Frank James Marshall was a World Championship challenger, and held the title of US Champion from 1909 to 1936. Below, I explore his life and games.
Photo: Cleveland Public Library, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Table of contents:
Biography
Early life
Frank James Marshall was born in 1877 in New York. He began playing chess at the age of ten, and spent some of his early years in Montreal, Canada. The Montreal chess club proved a good place for the young Marshall to develop his chess, and he soon won the club championship. 1899 saw Marshall travel to London to win a minor tournament.
The following year marked his debut at top international tournaments. At the very strong Paris tournament in 1900, Marshall finished in shared third place with Maroczy. Notably, he defeated Lasker, the reigning World Champion, in their individual game.
International breakthrough
1904 was a defining year in Marshall’s career. He shared first place with the strong German player Rudolph Swiderski at the thematic Kings Gambit tournament in Monte Carlo, where every game began with a particular line in the Kings Gambit. However, this was overshadowed by his spectacular performance at Cambridge Springs. Marshall finished undefeated and took clear first place with the incredible score of 13/15, two points ahead of Janowski and Lasker. As Marshall had finished ahead of a field which included many of the world’s top players, he decided to challenge Lasker to a World Championship match.
Marshall vs Janowski
However, Marshall was unable to meet the financial requirements set by Lasker, and negotiations broke down. Marshall therefore challenged the Polish master David Janowski, who had shared second place with Lasker at Cambridge Springs, to a match instead. The match was played in Paris in 1905, and the winner would be the first to win eight games. Marshall won the match fairly comfortably, winning by eight wins to five, with four draws.
Marshall vs Tarrasch
Following this victory, Marshall challenged the German master Siegbert Tarrasch to a match. Tarrasch was one of the world’s strongest players at the time, and victory in this match would enhance Marshall’s prospects of securing financial backing for a World Championship match. They played in Nuremberg, Germany, and the winner would again be the first to eight wins. This time, however, Marshall found himself outclassed, losing by eight wins to one, with eight draws. This had been preceded by another disappointment, shared eighth place with Leonhardt at Ostend 1905.
Tournament success
However, Marshall bounced back quickly, taking first place at Scheveningen that same year, scoring 11,5/13. To achieve this, Marshall recorded ten wins in a row! He followed this up with a third place finish at the strong international tournament at Barmen (10/15). The winners Janowski and Maroczy finished only half a point ahead. The following year, Marshall won the 15th German Chess Congress in Nuremberg, scoring 12,5/16, and finishing ahead of a field which included such famous names as Schlechter, Chigorin, and Tarrasch.
World Championship challenger
After these successes, Marshall challenged Lasker for the crown once again. This time, Lasker lowered the financial requirements, and Marshall’s recent achievements convinced his supporters in America to raise the necessary amount. Six American cities played host to the match, which was played to the first to eight wins. Despite his recent results, Marshall did not manage to put up much resistance in the match, losing by eight wins to none, with seven draws.
At Ostend 1907, Marshall shared third place with Janowski. Tarrasch finished in clear first which, together with his crushing match victory against Marshall in 1905, gave him the reputation of being the real challenger to Lasker.
US Champion
1909 was an interesting year for Marshall. He lost a one-sided match to the rising star and future World Champion José Capablanca by eight wins to one, with 14 draws. However, he also played a match for the title of US Champion with Jackson Showalter. Pillsbury had been the reigning US Champion when he died in 1906, and so the match was arranged to decide who the title should be passed on to. In the match, Marshall proved himself to be clearly the stronger player, winning by seven wins to two, with three draws, and thus became US Champion.
San Sebastian and gold coins
In 1911, Marshall took fourth place at the incredibly strong tournament in San Sebastian. Interestingly, Marshall, who had felt Capablanca’s strength first hand in their 1909 match, played an active role in pushing for Capablanca to be allowed to play the tournament, as some other participants felt he had not achieved enough to be invited. Capablanca took clear first, greatly enhancing his reputation, and silencing the protests.
The 18th German Chess Congress at Breslau, 1912, was not a particularly successful tournament for Marshall, who finished in sixth place. However, the tournament is remembered for Marshall’s famous victory against the strong Russian player, Stefan Levitsky. Marshall won the game with a beautiful sacrifice, which you can try to find in the fourth puzzle below. The story goes that the spectators were so impressed with the sacrifice, that they showered the board with gold coins…
Victory in Havana
The following year, Marshall took clear first at the strong Havana tournament, finishing ahead of Capablanca and Janowski. Capablanca was the strong favourite going into the tournament, especially as it took place in his home country, but Marshall finished ahead of him by just half a point. This was followed by a respectable fifth place finish at the incredibly strong St Petersburg tournament in 1914, behind only Lasker, Capablanca, Alekhine and Tarrasch.
Marshall Chess Club
1914 also saw the beginning of the First World War, which severely restricted the opportunities for top players to play in international tournaments. Marshall used this time to found the famous Marshall Chess Club in New York, leading it for the rest of his life. The club still operates today.
Marshall Gambit and the world record
The year the war ended, 1918, Marshall played a famous game against Capablanca, in which he produced a powerful opening idea in the Ruy Lopez. It is now known as the Marshall Gambit, and is still popular and topical today. In 1922, he set a new world record by playing 155 games in a simultaneous exhibition at the Montreal Chess Club in Canada. He won 126 games, drew 21, and lost just eight.
US Championship and gold medals
In 1923, Marshall defended his title of US Champion against the strong American master Edward Lasker, who had won five US Opens. The match was extremely close, and Marshall won by a single game, with five wins, four losses, and nine draws.
After successfully defending his title of US Champion, Marshall began to play less regularly. However, he captained the US team to win four gold medals, at the 1931, 1933, 1935 and 1937 Olympiads. This is an especially impressive achievement when considering that Marshall was in his fifties by this time. In 1936, Marshall relinquished his title of US Champion, allowing the beginning of a system of competing for the title through tournament play.
Legacy
The start of the Second World War effectively ended Marshall’s international chess career. He died in 1944, at the age of 67. Today, he is mainly remembered as a brilliant attacking player, for his impressive tournament victories, and for his contribution to opening theory in the form of the Marshall Gambit in the Ruy Lopez.
Game Analysis
Marshall won an instructive game against Chigorin at Ostend 1907, which illustrates well the power of a pawn majority.
Lessons from this game:
- The ability of a healthy pawn majority to create a passed pawn can be just as effective in the middlegame as in the endgame.
- The simplest way to play against the active bishop pair is to exchange one of them off.
- A common way to restrict an enemy knight is to place a pawn three squares in front of it. In the game, the c6 pawn limits the activity of the c3 knight by protecting the d5 and b5 squares.
Puzzles
Marshall – Napier, Brooklyn 1896
Marshall – Janowski, Paris 1905
Mieses – Marshall, Berlin 1908
Levistsky – Marshall, Breslau 1912
Solutions
Further Reading
Good resources for more information about Marshall include:
his chess.com page,
his chessgames.com page,
and the Marshall Chess Club website.
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