As White

Fried Liver Attack

The Fried Liver Attack is a chess opening for White that starts with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5.

A classic deadly attack on the black king when Black misplays the Two Knights Defence.

Reviewed on November 6, 2026 · Prepared by Josep Serrano Ballestero

Basic · Elo Under 400

Train this level

  1. Deadly mate · 7...Kg8

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 7.Qf3+ Kg8 8.Bxd5+ Qxd5 9.Qxd5+ Be6 10.Qxe6#

  2. Deadly mate · 8...Nd4

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 7.Qf3+ Ke8 8.Bxd5 Nd4 9.Qf7#

  3. Deadly mate · 9...Ke7

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 7.Qf3+ Ke6 8.Nc3 Nd4 9.Bxd5+ Ke7 10.Qf7+ Kd6 11.Ne4#

  4. Deadly mate · 9...Nxc2

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 7.Qf3+ Ke6 8.Nc3 Nb4 9.O-O Nxc2 10.Bxd5+ Ke7 11.Qf7+ Kd6 12.Ne4#

  5. Opponent's mistake · 4...Qe7

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Qe7 5.Bxf7+ Kd8 6.Bb3

  6. Opponent's mistake · 8...Qxd5

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 7.Qf3+ Ke8 8.Bxd5 Qxd5 9.Qxd5

  7. Two Knights Defense, Knight Attack, Normal Variation

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 7.Qf3+ Ke6 8.Nc3 Nb4 9.O-O c6 10.d4

  8. Two Knights Defense, Polerio Defense · 6.Bb5+ Bd7

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5+ Bd7 7.Qe2 Nxd5 8.Qxe5+

  9. Two Knights Defense, Polerio Defense · 6.Bb5+ c6

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5+ c6 7.dxc6 bxc6 8.Be2 Bc5 9.d3 O-O 10.O-O

Intermediate · Elo 400 – 600

Train this level

  1. Opponent's mistake · 6...Bxf2+

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ Kf8 6.Bb3 Bxf2+ 7.Kxf2

  2. Opponent's mistake · 9...Bb7

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 b5 6.Bxb5 Qxd5 7.Nc3 Qxg2 8.Qf3 Qxf3 9.Nxf3 Bb7 10.Nxe5 O-O-O 11.Bxc6 Bxc6 12.Nxc6

  3. Opponent's mistake · 4...Nxe4

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Nxe4 5.Bxf7+ Ke7 6.Nxe4

  4. Two Knights Defense, Knight Attack, Normal Variation · 7.Qf3+ Qf6

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 7.Qf3+ Qf6 8.Bxd5+ Be6 9.Bxc6

  5. Two Knights Defense, Knight Attack, Normal Variation · 8.Nc3 Nd4

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 7.Qf3+ Ke6 8.Nc3 Nd4 9.Bxd5+

  6. Two Knights Defense, Knight Attack, Normal Variation · 8.Nc3 Nb4

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 7.Qf3+ Ke6 8.Nc3 Nb4 9.O-O

  7. Two Knights Defense, Traxler Counterattack · 5.Bxf7+ Kf8

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ Kf8 6.Bb3 d5 7.exd5 Nxd5 8.d3 Qf6 9.Ne4

  8. Two Knights Defense, Traxler Counterattack · 5.Bxf7+ Ke7

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ Ke7 6.Bb3 Rf8 7.d3 d6 8.Nf3 Bg4 9.c3

  9. Two Knights Defense, Polerio Defense, Suhle Defense · 10.Ne5 Qd5

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5+ c6 7.dxc6 bxc6 8.Be2 h6 9.Nf3 e4 10.Ne5 Qd5 11.d4 exd3 12.Nxd3

  10. Two Knights Defense, Polerio Defense

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5+ Bd7 7.Qe2 Bd6 8.Bxd7+ Qxd7 9.Nc3 O-O 10.b3

  11. Two Knights Defense, Polerio Defense, Suhle Defense · 10.Ne5 Bd6

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5+ c6 7.dxc6 bxc6 8.Be2 h6 9.Nf3 e4 10.Ne5 Bd6 11.f4 exf3 12.Nxf3

Frequently asked questions

Is the Fried Liver Attack good for beginners?

Yes. On OpeningCraft you learn it in these levels: Basic (Elo under 400), Intermediate (Elo 400 – 600). It suits players who like attacks, gambits and open positions.

What traps are there in the Fried Liver Attack?

OpeningCraft teaches 9 traps and opponent mistakes in this opening, for example: Deadly mate (7...Kg8); Deadly mate (8...Nd4); Deadly mate (9...Ke7).

How many lines of the Fried Liver Attack do you need to learn?

OpeningCraft teaches 20, in blocks of 5. They come from real Lichess games at each rating band, and the traps and opponent mistakes most common at your level come first.

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