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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 colourfully named 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?!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 Kxf7The Fried Liver Attack has been known for many centuries, the earliest known example being a game played by Giulio Cesare Polerio before 1606.
The opening is classified as code C57 in the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings (ECO) .
Considerations
Play usually continues 7.Qf3+ Ke6 8.Nc3 (see 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.O-O are stronger. White has a strong attack, but it has not been proven yet to be decisive.
Because defence is harder to play than attack in this variation when given short time limits, the Fried Liver is dangerous for Black in over-the-board play, if using a short time control. It is also especially effective against weaker players who may not be able to find the correct defences. Sometimes Black invites White to play the Fried Liver Attack in correspondence chess or in over-the-board games with longer time limits (or no time limit), as the relaxed pace affords Black a better opportunity to refute the White sacrifice.