Learn the The Fried Liver Attack

C57 · a repertoire for white · 4 chapters · 33 annotated lines

"The most famous sacrifice in chess"

A complete masterclass on chess's most celebrated piece sacrifice: 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5?! 6.Nxf7!! Kxf7 7.Qf3+. Every legal king move is covered with its own punishment — from the three-move mate after 7...Kg8?? to the full cross-board king hunts after 7...Ke6 — plus the lines where Black dodges the sacrifice entirely. Engine-verified: the sacrifice is sound, and the resulting attacks are forced.

What's inside

• Chapter 1: The Sacrifice — 6.Nxf7!!
  Lines: Study 1: 7...Kg8?? — Instant Mate, Study 2: 7...Ke8? — Win a Full Piece, Study 15: 7...Qf6 — Blocking the Check, Study 25: 7...Qf6 — 8...Be6, the 73% Reply, Study 26: 8...Be6 — 9...Qxf3?? Wins a Piece, Study 27: 7...Qf6 — 8...Ke8, Wreck the Queenside, Study 16: Declining the Knight — 6...Qe7
• Chapter 2: The King Hunt — 7...Ke6
  Lines: Study 3: 7...Ke6 — Nb4, Nxc2?? — Mate on e6, Study 4: 7...Ke6 — Nb4, d4!, Nxc2 — Qf7# Rook Attack, Study 5: 7...Ke6 — Ne7 — Qa3# King Hunt Across the Board, Study 6: 7...Ke6 — Ne7, Qa5+? — Bf4# Diagonal Mate, Study 7: 7...Ke6 — Ne7, b6 Line — Nf7 Knight Domination, Study 8: 7...Ke6 — Ne7, exd4! — Queenside Castle Attack, Study 9: 7...Ke6 — Nb4, exd4, Re1+ — Qxd4# Centre Mate, Study 10: 7...Ke6 — Nd4 Retreat — Qg3 Domination, Study 17: Best Defense — 10...Qf6!
• Chapter 3: When Black Dodges the Sacrifice
  Lines: Study 12: Black Avoids — 4...Bc5 — Bishop Sacrifice on f7, Study 13: Black Plays 4...Nxe4 — Bxf7+ and Win the Queen, Study 14: Black Plays 4...Nxe4 — After 6...h6 or 6...Nxd4, Study 18: 4...h6? — 5.Nxf7! Anyway, Study 19: 3...Nd4?! — The Blackburne Shilling Gambit, Study 20: 3...d6 — The Quiet Decline
• Chapter 4: The Main Line — 5...Na5
  Lines: Study 21: 5...Na5 — 6.Bb5+ and 8.Bd3, the Modern Main Line, Study 22: 8...h6 — Trade Into a Winning Structure, Study 23: 6...Bd7 — Trade and Take e5, Study 24: 8...e4? — Just Take It

Free sample: the main line, move by move

• 1. e4 — 1.e4 — control the center.
• 1... e5 — 1...e5.
• 2. Nf3 — 2.Nf3 — develop and attack e5.
• 2... Nc6 — 2...Nc6.
• 3. Bc4 — 3.Bc4 — the Italian bishop, targeting f7.
• 3... Nf6 — 3...Nf6 — Two Knights! Black counter-attacks e4.
• 4. Ng5 — 4.Ng5 — two pieces now attack f7. Black must react.
• 4... d5 — 4...d5 — the only real counter, striking back in the center.
• 5. exd5 — 5.exd5 — capture and keep the pressure.
• 5... Nxd5 — 5...Nxd5 — Black recaptures. Now the bomb drops!
• 6. Nxf7 — 6.Nxf7!! — The Fried Liver! A knight sacrifice to drag the Black king into the open where it will be hunted down.
• 6... Kxf7 — 6...Kxf7 — the king must take.
• 7. Qf3+ — 7.Qf3+ — check! The queen enters with tempo. The Black king has no safe square.
• 7... Kg8 — 7...Kg8?? — a blunder! The king retreats but walks into an immediate forced mate in three.
• 8. Bxd5+ — 8.Bxd5+! — the bishop captures the knight with check. The d5-g8 diagonal is wide open.
• 8... Qxd5 — 8...Qxd5 — forced recapture with the queen.
• 9. Qxd5+ — 9.Qxd5+ — the queen retakes and checks again along the same diagonal.
• 9... Be6 — 9...Be6 — the only interposition to block the check.
• 10. Qxe6# — 10.Qxe6# — checkmate! The queen captures the blocking bishop. All escape squares are covered — f7 by the queen, g7 and h8 covered, and the pawns on g7 and h7 hem in the king. A devastating forced mate.

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