The Marshall Defense is 1. 2. : your knight guards d5 instead of a pawn. That is why 3. is awkward for you: you normally recapture with a piece and White builds a center while kicking it. Across 160,922 Lichess games at 900 to 1700 (September 2026) you score 45% of the points. It shows up in about 5 of every 1000 games at your level, and against strong players you score the same 45%.
Lichess games from September 2026 (30,577,162 rated 900 to 1700) and 31,791 over-the-board games rated 2300+ from the last 12 months. Data updated: October 14, 2026.
2 named lines in this family; 1 with their own page.
The opening's share in each Lichess rating band.
Players rated 2200+ on Lichess answer with 3. in 53 of every 100 games, since your d5 pawn has nothing behind it. At your level the usual reply is 3., in 47 of every 100; 3. comes in 21 and 3. in 12. When they take on d5, take back with the knight: 72 of every 100 players at your level pick . After your queen stands where a knight on c3 can hit it, and against strong players you score 38 of every 100. Among them, 11 of every 100 try , the Tan Gambit. After comes 4. in 71 of every 100, and your games split close to evenly between and .
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 47.2% | 54.0% | 31.7% | no data | |
| 21.2% | 57.4% | 53.2% | no data | |
| 11.9% | 53.9% | 12.5% | no data | |
| 10.0% | 52.9% | 1.4% | no data | |
| 3.1% | 53.6% | no data | no data | |
| 2.7% | 51.5% | no data | no data | |
| no data | no data | 1.2% | no data |
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 71.6% | 57.5% | 58.6% | no data | |
| 24.8% | 57.3% | 14.6% | no data | |
| 1.4% | 58.0% | 5.7% | no data | |
| 1.1% | 52.2% | no data | no data | |
| 0.5% | 55.5% | 11.4% | no data | |
| 0.3% | 50.7% | 8.3% | no data | |
| no data | no data | 0.8% | no data |
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70.8% | 58.5% | 60.1% | no data | |
| 17.0% | 53.2% | 5.2% | no data | |
| 10.1% | 59.9% | 34.2% | no data | |
| 1.6% | 51.8% | no data | no data | |
| 0.2% | 55.0% | 0.6% | no data | |
| 0.1% | 52.6% | no data | no data |
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 47.3% | 57.2% | 46.8% | no data | |
| 44.9% | 58.8% | 53.2% | no data | |
| 7.0% | 61.5% | no data | no data | |
| 0.4% | 78.3% | no data | no data | |
| 0.2% | 78.9% | no data | no data | |
| 0.2% | 83.8% | no data | no data |
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 69.5% | 59.2% | 87.6% | no data | |
| 22.0% | 56.7% | 7.9% | no data | |
| 5.3% | 69.4% | 4.5% | no data | |
| 1.8% | 48.7% | no data | no data | |
| 0.7% | 62.2% | no data | no data | |
| 0.4% | 51.3% | no data | no data |
Your plan starts with a concession. With the c8 bishop stays free, since you don't push the e-pawn, but only pieces hold d5. After 3. you have no pawn on d5, and White sets up a center with pawns on d4 and e4. You don't fight it with pawns. You go after the e4 pawn with pieces, and the strong players' line, 4. 5. 6. , is how you line up two attackers against its one defender.
wins the pawn back with the knight. 4. hits it and completes the center in one go, so the knight has to move. White has gained a tempo and already has two pawns in the center. Jumping to b4 achieves little: eyes c2, which the d1 queen covers, and White scores 62 of every 100.
goes back to f6, but now it eyes e4, which has no defender at that moment. That is why nearly every strong player defends with 5.: 88 of every 100, and 70 at your level. If White picks 5. instead (22 of every 100 at your level), the pawn kicks your knight off f6 and grabs space; there you score 43 of every 100.
opens the f8 bishop's diagonal toward b4. The e6 pawn also covers d5, the square you lost on move three. 6. develops and gets ready to castle. This is where opponents at 900 to 1700 often go their own way: only 37 of every 100 play it, against 87 of every 100 strong players.
completes the idea. The bishop pins the c3 knight to the king on e1, and that knight was the piece holding e4. Your f6 knight still attacks the pawn, so White has to spend another move propping it up. With the bishop and knight gone, your king can castle short, and in close to half of all games both sides castle short.
The other choice, , sends the knight to watch c4 and d5 rather than e4. Against strong players it does better: you score 51 of every 100, compared with 43 after . At your level the gap mostly closes, with 43 after .
At your level, though, the most common reply is 3.. If you take with and White follows with 4., answer : the pawn hits d4 and opens the diagonal for your f8 bishop. The other popular choices there, , and , leave you worse off, and you'll find them below under mistakes.
| Move | Strong games | Chosen by |
|---|---|---|
| 2,840 | 53.2% | |
| 1,537 | 58.6% | |
| 887 | 60.1% | |
| 521 | 53.2% | |
| 267 | 87.6% | |
| 298 | 40.3% | |
| 89 | 86.5% | |
| 48 | 47.9% |
After 3. 4., the f1 bishop hits your c4 pawn. shuts in your c8 bishop and puts no pressure on d4: after 5. 6. 7. White wins the pawn back and the queens come off. It's an inaccuracy 35 of every 100 at your level choose: you score 43, and 47 with .
35 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 0.6 pawns of advantage. It scores 42.9%; scores 47.0%.
After 3. 4., attacks the d1 queen, but 5. blocks the diagonal, props up e4 and chases the bishop. After 6. 7. your bishop is back on c8 and White has pawns on f3, e4 and d4. It's a mistake 16 of every 100 play, but it rarely gets punished: you score 45.5 against 47.
16 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 1.3 pawns of advantage. It scores 45.5%; scores 47.0%.
Against 3., is a mistake: it blocks your c7 pawn, so it can't go to c6 to support d5. After 4. 5. 6. White has two center pawns and your queen, chased by the knight, has moved twice. 9 of every 100 play it: you score 44 of every 100, and 48 with .
9 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 1.5 pawns of advantage. It scores 44.2%; scores 47.6%.
After 3. 4., hits d4, but it blocks your c7 pawn and does nothing for the one on c4. 5. 6. 7. : White wins the pawn back and keeps both center pawns on d4 and e4. It's an inaccuracy that 23 of every 100 choose: you score 43 of every 100, against 47 with .
23 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 0.8 pawns of advantage. It scores 43.2%; scores 47.0%.
Against 3., runs into 4.. After 5. 6. you've given bishop for knight, the f3 pawn backs up e4, and your knight loses its central square again. It's a mistake 12 of every 100 play, but at your level it barely gets punished: you score 47 of every 100, about the same as with .
12 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 1 pawn of advantage. It scores 47.0%; scores 47.6%.
Against 3., is an inaccuracy. After 4. you give your bishop for a knight that hadn't moved yet, and 5. 6. trades queens before the a1 rook wins back b1. White keeps the bishop pair. It rarely gets punished: you score 47.5 of every 100, the same as with .
10 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 0.8 pawns of advantage. It scores 47.5%; scores 47.6%.
| White | Black | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 79,991 | ||
| Not castled | Not castled | 21,181 |
| Not castled | 19,645 | |
| Not castled | 16,621 | |
| 10,385 | ||
| 5,134 |
| White | Black | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | ||
| Not castled | Not castled | 1 |
| 1 |
1. 2. 3. · D06
420 amateur games · White's score: 55.5%