into normal Lopez lines)!

Amazingly, this happened a third straight time when I had White again, and after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 I looked my opponent, Malachi, in the eye (thinking, "Enough is enough!") and dashed out 8.c3, sure that the Marshall was the farthest thing from his mind. Without hesitation, he slammed down 8.d5 (at that point I might have been the first person - long before Homer Simpson - who used the word "Doh!"). The game continued: 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5 c6 12.Bxd5 cxd5 13.d4 Bd6 14.Re3 (The Kevitz Variation. The idea is to meet 14...Qh4, which is the main line, with 15.h3 when the e3-Rook prevents many potential sarifices.) 14...f5? (A new and highly dubious move.) 15.Nd2 f4 16.Re1 Qg5 17.Nf3 Qh5 18.a4 g5? (Black's already in trouble, but this attempt to overrun the kingside simply fails.) 19.axb5 g4 20.Ne5 f3 21.Qd2 Bf5 22.Rxa6 Rxa6 23.bxa6 Ra8 24.Qg5+ Qxg5 25.Bxg5 Rxa6 26.gxf3 gxf3 27.Nxf3 and I won easily. Go figure.

More recently, one of my students has had trouble facing the "threat" of the Marshall, mainly due to the fact that she wants to avoid the complications and memorization that is a crucial part of the opening as a whole. As a result, she always answers 7.0-0 with one of the two anti-Marshall ideas (Kasparov does the same thing): 8.a4 and 8.h3. This isn't a bad choice, but should players with White really freak out to the extent that I did? Shouldn't they hold their heads up high and enter the battle with a song on their lips and an extra pawn in their pockets? Now, with Lalic's excellent THE MARSHALL ATTACK, you can answer this question for yourself.

Lalic's book is a mix of the latest analysis, summaries, and clear text. One hugely important section covers the anti-Marshall systems, finally putting this material together in digestible form: chapters seven (8.h3), eight (8.a4), nine (8.d4), and ten (8.d3 and 8.c3 d5 9.d4). He also gives great coverage of lesser Marshall setups such as (after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3 d5 9.exd5) 9.e4 (unsound) and 9.Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5 Nf4 (sucks), 11.Nb6 (sucks), 11.Bb7 (quite interesting), and 11.Nf6 (Black's original choice).

However, most interesting to me is the modern main line: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5 c6 12.d4 Bd6 13.Re1 Qh4 14.g3 Qh3 15.Re4 (often sacrificing the Exchange on this square) when Black must know quite a bit if he wants to show equality (though Anand, as Black, did just that in a Linares/2002 game against Ponomariov). There is still a lot to be discovered here, and any player that enjoys doing some home analysis will be rewarded with good results from either side.

So why doesn't everyone play the Marshall? While it's an excellent opening, it requires a lot of memorization. More importantly, Black's "good result" is usually an easy draw, while White is hoping to win. In fact, many top players use the Marshall as a drawing weapon!

This is all unimportant at the high "B" (1700) to low master levels (2300) (players below this have no business using such a memorization-intensive opening). There (1700-2300), most white players won't be properly prepared to meet the Marshall and Black will find himself winning many quick and brutal games. And from White's perspective, the same holds true: good preparation will bring you lots of easy points.

THE MARSHALL ATTACK is a must buy if you play the white side of the Ruy Lopez or, obviously, if you play the Marshall. It brings you right up to date theoretically and also gives you lots of food for thought.

Click to see Donaldson's review of this book.