Chess Opening Theory/1. d4/1...d5/2. c4/2...Nf6

Marshall Defence
a b c d e f g h 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 a b c d e f g h
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN) rnbqkb1r/ppp1pppp/5n2/3p4/2PP4/8/PP2PPPP/RNBQKBNR w
Moves: 1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nf6
ECO code: D06
Parent: Queen's Gambit

Marshall Defence

A rarely seen opening at the higher levels of chess. Instead of playing e6, black can play Nf6. Black's knight defends the d5 square, but if white exchanges pawns, it is not too difficult to later gain a tempo by attacking the piece on d5. However, this defense may not be as bad as it seems. After 3. cxd5, black can play 3... c6. In this case, it is best for white to accept the gambit and now, black has a lead in development after 4. dxc6 Nxc6, giving at least partial compensation for the pawn. Usually, in the middlegame that follows, white gets a small advantage, but black usually holds out just fine. Even into the endgame, black may have chances for a draw, despite being a pawn down.

Theory table

For explanation of theory tables, see theory table and for notation, see algebraic notation..

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d5

	3	4	5	6
Marshall Defence	cxd5 c6	dxc6 Nxc6	Nf3 e5	e3 exd4	+=/=

References

• Kasparov, Garry, & Keene, Raymond 1989 Batsford chess openings 2. ISBN 0-8050-3409-9.