Ruy Lopez as black: the Zaitshall Attack

I have banged my head for a few months now trying to find how to play against the Ruy as black. Frankly, there is nothing that doesn't have some problems, but I really wanted something that would create a more dynamic, open, tactically challenging game. Hopefully the following summary of my findings will help other patzers out there trying to navigate the crazy world of the Ruy from Black's perspective.

A. Berlin
The Berlin defense starts out 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6:

I originally thought, hey, why make an early pawn push when I can simply develop? Unfortnately, this position commonly ends up looking a lot like the exchange variation of the Ruy, which I just find not too much fun. In most lines, white takes the night on c6 with his Bishop, so white ends up with a better pawn structure. Not enough fireworks for me (and this is representative of pretty much every suggestion in Kaufman's The Chess Advantage in Black and White, which could be called 'Playing for a draw as black and white'). The obvious option for black if he wants dynamic play is the open Ruy.

2. The Open Ruy
This arises after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Nxe4.
This certainly looks open and exciting, and white's "best" move is 6. d4! which leads to fun and dynamic play for both sides. Unfortunately, I tried out the Open Ruy as black for a few weeks and in ZERO percent of my games did my opponent play d4. They always (100%) play Re1. This is certainly playable, but again leads to exchange-like positions, as white almost always ends up taking the Knight on c6 with his Bishop at some point after the Knight moves out of the way of the impending rook. White quickly gets his pawn back, and we are in another sort of slow exchange-like game. Also, all the material I have on the open ruy spends maybe one or two paragraphs on the Re1 variation! I want something where there is more guidance, more out there at the GM level that I can study so I don't have to do all the thinking (after all, I want most of my time to be devoted to tactical training and playing, not studying openings!).

So, no Open Ruy for me, at least until I am good enough that my opponents don't wimp out and play the quiet line. So now my main option is either some kind of closed Ruy (Chigorin or Zaitsev) or the Marshall attack. I'll look at the Marshall attack first.

3. Marshall Attack
We reach the Marshall after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 0-0 8. c3 d5!
Now this is what I'm talking about! Crazy, open, gambit, sharp, fun line for black. It is such a dangerous weapon in skilled hands that Kasparov never allowed it, playing the anti-Marshall line 8. a4 every time he saw 7...0-0 (frankly I'm still not sure why it is anti-Marshall and why black can't just go ahead with 8...d5: feel free to tell me why in the comments). Note that the correct line for black against the anti-Marshall is 8...Bb7, which will become important below.

The Marshall. That's what I want. My coach is excited by this decision, thinks it will spice up my Ruy, and that it is an extremely solid opening. Unfortunately, there are a couple of hitches. As I said above, I want something for which there is a lot of guidance. The Marshall Attack books are not complete repertoires: they start out with move 8 from white! There are tons of possibilities before move eight, especially at my level.

So it isn't enough just to book up on the Marshall. The first seven moves are standard Closed Ruy fare. Hence, I want material on either the Chigorin or the Zaitsev that will help me out with these earlier move orders. Unfortunately, there is no black equivalent of Greet's miraculous Play the Ruy Lopez, but there are a couple of books out there that have helped me make up my mind.

4. Closed Ruy Lopez
The closed Ruy starts with 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 0-0 9. h3, and the next move determines whether you will end up in the Chigorin (9...Na5) or Zaitsev (9...Bb7):
Both of these moves have their strenghts and weaknesses. In the Chigorin the Knight on a5 ends up looking rather silly and can become a liability, but in the Zaitsev white often plays d5, which makes the Bishop look silly. Both systems are strong, both are used at the upper echelons of chess praxis, so you can grow into them.

The question is, which will fit in better with the Marshall attack? I alluded to this above. First note that to play the Marshall I won't actually play 7...d6, but 7....0-0, preparing 8...d5! However, if black plays the anti-Marshall 8. a4, then Bb7 is the best response. Lo and behold, this sets up a position quite similar to the Zaitsev in its overall structure, with similar strengths and weaknesses.

This rather transparently suggests what my plan should be. I am going to aim for the Marshall attack, but if white doesn't let me then I will continue on with a more standard Zaitsev repertoire in this new book (note, Marin's new book is based on the Chigorin (I ordered it direct from the publisher as who knows when Amazon will have it)).

I baptize this mongrel repertoire The Zaitshall Attack.