Opening Traps/know them from both sides/C57–C59/You play White

Fried Liver Attack

A knight lands on f7 and the king walks. Learn to spring it, to survive it, and the defence that makes it a museum piece.

Coachedanswers the move you actually played

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Stockfish+0.36

Move 0 of 18 · White up

the moveattackscheckyour note

Play a move on the board and I’ll answer it. ← → to step.

Variations9 of 12

The Fried Liver, executedFoundation10 moves·425 master games The king runs home: 7...Ke8Foundation11 moves·109 master games Lolli Attack: 6.d4Plans11 moves·94 master games Surviving it as Blackas BlackMastery11 moves·91 master games Polerio Defence: 5...Na5!as BlackStructure12 moves·6,378 master games Polerio: the modern 8.Bd3as BlackStructure12 moves·2,338 master games Polerio: Bogoljubow's 8.Qf3as BlackPlans10 moves·1,079 master games Fritz Variation: 5...Nd4Plans11 moves·675 master games Ulvestad Variation: 5...b5PlansBlack deflects the bishop first and recaptures on d5 second. White steps back to f1, takes the pawn the variation offers, and opens the centre while the king is still on e8.9 moves·802 master games Traxler Counterattackas BlackMastery10 moves·514 master games The Traxler, refused: 5.Bxf7+Structure10 moves·270 master games Deep dive: the attack cashes inPlans12 moves·425 master games

41%16%43%

802 master games after 5...b5· White 41%· Draw 16%· Black 43%

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.

StartBefore the first move

The starting position. White moves first, and that single tempo is the whole reason opening theory exists.

The moves in the text are buttons. Press one and the board beside it shows the position.

The idea in one paragraph

After two white pieces attack f7 and only the king defends it. Everything in this chapter is the argument about that square. Black must block the bishop's diagonal with , and then comes the real fork in the road: recapture on d5 with the knight and (or Fischer's ) drags the king into the open; give the pawn back with and it is White who spends the next ten moves retreating. This page teaches both chairs: the attack and its exact move order as White, the Polerio Defence as Black, and the side roads either player can walk into: the Fritz, the Ulvestad and the Traxler.

The pawn structure

There is no pawn structure to study in the attacking lines, and that is the point. The centre opens on move five, the e-file and the a2–g8 diagonal are the terrain, and the position is decided by piece activity against a king that has lost the right to castle. The Polerio is different: after Black ends up a pawn down with split queenside pawns (a7 and c6) and a lead in development, and White's extra pawn sits in a position where every White piece has been moved twice. That trade, structure for time, is the Polerio in one sentence.

The plans

♔ White’s plans

Spring it only in the right order: , and only after Black has recaptured with the knight. One move early, and the same sacrifice simply loses a piece.
After the follow-up is and nothing else. The queen checks the king and hits the pinned knight on d5 in the same move; and both let Black keep the piece.
With the king on e6, pile everything onto the pinned knight: Nc3, d4, O-O, as in . Count the defenders of d5 every single move. Against castle at once with ; the tempting and are what the engine likes least.
Against the Polerio play , and after accept the facts: you are a pawn up, your pieces will be kicked, and the job is to finish developing without losing the pawn back. is the modern retreat; is the old main line.
Against the Traxler , refuse the bait: wins a clean pawn with the king stuck on e7. Taking with the knight, , is safe only if you then refuse the bishop with . Taking it back on f2 is what Black is praying for.

♚ Black’s plans

Meet with . It is the only good move, and it works because it blocks the c4-bishop, which is what makes ...Kxf7 a legal answer to the sacrifice.
Play , the Polerio Defence: give the d5-pawn back, chase the bishop with ...c6 ( ), and take over the game with a lead in development. Against kick the knight with ; against put a knight on d5 and f4 and take the bishop pair: .
If you do land in the Fried Liver, defend by counting: keep three defenders on d5, prefer moves that defend by attacking ( hits c2 while it guards d5), and walk the king home the moment White stops for breath.
As a counter-trap, the Traxler offers a whole bishop. Objectively White stands better by taking with the bishop, but the player who grabs with the knight and then takes on f2, , is defending against mate four moves later.

Traps and things that lose games

The Fried Liver itself

and the king must come forward: gives the piece back, is mate in three.

Trap 2

The back-rank finish after : the bishop guards f7 and Black's own queen blocks d8, so or is met by . Only holds.

Trap 3

The same sacrifice one move early ( before Black recaptures) loses a piece for a pawn: with the pawn still on d5 the bishop's diagonal is blocked and ...Kxf7 is simply legal.

The Traxler tripwire

after , the natural hands the edge back and it is White's king that gets hunted. sidesteps the whole attack. Even after the correct , the careless allows , a discovered check from the rook.

The Fritz fork

after , the natural runs into , and the knight forks king and rook. Castle first.

Trap 6

recaptures with the wrong piece: wins the queen, because the bishop on c4 was watching d5 the whole time.

Everyone below about 1400 meets 4.Ng5 constantly, from both chairs. Learn it as White for the games it wins outright, and as Black so that a ten-move loss can never happen to you, and so that you know the Polerio well enough to enjoy the extra tempi. It is also the best first lesson in attacking an uncastled king.

Your learning path: Fried Liver Attack

Beginner → Intermediate

One square, two chairs: spring the attack as White, refuse it as Black with the Polerio, and know every side road (Lolli, Fritz, Ulvestad, Traxler) from both sides of the board.

FoundationYour first session
Goal. Own the move order as White and never lose to it as Black.
- The order that makes the sacrifice work: Ng5 hits f7, ...d5 blocks, exd5, and Nxf7 only after ...Nxd5. One move early and it loses a piece.
- The one follow-up: 7.Qf3+. Not Bxd5+, not Qh5+: the queen has to check the king and hit d5 at once.
- Why 4...d5 is the only defence: it is not about defending f7, it is about making ...Kxf7 legal.
- The king's three answers to 7.Qf3+: e6 holds the piece, e8 gives it back, g8 is mate.
DrillDrill the executed line and the 7...Ke8 line as White until the move order is automatic. Then flip the board and play 4...d5 5.exd5 Na5 twenty times as Black. The point is that neither side ever has to think before move six.
Common mistakePlaying 5.Nxf7 before Black has recaptured on d5. Count it every time: if the pawn still stands on d5, the bishop does not see f7 and the sacrifice is just a lost piece.
Move on whenYou can say, without the board, why the sacrifice works after 5...Nxd5 and fails after 4...d5, and you have mated somebody on f7 after 7...Ke8 8.Bxd5.
StructureWeek two
Goal. Make the Polerio your automatic answer as Black, against all three bishop retreats.
- The Polerio sequence against 8.Be2: ...h6, ...e4, ...Bd6, and ...exd3 en passant. Every Black move develops or attacks.
- Against 8.Bd3, the ...e4 kick is gone: ...Nd5, ...Bd6, ...Nf4 and ...Nxd3 for the bishop pair.
- Against 8.Qf3, develop and let c6 go: ...Be7, ...O-O, ...Rb8.
- As White against 4...Bc5: 5.Bxf7+ and castle before c3.
DrillDrill the three Polerio lines until the ...c6 fork and the right answer to each retreat are reflexes. Then the Traxler refused from White's chair.
Common mistakePlaying ...e4 against 8.Bd3. The bishop guards e4; the kick that works against Be2 just drops a second pawn.
Move on whenYou reach move twelve of every Polerio line from memory and can name what each Black move attacked.
PlansWeek three
Goal. Handle the side roads as White.
- The Lolli 6.d4: why it is as strong as the sacrifice, and what to do when Black takes on d4.
- The Fritz 5...Nd4: 6.c3 b5 7.Bf1, take everything, and castle before Qf3.
- The Ulvestad 5...b5: retreat to f1, take on b5 only after Black recaptures on d5.
DrillPlay each side road ten times against an engine from White's chair, stopping at move twelve to compare your position with the plan card.
Common mistakeReaching for the queen before castling in the Fritz. 10.Qf3? exd4 11.Bc6 Nb4 12.Bxa8 Nc2+ is the whole trap.
Move on whenYou can name the trap in each side road, and which move of yours it punishes.
MasteryWhen the pattern is automatic
Goal. Survive the attack from inside, and carry the counter-trap.
- The survival line: 8...Nb4! and the defend-by-attacking rule, then the king walk to e7 once the checks stop.
- Why White must castle against 8...Nb4: 9.a3 and 9.Qe4 let Black consolidate.
- The Traxler from Black's chair: the forced attack after 5.Nxf7 Bxf2+ 6.Kxf2, and the verdict against 5.Bxf7+ and 6.Kf1.
DrillSet the position after 8.Nc3 and defend it as Black against the engine, once with 8...Nce7 and once with 8...Nb4. Lose it a few times; the defensive rules only stick after the king has been mated on e6.
Common mistakeLearning the Traxler's fireworks and not the refutation. Half the players who face your Traxler will play 5.Bxf7+, and you need a plan for a long game a pawn down.
Move on whenYou have won with the attack as White, held it as Black, and know which chair you would rather be sitting in.

Whose games to study

Polerio's own analysis is four centuries old and still the last word on 5...Na5, and his game against Domenico is the first Fried Liver on record. For the Polerio Defence from Black's chair, the games of Chigorin and Flear; for the Traxler, the correspondence games of Karel Traxler himself.

What to learn after this

The Italian Game chapter is this opening grown up: the same bishop, the same square, and the slow version of the same argument.