Fried Liver Attack
title: "Fried Liver Attack" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["chess-openings"] topic_path: "general/chess-openings" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fried_Liver_Attack" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox chess opening"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| openingname | Fried Liver Attack |
| image | {{Chess diagram |
| moves | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7 |
| ECO | C57 |
| birth | Polerio vs. Domenico, Rome c. 1610 |
| nameorigin | Italian dish ("Fegatelli" is pork liver sliced up, wrapped in fat netting and cooked over a fire; likewise Black's king is wrapped in White's .) |
| parentopening | Two Knights Defense |
| AKA | Fegatello Attack |
| :: |
|openingname = Fried Liver Attack |image = {{Chess diagram |center | |rd| |bd|qd|kd|bd| |rd |pd|pd|pd| | |nl|pd|pd | | |nd| | | | | | | | |nd|pd| | | | | |bl| | | | | | | | | | | | | |pl|pl|pl|pl| |pl|pl|pl |rl|nl|bl|ql|kl| | |rl | |moves = 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7 |ECO = C57 |birth = Polerio vs. Domenico, Rome c. 1610 |nameorigin = Italian dish ("Fegatelli" is pork liver sliced up, wrapped in fat netting and cooked over a fire; likewise Black's king is wrapped in White's .) |parentopening = Two Knights Defense |AKA = Fegatello Attack |chessgid =
The Fried Liver Attack, also called the Fegatello Attack (named after an Italian dish), is a chess opening variation of the Two Knights Defense in which White sacrifices a knight for an attack on Black's king. The opening begins with the moves:
:1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. Bc4 Nf6 :4. Ng5 d5 :5. exd5 Nxd5?! :6. Nxf7
White's move 4.Ng5 is an aggressive attacking line against the Two Knights. Black's move 5...Nxd5 is risky (5...Na5 is generally considered best). Bobby Fischer felt that 6.d4 (the Lolli Attack) was incredibly strong, to the point 5...Nxd5 is rarely played. It is classified as code C57 in the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings.
History
The Fried Liver Attack has been known for many centuries, the earliest known example being a game played by Giulio Cesare Polerio before 1606.
Considerations
|tright | |rd| |bd|qd| |bd| |rd |pd|pd|pd| | | |pd|pd | | |nd| |kd| | | | | | |nd|pd| | | | | |bl| | | | | | | |nl| | |ql| | |pl|pl|pl|pl| |pl|pl|pl |rl| |bl| |kl| | |rl |Position after 8.Nc3 After 6...Kxf7, play usually continues 7.Qf3+ Ke6 (7...Kg8 leads to a mate in 3 after 8.Bxd5+ while other moves immediately lose the knight on d5) 8.Nc3 (diagram). Black will play 8...Nb4 and follow up with ...c6, bolstering their pinned knight on d5. White can the b4-knight to abandon protection of the d5-knight with 9.a3, a move Yakov Estrin recommended, but Black is quite strong after 9.a3 Nxc2+ 10.Kd1 Nd4 Thus, 9.Bb3, 9.Qe4, or 9.0-0 are better choices.
White has a strong attack, but it has not yet been proven to be decisive. Because defence is harder to play than attack in this variation, the Fried Liver is dangerous for Black, particularly with shorter time controls.
References
Bibliography
- {{cite book |last1=Hooper |first1=David |authorlink1=David Vincent Hooper |last2=Whyld |first2=Kenneth |authorlink2=Kenneth Whyld |title=The Oxford Companion to Chess |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1996 |edition=2nd |orig-date=First pub. 1992 |isbn=0-19-280049-3 }}
References
- Doazan, G.-E.. (April 1843). "Un manuscrit sur les éches".
- Hooper & Whyld (1996), p. 232. ''Lolli Attack''.
- Fischer, Bobby. "[[My 60 Memorable Games]]".
- "Giulio Cesare Polerio vs. Domenico, Rome 1610".
- Polerio–Giovanni Domenico d'Arminio must have been played before 1606 (Polerio's last sign of life, see: Peter Monté ''The Classical Era of Modern Chess'' (McFarland 2014), p. 273)
- Elburg, John. (2015). "Chessbook Reviews".
- Edwards, Jon. "Chess is Fun: The Fried Liver Attack".
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