Just develop! Robert Ris praises 11…Bb7!? in the Marshall Attack
Free sample from ChessBase Magazine #229
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“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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