Two Knights Defense, Fried Liver Attack

The Fried Liver Attack, also called the Fegatello Attack (named after an Italian idiom meaning "dead as a piece of liver"), is a chess opening. This opening is a 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?!
Fried Liver Attack
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Moves1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7 Kxf7
ECOC57
OriginPolerio vs. Domenico, Rome c. 1610
Named afterItalian way of cooking liver ("Fegatello" means to put the liver in a net and cook it over a fire, or, in modern times, in a pan. Here we can see a metaphor for what happens to Black’s king in this line: it is cooked like a "fegatello". Usually Black’s king is caught in the mating net and White increases the heat move by move – "dead as a piece of liver".)
ParentTwo Knights Defense
Synonym(s)Fegatello Attack

This is the Two Knights Defense where White has chosen the offensive line 4.Ng5, but Black's last move is risky (other Black choices include 5...Na5, 5...b5, and 5...Nd4). White can now get an advantage with 6.d4 (the Lolli Attack); however, the Fried Liver Attack involves a knight sacrifice on f7, defined by the moves:

6. Nxf7 Kxf7

The opening 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[1] played by Giulio Cesare Polerio before 1606.[2]

Considerations
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Position after 8.Nc3

Play usually continues 7.Qf3+ Ke6 8.Nc3 (diagram). Black will play 8...Nb4 or 8...Ne7 and follow up with ...c6, bolstering his pinned knight on d5. If Black plays 8...Nb4, White can force the b4-knight to abandon protection of the d5-knight with 9.a3!? Nxc2+ 10.Kd1 Nxa1 11.Nxd5, sacrificing a rook, but current analysis suggests that the alternatives 9.Qe4, 9.Bb3 and 9.0-0 are stronger. 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.

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References
  1. "Giulio Cesare Polerio vs. Domenico, Rome 1610". Chessgames.com.
  2. 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)

Further reading
  • Computer Analysis of the Fried Liver and Lolli, Dan Heisman, Chessbase CHNESO001U
  • Re-Fried Liver, by Jon Edwards, Chess Life, July 2009, pp. 32–34.
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