Leon_Trotsky wrote on 12/11/19 at 22:19:04:
Is the Marshall Attack still good for playing to win? It seems like it is one of those lines where you have to memorise to move 30 or 40 and it is just a draw with weird perpetual checks.
I don't know what level you are playing at, but at mine (2000-2100 FIDE), playing the Marshall generally means one of three things:
a) The opponent sorta stumbles into it, and doesn't know much in the way of theory: You get to start a mating attack, where Black has a much easier time playing, even if he knows nothing
b) The opponent knows it exists, and that it's scary, so he plays a very early Bxd5 to take some danger out of the position: The positions turn very safe for Black, even if he knows nothing
c) The opponent knows that the Marshall is a forest of theory, objectively equal, dangerous for White, and thus not really something you should enter in the first place: He will play 8.a4 or 8.d3 (8.h3 on occasion, but it's become rare recently; 8.d4 very infrequently), and try to get a calmer game.
I've never met anyone who even considered the Radjabov-Ding path, of going for the Marshall Accepted with d3, & then playing some 0.00 novelty on move 30, in hopes the opponent steps wrong.
I don't expect that "never" to change anytime soon.
If the opponent does go for 8.a4 (or one of the other Antis) you just get a typical closed Spanish game, except in a slightly better version for Black - which means a highly complicated position, with all the pieces on the board, and a boatload of positional maneuvering to follow.
Naturally, playing this for a win is no problem whatsoever.
My take (and indeed, my approach thus far) is: You can play the Marshall without knowing any concrete theory whatsoever (at least until FM or w/e level).
You need to know some typical attacking plans in the d4 Re1 line, the g5 trick after d4 Re4, general Spanish knowledge so you can handle the Anti-Marshalls, and just "hope" the d3 Accepted doesn't appear on the board (else go Bf5 and improvise from there); you'll do fine in 99% of your games.