The Marshall Attack is one of today’s most important systems against the Ruy Lopez and it is also one of the sharpest. With his last move, Black offers to sacrifice his e-pawn, since after 9.exd5 Nxd5 White can capture twice on e5 with 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5. Black will go on to try to exploit for an attack on White’s king’s position those diagonals and files which have been opened by disappearance of the central pawns. In addition, in order to win the e5-pawn White has exchanged off an important defender of his king in the form of the knight on f3 – and the pieces on the queenside are still on their starting squares.
It was the American Frank James Marshall (1877–1944) who discovered this gambit and in New York 1918 he employed it against Capablanca.
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