Capablanca vs Marshall Attack, 100 years later

by Macauley Peterson
10/23/2018 – Exactly 100 years ago today, on October 23, 1918, one of the most famous games in history was played. (Even Wikileaks founder Julian Assange knows about it!) Frank Marshall, one of the world's strongest players at the time, had prepared a very special opening for his game against future world champion Jose Raul Capablanca. Charles Higgie has analysed this game in considerable detail. After studying his explanations you can try playing the Marshall Attack against an engine that matches your skill level. It's fun and can do wonders for your tournament results. | Photos: Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
He was a child prodigy and he is surrounded by legends. In his best times he was considered to be unbeatable and by many he was reckoned to be the greatest chess talent of all time: Jose Raul Capablanca, born 1888 in Havana.

Still a mythic game

Marshall

Earlier this year we ran a small story about Wikileaks founder Julian Assange mysteriously tweeting a chess position. The position — a search of MegaBase revealed — was from a classic game played exactly 100 years ago today: Jose Raul Capablanca vs Frank Marshall from the first round of the Manhattan Chess Club Masters, which began in New York on this day in 1918. Marshall was the US Champion at the time. Capablanca was still over two years away from becoming World Champion.

What was significant about this game to Assange or his followers remains a mystery. In computer security parlance, Capablanca's name could be taken as a stand-in for "White Hat" which is slang for ethical hacking. But that seems like a stretch.

If the date of the game was of any relevance, we might have expected to see some news related to Wikileaks today, but other than suing the government of Ecuador earlier this week over new "house rules" on a variety of topics including care of his pet cat, we haven't seen any of note. Perhaps that's because Assange's Internet access in London has been severely curtailed since March.

Photo: Public Domain, Library of Congress

 
Ruy Lopez, Marshall Gambit
Position after 8...d5

As for the history surrounding the game itself, today we refer to the move 8...d5 in the Ruy Lopez as the "Marshall Gambit" although, as we noted in connection with the Assange tweet, historians have uncovered prior examples of the move being played as far back as 1893. It also wasn't true that he saved this move for the fateful 1918 encounter. He'd previously avoided playing 2...Nc6 entirely against Capablanca on several occasions since their 1909 match which the Cuban had won easily.

Here is a thoroughly annotated account of the game, courtesy Chess Magazine:

 
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 "My first surprise," wrote Capablanca, as Marshall allows the Ruy Lopez for the first time in nearly a decade. 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 Marshall thought, incorrectly, that this was a novelty. Capablanca commented, "Castling has been supposed to be undesirable at this point, on account of 8 Bd5", which rather begs the question: Why didn't Capablanca play 8 Bd5, if he thought it was so good? Capablanca himself answers: "I now felt that Marshall had prepared something for me, expecting me to play B-Q5 (Bd5), therefore without hesitation I played my next move." 8.c3 White prepares d2-d4. This move is still the most commonly played; although some other moves, such as 8.a4 , are popular too. 8...d5 Marshall plays his gambit. Capablanca commented, "The sacrifice, if accepted, yields Black a powerful attack, although of a doubtful nature, and I am inclined to think that White should come out with advantage." For a long time the chess world agreed with this analysis. Growing up in the 1960s and 1970s I remember reading an article in 'CHESS' about a refutation of this gambit. Yet today many players, not least Levon Aronian, consider the Marshall sound and play it regularly. 9.exd5 Nxd5 Deviating from his earlier 9...e4 10.dxc6 exf3 11.d4 fxg2 12.Bf4? Bg4 13.Qd3 Nh5 14.Bxc7? Qxc7 15.Qe4 Nf4! 16.Qxe7 Qxe7 17.Rxe7 Bf3 and 0-1 in Frere-Marshall, New York (simul) 1917. 10.Nxe5 Capablanca collects his pawn. "I thought for a little while before playing this, knowing I would be subjected there-after to a terrific attack, all the lines of which would be of necessity be familiar to my adversary. The lust of battle, however, had been aroused within me. I felt that my judgement and skill were being challenged by a player who had reason to fear both (as shown by the records of our previous encounters); but who wanted to take advantage of the element of surprise and of the fact of my being unfamiliar with a thing to which he had devoted many a night of toil and hard work. --- "I considered the position then and decided I was in honour bound, so to speak, to take the pawn and accept the challenge [....] as my knowledge and judgement told me that my position should then be defensible" (Capablanca in his great book, 'My Chess Career'). Nxe5 11.Rxe5 Nf6 Repositioning this important minor piece. This was Marshall's original idea, but is considered passé by most opening books today. The 'Modern' variation of the Marshall Attack is 11...c6 , which is now the usual move at this point. Marshall himself found this improvement. 12.Re1 "White's move order is slightly unusual, but it transposes into the more natural sequence 12.d4 Bd6 13.Re1 today 13.Re2 is considered equally strong 13...Ng4 14.h3 Qh4 15.Qf3 " - John Nunn in the excellent book 'The World's Greatest Chess Games'. 12...Bd6 13.h3 "If 13.d4 , then will follow Ng4 " - Capablanca. 13...Ng4 Black plays it anyway. "The onslaught begins," commented Capablanca, while Nunn noted that "Black's attack gathers momentum." He goes on to note further that White has no minor pieces defending his king, and that White's entire queenside is still at home. Indeed, Black's attack looks extremely dangerous and maybe the only reason White survives is because of perfect defence - and the fact that White's queen and light-squared bishop prove to be a very effective defensive combination. 14.Qf3 This move is both offensive and defensive, as it threatens the rook on a8 and also protects the white kingside. "The knight can't be taken, 14.hxg4? Qh4 15.Qf3 Bh2+ 16.Kf1 Bxg4 17.Qe4 Bf4 18.g3 Qh2 and White will lose his queen under unfavourable conditions" - Nunn. 14...Qh4 15.d4 "Intuitive, and absolutely correct", according to Reuben Fine. "The tempting move of 15.Re8 is met by Bb7 16.Rxf8+ Rxf8 17.Qxg4 Re8 18.Kf1 Qe7 19.Be6 Bd5 , and Black has the best of it" - Capablanca. 15...Nxf2 "The trapper, trapped," observed Capablanca, who added, "Very likely a mistake and overlooking the reply. " 15...h5 was perhaps the best way to keep up the pressure." Interestingly, in the opening databases I use I can't find any other moves being successfully used by Black in this position and Fritz seems to think it is the best move. 16.Re2 "A strong move, but decades of analysis have shown that the most convincing refutation of Black's play is 16.Bd2! " - Nunn. 16 Bd2 is, indeed, the most popular move on my opening databases, whereas 16 Re2 has been the third most popular behind 16 Qxf2, although that move loses, as explained above. Nunn further observes, "One can hardly criticise Capablanca's move since after it White retains a clear advantage no matter how Black plays." "Again White cannot take the knight. 16.Qxf2? Bh2+ but not 16...Bg3?? 17.Qxf7+ 17.Kf1 Bg3 18.Qe2 now 18.Qxf7+ Rxf7+ is check 18...Bxh3 19.gxh3 Rae8 20.Be3 Bxe1 21.Qxe1 Qxh3+ 22.Kf2 Qh2+ 23.Kf1 Qxb2 and wins" - Nunn. 16...Bg4 Black keeps attacking, giving white a choice of taking bishop or knight. Of course there are other moves available, but 16...Nxh3+ 17.gxh3 Bxh3 18.Re4 is given as "hopeless" by Nunn, and in my opening database I can see White scoring 66% after this. 17.hxg4 Bh2+ 18.Kf1 Bg3 Protecting the knight and threatening mate in one. "The alternative was 18...Nh1 , leading to a complicated game, but always White is apparently able to find a valid defence" - Capablanca. 19.Rxf2 " 19.Ke1 was also feasible, Nh3+ as it is not possible for Black to play 19...Rae8 on account of 20.Qxf7+ " - Capablanca. 20.Kd1 Ng1 21.Qe4 Nxe2 22.Qxe2 Rae8 23.Qf3 Qh1+ 24.Kc2 Qe1 25.Bd2 Re2 , however, gives Black more counterplay than in the game, according to Nunn. 19...Qh1+ Black throws in another check and then regains some of the sacrificed material. 20.Ke2 Bxf2 21.Bd2 White saves his threatened bishop. 21.Kxf2 Qxc1 22.Qe2 Rae8 23.Qd2 Qh1 has been tried in some Internet games, but Black still has an attack here, whereas after 21 Bd2 White should gradually consolidate. 21...Bh4 The only way to save the bishop. 22.Qh3 Of course White would love to exchange queens and consolidate his extra material. Rae8+ "As it is important for Black to avoid exchanging queens he is now compelled to drive the king to c2 and presently also his rooks are on the wrong side of the board" - Capablanca. 23.Kd3 Qf1+ The only way to prevent the queen exchange and not lose the bishop on h4. 24.Kc2 Forced, but now the white king at last finds some sanctuary. Bf2 25.Qf3 An interesting pin on the bishop... Qg1 ...which Marshall immediately breaks. 26.Bd5 "This move is one of those inconspicuous but important moves which make the difference between a smooth technical victory and allowing the opponent messy counterplay. "After 26.a4? Be3! 27.Bxe3 Rxe3 28.Nd2!? Qxa1 29.Qxe3 bxa4 30.Bd5 a3 we have a mess, whereas after the text-move, which threatens 27 Qd1, Black's compensation is far more limited" - Nunn. 26...c5 27.dxc5 Bxc5 28.b4 Bd6 Dropping back. "If, instead, 28...Be3 29.Bxe3 Rxe3 30.Nd2! " - Capablanca. 29.a4 The best, according to several players. "Incredibly ingenious, the rook enters the game via the Queen's Rook file," wrote Fine. a5 Black continues to try and confuse the issue, hoping to throw the queenside open. 30.axb5 axb4 31.Ra6 The rook gets into action, attacking the black bishop. bxc3 Marshall, typically, ignores it and goes on with his own attack. 32.Nxc3 Bb4 "White's king has been stripped of its defensive pawn-cover, but Black's pieces are in no position to make use of this. Indeed, there is little he can do to stop the b-pawn" - Nunn. 33.b6 Bxc3 34.Bxc3 h6 35.b7 Re3 One last attack. 36.Bxf7+ Mate is inevitable, as shown by 36.Bxf7+ Rxf7 37.b8Q+ Kh7 38.Rxh6+! Kxh6 39.Qh8+ Kg5 40.Qh5# . 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Capablanca,J-Marshall,F-1–01918C89New York

Reproduced from Chess Magazine October/2018, with kind permission

Like to try the Marshall Attack against the computer?

Play 8...d5 against an engine of your choice and see how well you do

Note that in the above player you can practice ideas you might have found in the annotated game Capablanca-Marshall. You can pick an electronic opponent that matches your playing strength: Very weak opponent (baby mode), Serious amateur (blue tie), Club player (blue T-shirt), Master (Yay!). There are additional buttons for a New game (from the given position), Take back move, Play move forwards, Play now, Get a hint, Switch colours, Analyse with a chess engine. You can change sides by taking back an opponent's move and playing a different one yourself.

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Macauley served as the Editor in Chief of ChessBase News from July 2017 to March 2020. He is the producer of The Full English Breakfast chess podcast, and was an Associate Producer of the 2016 feature documentary, Magnus.

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