Marshall Attack with 11...Bb7

by ChessBase
1/13/2026 – The Marshall Attack has long been one of the most important systems against the Ruy Lopez, and it is one of the sharpest. With the advance 8...d5, Black sacrifices their e-pawn and then attempts to launch an attack against the White's king, making use of the open diagonals and lines. Until now, after 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5, 11...c6 was considered the absolute main continuation. Variants up to the 40th move have been analysed here. In his article for the current CBM #229, Robert Ris presents an alternative with 11...Bb7, which is by no means worse, more natural and very promising in practice. Take a look at this week's CBM reading sample!
FIDE World Cup 2025 with analyses by Adams, Bluebaum, Donchenko, Shankland, Wei Yi and many more. Opening videos by Blohberger, King and Marin. 11 exciting opening articles with new repertoire ideas and much more.
ChessBase Magazine offers first-class training material for club players and professionals! World-class players analyse their best games and explain the ideas behind their moves. Opening specialists present the latest trends in opening theory and exciting ideas for your repertoire. Master trainers in tactics, strategy and endgames show you exactly the tricks and techniques you need to be a successful tournament player! Available as a download (including magazine as a PDF file) or as a magazine with download key by post.

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Just develop! Robert Ris praises 11...Bb7!? in the Marshall Attack

Free sample from ChessBase Magazine #229

Click on one of the following images to load the sample in your web browser!

"Our starting moves are 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 Bb7!?.

The Marshall Attack (8...d5) in the Ruy Lopez is feared by many chess players; though there are a lot of people who have consciously decided not to include it into their own repertoire. Almost all the lines have been worked out till move 40 and as Black you actually need to memorise a lot of lines, as otherwise your compensation for the pawn simply might not be sufficient. Not so much fun, as you can imagine. This article may change your opinion on this opening variation, as I am going to investigate the lesser known 11...Bb7, which is in my opinion a playable alternative to the main continuation 11...c6.

By developing the bishop to the long diagonal, Black makes their intentions clear and hopes to launch a powerful attack with the aid of the mighty bishop pair. Evidently, matters aren't that simple. In addition, Black retains the option of playing the move ...c7-c5 which is, positionally speaking, a nice improvement of their position.

In the diagram, White has basically only two serious moves, A) 12.Qf3 and B) 12.d4."

"In my opinion 11...Bb7!? has replaced 11...c6 as the absolute main line of the Marshall Attack. Both moves are equally good objectively speaking, but developing the bishop comes more naturally. ... An excellent practical weapon for Black!"

Highlights of ChessBase Magazine #229

Over 7 hours of video playing time with Felix Blohberger, Martin Breutigam, Daniel King, Jan Markos, Mihail Marin, Dr Karsten Mueller, Michael Prusikin, Oliver Reeh, Robert Ris and Dorian Rogozenco. 

FIDE World Cup 2025: Analyses by Adams, Bluebaum, Donchenko, Grandelius, Shankland, Wei Yi, Wojtaszek and many more – Marshal Attack: just develop: Robert Ris praises the modern 11…Bb7!? – “Giri’s Gems”: The world-class player looks back at eight games from top tournaments of 2025  – “Hello e-file!”: Oliver Reeh poses numerous training questions on 33 games and presents four interactive videos in his tactics column – Topalov-Anand 2005: Dorian Rogozenco looks back at a theoretically important, highly tactical Queen's Indian with the spectacular 14.Nxf7!! – a “Modern Classic” and much more!

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The WCh French

5/19/2025 – In ChnessBase Magazine, our team of authors regularly explores new ideas and current trends in opening theory. CBM #225 once again offers ten opening articles – from a Dutch setup against the London System to 9...Bg4 in the Alapin Sicilian to the Queen's Indian with 8.Bd2. In his theory article, Robert Ris examines Gukesh's 7.a3!? in the Classical System of the French Defense – a "useful waiting move" that opens up various options for Black while simultaneously giving him the chance to make an early mistake. Ris' starting point is game 13 of the World Championship match between Gukesh and Ding Liren at the end of last year. The IM from the Netherlands also analyses two games by Magnus Carlsen, who adopted Gukesh's idea just a few days later against Nepomniachtchi. You can check out the article with all the analyses in this week's free CBM sample. Don't miss it!

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