Play Chess Against Frank Marshall

Frank Marshall (1877-1944), the American attacking master who gave chess the Marshall Attack and the gold-coins game, sits across the board. Set the strength, clock, color and starting position, then press Start game.

Play Marshall now

Portrait of Frank James Marshall — Frank James Marshall, 1877-1944.

Black · Frank Marshall10:00

Choose the settings, then press Start game.

White · You10:00

Frank Marshallhistorical player

Preparing the board.

Set the game on the right. Start unlocks the board and starts the side-to-move clock.

Set up your game against Frank Marshall

Frank Marshall stays selected. Choose the playing strength, clock, color and starting position.

OpponentFrank MarshallStrength1500Clock10+5You playWhite

Opponent

Frank Marshall remains selected while you choose the settings for this game.

Frank Marshall1877-1944

Playing strength

Legend playing strength100-point steps

1500

1500Marshall, 1500 Elo target2600

Time control

The first number is the starting time in minutes. The second is the increment after each completed legal move.

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Starting position optional

All chess legends

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About Frank Marshall

Frank Marshall playing Richard Réti in 1925

Frank Marshall (1877-1944) was the standard-bearer of American chess for three decades. He won Cambridge Springs 1904 unbeaten ahead of Lasker, challenged Lasker for the world title in 1907, and held the United States championship from 1909 until 1936. His 23...Qg3 against Levitsky in 1912 was reportedly showered with gold coins by the spectators, and his prepared Ruy Lopez gambit, the Marshall Attack, is still a frontline weapon a century later. The New York club he helped found still bears his name.

Cambridge Springs winnerWon the great 1904 tournament unbeaten, two points clear of Lasker and Janowski

US champion for 27 yearsHeld the national title from 1909 until he relinquished it in 1936

The gold coins gameHis 23...Qg3 against Levitsky in 1912 brought a shower of coins from the crowd, by legend

The Marshall AttackHis Ruy Lopez gambit, first played against Capablanca in 1918, still thrives at top level

1877
Born in New York
Born on 10 August 1877 in New York City. His family lived in Montreal from his eighth to his nineteenth year, and there he learned chess.
1900
Third at Paris
Tied for third with Maroczy at the Paris international behind Lasker and Pillsbury, his first success against the world elite.
1904
Cambridge Springs
Won the strongest tournament yet held on American soil without losing a game, two points ahead of the field.
1907
Title match defeat
Challenged Emanuel Lasker for the world championship and lost without winning a game, 0-8 with 7 draws.
1909
US champion
Took the national title from Jackson Showalter and kept it for the next twenty-seven years.
1912
The gold coins
Against Stepan Levitsky at Breslau he played 23...Qg3, a queen offer that won against every reply. Spectators, legend says, paid in gold.
1915
A club of his own
Helped found the chess club in New York that still bears his name, the Marshall Chess Club.
1918
The Marshall Attack
Unveiled his prepared Ruy Lopez gambit against Capablanca, who solved it over the board and won. The line itself survived and flourished.
1936
Steps aside
Gave up the US championship after twenty-seven years so that it could be decided by tournament.
1944
Death in Jersey City
Died on 9 November 1944 in Jersey City, a regular at his club to the end.