Fried Liver Attack

The Fried Liver Attack, also called the Fegatello Attack, is a chess opening 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:
White's move 4.Ng5 is an aggressive attacking line against the Two Knights. Black's move 5...Nxd5 is risky. Bobby Fischer felt that 6.d4 was incredibly strong, to the point 5...Nxd5 is rarely played. It 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 played by Giulio Cesare Polerio before 1606.

Considerations

After 6...Kxf7, play usually continues 7.Qf3+ Ke6 8.Nc3. Black will play 8...Nb4 and follow up with...c6, bolstering their pinned knight on d5. White can the b4-knight to abandon protection of the d5-knight with 9.a3, a move Yakov Estrin recommended, but Black is quite strong after 9.a3 Nxc2+ 10.Kd1 Nd4 or 10...Nxa1! 11.Nxd5 Qh4! when White's attack runs out. Thus, 9.Bb3, 9.Qe4, or 9.0-0 are better choices.
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.