Chess opening · ECO C89

Ruy Lopez: Marshall Attack

The Ruy Lopez: Marshall Attack starts 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d5. It ranks #158 of the 174 openings on this site by how often rated players on Lichess reach it.

The position after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d5. White to move.

Move by move

  1. 1. e4White pushes the e-pawn two squares to e4, staking a claim in the center.
  2. 1... e5Black pushes the e-pawn two squares to e5, staking a claim in the center.
  3. 2. Nf3White develops the kingside knight to f3.
  4. 2... Nc6Black develops the queenside knight to c6.
  5. 3. Bb5White develops the light-squared bishop to b5. It now attacks the knight on c6.
  6. 3... a6Black advances the a-pawn to a6. It now attacks the bishop on b5.
  7. 4. Ba4White moves the bishop from b5 to a4. It now attacks the knight on c6.
  8. 4... Nf6Black develops the kingside knight to f6.
  9. 5. O-OWhite castles kingside, moving the king off the center file and bringing the rook into play.
  10. 5... Be7Black develops the dark-squared bishop to e7.
  11. 6. Re1White moves the rook from f1 to e1.
  12. 6... b5Black pushes the b-pawn two squares to b5. It now attacks the bishop on a4.
  13. 7. Bb3White moves the bishop from a4 to b3.
  14. 7... O-OBlack castles kingside, moving the king off the center file and bringing the rook into play.
  15. 8. c3White advances the c-pawn to c3.
  16. 8... d5Black pushes the d-pawn two squares to d5, staking a claim in the center.

What players choose next, by rating

The three most common White moves from this position in rated Lichess games, grouped by the rating of the player making the move. exd5 is the most popular next move in every rating band.

RatingMost commonSecondThird
1400–1599exd5 100%––
1600–1799exd5 90%d3 10%–
1800–1999exd5 100%––
2000 and upexd5 100%––

Related openings

Ruy Lopez: ClosedThe line this one grows from

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