Have Fun With The Fried Liver Attack
Chess has many “serious” openings, such as the Ruy Lopez and the English Opening. There are also rarer, less-respected openings. These openings may not be as “objectively” good, but they can still be a lot of fun to play. The Fried Liver Attack is one of these. Even the name is rather whimsical!
If you like the idea of winning quickly in the opening, then the Fried Liver Attack is definitely worth a look.
In this article, you will learn:
- How to reach the starting position of the Fried Liver Attack.
- Techniques to conduct the attack against the Black king.
- Where to go to continue your education, so that you can play the Fried Liver like a pro.
The Fried Liver Attack: Introduction And Origins
The Fried Liver Attack got its name from the Italian way of preparing liver, known as fegatello. A pig’s liver is cut, crushed and wrapped in a net, then roasted over an open flame or in a skillet.
The metaphor as it relates to chess is the Black king. The Fried Liver Attack sees Black’s king drawn out into the open as White makes an early knight sacrifice on f7. If Black is not careful, then their king will be - as the Italian idiom goes - “as dead as a piece of liver”.
Related: Improve your attacking skills with Josh Waitzkin's Attacking Chess, available from the USCF store.
The danger posed by the Fried Liver Attack has been known about for centuries. Later, we will take a look at a game played all the way back in the 1600’s!
But first, let’s see how the starting position of the Fried LIver Attack is reached.
How To Reach The Starting Position To Play The Fried Liver
The Fried Liver Attack becomes a possibility when Black plays the Two Knights Defense (3. …Nf6) against the Italian Opening.
If White wants to go for the Fried Liver Attack, then the next move should be 4. Ng5. This aggressive knight sortie threatens the naturally vulnerable f7 pawn - which is currently only defended by Black’s king. Nxf7 and Bxf7+ are both uncomfortable threats.
There are not so many good ways for Black to adequately defend f7. The most common reply is 4. …d5 - blocking the White bishop’s attack.
White does not want to give up their powerful light-squared bishop, so captures on d5 with their pawn via 5. exd5.
This is the moment where Black can allow White to enter into the Fried Liver Attack. The best move (and the most played move at master level) is 5. …Na5. Rather than immediately recapture the pawn on d5, Black instead threatens the White bishop with their knight. This tempo-gaining move makes the Fried Liver Attack impossible.
If you are going to try to play the Fried Liver Attack, you must be prepared for this possibility from Black too!
However, a very natural move which Black may play - especially if they do not have much experience in the Italian Opening - is 5. …Nxd5. It seems very logical. Black regains their pawn immediately. Capturing on d5 with the knight also opens the Black’s queen line of attack towards the White knight on g5.
Meanwhile, the Black pawn on f7 pawn is only threatened by the knight. The White bishop’s attack against it is still blocked, thanks to the Black knight on d5.
But now the Fried Liver Attack can begin! White makes the shocking knight sacrifice: 6. Nxf7! Black may have assumed that this move was not possible - after all, White is sacrificing a whole piece. Is the exposed Black king really worth the material White must give up for it?
It turns out that Black has a great deal of trouble dealing with all the threats White can create. Therefore, 6. Nxf7 is a fully justified piece sacrifice. Black’s queen and rook are forked, so 6. …Kxf7 is practically forced - after which, the fun starts.
Let us now take a look at some top level games to see how the game may continue from here.
Great Games In The Fried Liver Attack
Polerio vs. D’Arminio, 1610
This is the oldest game in the database featuring the Fried Liver Attack. After 6. …Kxf7, White played the best move: 7. Qf3+. Black has only one way to both escape the check from the White queen and add an extra defender to the underdefended Black knight on d5: with the very brave: 7. …Ke6.
As scary as it looks, 7. …Ke6 is actually Black’s best move in this position! Against anything else, White can simply capture the Black knight on d5 - recovering the piece which was sacrificed earlier. White must be better in such cases, having an extra pawn and the much safer king.
Still, the king on e6 is very unpleasant for Black! The Black knight on d5 is pinned, and the Black king is extremely uncomfortable sitting on the semi-open e-file.
Polerio played 8. Nc3 to pile up the pressure on the pinned Black knight on d5, to which his opponent replied 8. …Ne7.
What Polerio did next is quite instructive. He played the powerful pawn advance 9. d4!
In positions such as this, the priority must be to open lines against the exposed enemy king. If Black were to accept the pawn sacrifice with …exd4, then the e-file would be completely open for White to exploit.
In the game, Black did not take on d4. However, Black was never able to resolve the problem of his pinned knight on d5. At the right moment, White crashed through. After Nxd5 in the below position, the Black king soon met its demise. You can check out the rest of the game here.
Cochrane vs. Bonnerjee, 1854
This game started out similarly to the previous one. Again we see the thematic d4 advance from White to open the center against Black’s pinned, discoordinated pieces.
It is instructive to show what happens if, as happened in the game, Black grabs the offered pawn with …exd4.
White began with the most natural move: Re1+
The Black king retreated to d7, whereupon White initiated several trades on d5, reaching the following position, with Black to move (note that the Black king is in check):
Black still has an extra piece in the above position, but the difference in activity and king safety is overwhelmingly in White’s favor.
Black played …Kc7, desperately hoping for a queen trade. Of course, White did not allow this. Instead, White brought another piece into the attack with Bf4+.
Black’s position is hopeless no matter what. Moving the king away with …Kb6 allows White to win the Black queen with Qxd8. Black chose instead to try blocking the check with …Bd6 - but after Qc5+, it’s checkmate in two moves.
Black resigned here. A magnificent victory for the Fried Liver Attack!
Related: Improve Your Chess Tactics: 700 Practical Lessons & Exercises.
Shirov vs. Sulskis, 2014
Now for a more recent game. This one was played by Alexei Shirov against a 2500+ rated opponent in the 2014 Chess Olympiad under classical time controls.
After the same first few moves that we saw in the other two games, Black played an improvement on move eight: 8. …Nb4. This defends the attacked d5 knight while also creating the threat of …Nxc2+
Rather incredibly, Shirov did nothing to stop this knight fork! He even encouraged it by playing 9. a3. After 9. …Nxc2+, the following crazy position was on the board:
The computer analysis engine says that Black is winning after he captures the rook on a1 - but for a human, the game is far more difficult for Black to play. Ask yourself which side you would rather play as in the below position, which was reached a couple of moves later:
The engine prefers Black, but it is fair to say that most humans would prefer to have White. Black is threatened by several scary-looking discovered checks, and the Black knight on a1 is out of the game.
Understandably, Black chose to step his king out of the way of these threats - which is not the best move. At this, White made a move we have seen before: d4, attempting to open the center.
The rest of the game is here. This wild example of the Fried Liver Attack is proof of the chess maxim that it is easier to attack than to defend. Even though Black had significant extra material, persistent king safety trouble meant that even a master level player found the complications too difficult to handle!
Related: Fire on Board - Shirov’s Best Games.
Getting Started With The Fried Liver Attack
Playing the Fried Liver Attack can be a lot of fun - especially if, like in the games shown above, you can use it to win quickly!
To maximize your chances of finishing your opponent off as fast as possible, we have a couple more recommendations for you.
Online Course Recommendation
GM Jesse Kraai has put together a short, sharp primer to help you play the Fried Liver: Fried Liver and Variations, Theory and Examples.
In just 60 minutes, you will be taken through two instructive master games that will help you play the Fried Liver Attack with maximum success. Additionally, the package also includes the PGN files, so that you can review the games on your own.
How To Gain Experience In The Fried Liver Attack
The Fried Liver Attack begins when White sacrifices on move six.
The reality is: most of your games will see your opponent deviate from the line that leads up to the Fried Liver Attack before you get a chance to play it. Black can choose to play any number of different options against the King’s Pawn Opening.
This can make it hard to get enough practical experience in the Fried Liver Attack. You might need to play hundreds of online blitz games to get the chance to play even a handful of Fried Liver Attacks!
Instead, we suggest playing the Fried Liver Attack against the computer. Give the computer the Black pieces in the starting position of the Fried Liver Attack (after 6. Nxf7) and do your best to land a decisive blow. The computer on maximum strength will find defenses that will provide a stern test of your attacking skills!
This practice against the computer will make you far more prepared to play the Fried Liver Attack against your future human opponents.
Related: What you can do to improve your chess training.
Summary: Is The Fried Liver Attack Right For You?
It could be worth attempting the Fried Liver Attack if you:
- Also study the alternative variations Black can play. The Fried Liver Attack begins with the Italian Opening. Black has many ways to play against this. You need to familiarize yourself with the opening theory of the other lines which your opponent may go for, so that you are prepared in case Black does not play all the necessary moves which allow you to play the Fried Liver Attack.
- Do not mind slightly “dubious” openings. The moves that lead to the Fried Liver Attack are not the objectively strongest ones for White. You run the risk that your opponent knows their opening theory and does not allow you to play the Fried Liver. This is a gamble you should be willing to take.
- Are a strong attacking chess player. Once White sacrifices the knight in the Fried Liver Attack, there is no going back. If Black is able to parry your threats and get their king to safety, then you will probably end up losing. It is therefore essential that you can play with energy and prevent Black from consolidating.
If that sounds like a chess opening that you would enjoy, then continue your education in the Fried Liver Attack today!