ChessScreenshot

Marshall Defense

1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nf6 3.cxd5 Nxd5 · D06

Starting positionWhite to move

0 / 14

The central pawn advance gains a tempo

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The idea

Black develops the knight to f6 against the Queen's Gambit, allowing White to take on d5 and giving up the centre for quick piece activity.

Main line: 1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nf6 3.cxd5 Nxd5 4.Nf3 Bf5 5.e3 e6 6.Bd3 Bxd3 7.Qxd3 c5

What White wants

  • Take on d5 and build a big centre with e4
  • Develop with Nf3, e3 and Bd3 and gain space
  • Use the central majority in the middlegame and endgame

What Black wants

  • Develop fast with ...Bf5, ...e6 and ...c5
  • Trade pieces to relieve the cramp
  • Attack the white centre before it rolls forward

Key idea

Understand this and the moves stop needing to be memorised.

The central pawn advance gains a tempo

After cxd5 Nxd5, e4 attacks the knight and gives White pawns on d4 and e4. Black must move the knight again before completing development. White should support that centre with pieces; extra space is useful, but still vulnerable to a well-timed ...c5 or ...e5 break.

Common mistake

Letting the attack on d5 distract from development. e4 gains time on the knight, but White must follow with Nc3, Nf3 and a safe king position. Repeated pawn pushes without support can let Black challenge the centre and recover useful activity.

Mistake example: Be7.

Representative position

The position this opening is aiming at. Copy the FEN, or open it in the analysis board and let the engine tell you what it is worth.

rn1qkb1r/pp3ppp/4p3/2pn4/3P4/3QPN2/PP3PPP/RNB1K2R w KQkq - 0 8

Analyze this position

Related openings

Queen's Gambit1.d4 d5 2.c4 · D06–D69White offers the c-pawn to deflect Black's d5 pawn, aiming to own the centre — not a real gambit, because the pawn is almost always recovered.Queen's Gambit Declined1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 · D30–D69Black holds d5 with ...e6 and accepts a slightly cramped but extremely solid position — the classical answer to 1.d4 for over a century.Slav Defense1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 · D10–D19Black defends d5 with the c-pawn instead of the e-pawn, keeping the bishop on c8 free to develop actively to f5.Chigorin Defense1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nc6 3.Nf3 Bg4 4.cxd5 Bxf3 · D07Black develops ...Nc6 against the Queen's Gambit, accepting restricted c-pawn mobility for active piece play. In this line, ...Bxf3 damages White's pawns while conceding the bishop pair.