Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Fried Liver Attack
The Fried Liver Attack (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7) is a line in which White sacrifices a knight on f7 for an attack on Black's king, which is left in the middle of the board. Read the guide
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Statistics from Lichess
1,309,007 games: White 66.6% / Draw 3.1% / Black 30.3%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 1,211,9581.2M | ||
| 35,51536K | ||
| 19,42319K | ||
| 13,25413K | ||
| 9,3269,326 | ||
| 3,8223,822 | ||
| 2,5242,524 | ||
| 2,3992,399 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 3, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.78 White is better
Best play: 6... Kxf7 7. Qf3+ Ke6 8. Nc3 Nb4 9. O-O c6 10. d4 Qf6 11. Qe2
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
The stronger the players, the worse this line does for White: White scores 72% under 1400, 56% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 2.1M | |
| 1400–1799 | 2.2M | |
| 1800–2199 | 419K | |
| 2200 and up | 11K | |
| Masters, over the board | 63 |
Master games
- Firouzja, A. – Carlsen, M.
- Zhigalko, S. – Agdestein, S.
- Shirov, A. – Sulskis, S.
- Olivo, O. – Reichert, T.
- Schneider, G. – Pommrich, R.
Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 27, 2026
Description
The Fried Liver Attack (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7) is a line in which White sacrifices a knight on f7 for an attack on Black's king, which is left in the middle of the board. It arises from the Two Knights Defense when Black recaptures on d5 with the knight.
Origins
The Fried Liver has been known for centuries. The earliest known example is a game played by Giulio Cesare Polerio before 1606. It is also called the Fegatello Attack. The name comes from an Italian dish.
The idea
After 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 7.Qf3+, the king must go to e6 to protect the pinned d5-knight. White then plays 8.Nc3, attacking the pinned knight a second time. Black is a piece up but the king is stuck in the centre. Black usually defends with ...Nb4 and ...c6 to hold the d5-knight.
Main lines
- 6.Nxf7, the Fried Liver itself: 6...Kxf7 7.Qf3+ Ke6 8.Nc3 Nb4, and ...c6 to reinforce the pinned knight. Here 9.Bb3, 9.Qe4 and 9.O-O are better choices than 9.a3, after which Black is quite strong.
- The Lolli Attack 6.d4, which Bobby Fischer considered "incredibly strong". Because of it, 5...Nxd5 is rarely played.
Black can avoid the whole line on move five:
- 5...Na5, the Polerio Defense, generally considered best.
- 5...Nd4, the Fritz Variation, and 5...b5, the Ulvestad Variation.
- On move four, 4...Bc5, the Traxler Counterattack, which leads to wild complications.
Strengths and weaknesses
Strengths (for White)
- A very dangerous attack with simple, natural moves.
- Black's defence is hard to find over the board, especially in fast games.
- It has not been proven to be decisive, but it is extremely difficult to meet in practice.
Weaknesses (for White)
- Well-informed opponents never allow it: they play 5...Na5 instead.
- White gives up a whole piece. If the attack is not accurate, Black keeps the extra material.
- After 4.Ng5, White must also know the main lines after 5...Na5, where it is White who is attacked.
Who should play it
The Fried Liver is a classic weapon for attacking players at club level and in fast games, and a great way to learn attacking chess. With Black, the lesson is simple: after 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5, play 5...Na5 instead of 5...Nxd5.
The numbers
Below 1400, White wins 71% and Black only 27%. Between 1400 and 1800 it is 69% against 28.5%, and between 1800 and 2200 it is 64% against 32%. Even above 2200 White wins 54% against 42%. There are almost no master games with it: only 63 in the database.
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Popularity by year
The Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Fried Liver Attack is played less than half as often as in 2016: 0.036% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.079%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.079% | 28,079 |
| 2017 | 0.059% | 32,683 |
| 2018 | 0.049% | 38,855 |
| 2019 | 0.051% | 63,003 |
| 2020 | 0.06% | 176,773 |
| 2021 | 0.065% | 255,606 |
| 2022 | 0.054% | 203,976 |
| 2023 | 0.049% | 182,680 |
| 2024 | 0.041% | 148,144 |
| 2025 | 0.036% | 126,406 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.032% | 35,150 |
Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling
Variations (1)
Sources
- History and theory: adapted from the Wikipedia article Fried Liver Attack, version of 6 October 2026, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Alternatives for Black: adapted from the Wikipedia article Two Knights Defense, version of 25 October 2026, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Results: Lichess opening explorer, figures collected from September to November 2026.
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Fried Liver Attack (C57)”. Lichess data as of 3 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-two-knights-defense-fried-liver-attack