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Chessville
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Frank J. Marshall, US champion, grandmaster and conqueror of Lasker, Capablanca, Rubinstein and virtually all the greats of his day, was the heir to Morphy and Pillsbury and the forerunner of Fine, Reshevsky and Fischer. Under his leadership the USA won the gold medals in the chess Olympiad. Marshall's style was direct, almost brutal, but easy to understand and supremely effective. He was born in New York City in 1877, and lived in Montreal, Canada from ages 8–19. His father taught him chess when he was eight years old. He progressed quickly and by 1890 was one of the leading players in Montreal. He made his international debut at Paris 1900 in fourth place. In 1904 he won the Cambridge Springs event by 1.5 points over Lasker; it was Lasker’s first tournament defeat in ten years! He won the U.S. Chess Championship in 1904 but did not accept the title because the current U.S. champion, Harry Nelson Pillsbury, did not compete. He exemplified the ideal of “to be the man you must first beat the man." In 1906, Pillsbury died, and Marshall again refused the championship title until he won it in competition in 1909. He was U.S. Champion from 1909 until he retired undefeated in 1936. In 1907 he played a match against World Chess Champion Emanuel Lasker for the title and lost 8 games, winning none and drawing 7. In 1909, he agreed to play a match with a young Cuban named José Raúl Capablanca and to most people's surprise, lost 8 games, drew 14 and could only win one. Realizing the young man had immense talent and deserved recognition by the chess community, Marshall worked hard to assure Capablanca had the chance to play at the highest levels of competition. Marshall insisted that Capablanca be permitted to enter the San Sebastian tournament in 1911. This exclusive tournament was designed to be one of the strongest ever held; only masters who had won notable tournaments were allowed to compete. Capablanca was included despite the protests of the other masters; however, all doubts about the unknown were dissipated after Capablanca won the tournament. This selfless act once more demonstrated Marshall’s placing his love of the game above personal ego. At St. Petersburg in 1914, Marshall was given the title of "grandmaster" of chess by Tsar Nicholas II. He was one of the original five people to receive the title; the other four were Lasker, Capablanca, Alekhine, and Tarrasch. In 1915 he opened the Marshall Chess Club in New York, Which still survives to this day. In the 1930's, Marshall captained the US team to four gold medals at four Chess Olympiads. After one round, he returned to the board and found that his comrades had agreed to three draws. After he finished his own game, he gave each of them a stern talk individually on how draws don't win games or matches. They got the message. The U.S. team has never repeated the great successes of Marshall's teams.
Marshall was famous for his aggressive style, and his ability to trick his way out of traps earned him the nickname "The Great Swindler." Marshall's most lasting legacy is a number of chess opening variations named after him. There are two gambit variations that are still theoretically important today. The “Marshall Attack”, or Marshall Gambit, in the Ruy Lopez (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 in algebraic notation) first gained notoriety in a match against Capablanca in 1918, although Marshall had previously played it in other games that did not gain widespread attention. Even though Capablanca won in a game widely regarded as a typical example of Capablanca’s defensive genius, Marshall's opening idea became quite popular. Black gets good attacking chances and scores close to 50% with the Marshall, an excellent result. The Marshall Attack is so well-respected that many top players, including Garry Kasparov, choose to avoid it with "Anti-Marshall" variations such as 8.a4. Another important gambit in the Semi-Slav Defense is also named after Marshall. The Semi-Slav "Marshall Gambit" begins 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 e6 4.e4!? Now the main line runs 4...dex4 5.Nxe4 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 (6.Nc3 saves the pawn but is not considered dangerous) Qxd4 7.Bxb4 Qxe4+ 8.Be2 with sharp and unclear play. Frank Marshall’s fighting style and sense of fair play made his games exciting to watch. He was a product of his time and of an America infused with optimism. He continued the legacy of Morphy and acted as an inspiration for future American chess greats. If there were ever a “John Wayne” of American chess, it would be Frank Marshall.
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In
1936, after holding the U.S. championship title for 29 years, he
relinquished it to the winner of a Championship tournament. The first
such tournament was sponsored by the National Chess Federation, and held in
New York. The Marshall Chess Club donated the trophy, and the first
winner was Samuel Reshevsky.
