The Fried Liver (Italian: Fegatello) is the most famous knight sacrifice for club players. Out of the Two Knights Defense, White plays Nxf7, gives up a piece, and hauls the black king out into the centre on move six. With accurate defence engines say Black survives — but over the board, against a human, the exposed king is usually fatal.
After 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5, if Black recaptures with 5…Nxd5?!, White strikes with 6.Nxf7! Kxf7 7.Qf3+ — the king is dragged to the centre, the d5-knight is pinned and falling, and White has a raging attack for the piece.
4.Ng5 attacks f7 twice (knight and bishop). Black must react with 4…d5, and after 5.exd5 the critical question is how to recapture. The greedy 5…Nxd5?! puts the knight on a square White can hit with tempo. Then 6.Nxf7! Kxf7 7.Qf3+ forks the king's exposure and the pinned d5-knight; after 7…Ke6 (forced, to defend the knight) 8.Nc3 piles on, and Black is left defending a king on e6 with most of the army still at home. White's attack is worth far more than the sacrificed knight at practical level.
5… Nxd5 — 5…Nxd5?! is the move that walks in. Recapturing the pawn with the knight looks natural, but it invites the f7 sacrifice. It isn't an outright blunder — with perfect play Black holds — but it hands White a dangerous, often winning attack and is a nightmare to defend by hand.
Meet 5.exd5 with 5…Na5!, the main line — hitting the c4-bishop, gaining time, and dodging the Fried Liver entirely (Black gives back the pawn but gets active, safe play). 5…b5 (Ulvestad) and 5…Nd4 (Fritz) are sharper alternatives. Or sidestep the whole thing earlier with 3…Bc5, the Giuoco Piano, instead of 3…Nf6.
At club level, practically yes — Black's king is dragged into the open and is extremely hard to defend by hand. With computer-perfect defence (the line 7…Ke6 8.Nc3 Ncb4!) engines hold for Black, but that's a tall order for a human under pressure.
Play 5…Na5! instead of 5…Nxd5, hitting the bishop on c4 and steering into the safe main line of the Two Knights. You can also avoid it a move earlier by choosing 3…Bc5 (the Italian) over 3…Nf6.
From the Italian name 'Fegatello' — roughly 'dead as a piece of fried liver,' describing how helpless Black's king is once it's hauled out to e6.
A trap only works if your opponent makes the mistake — strong players sidestep these, which is why each page also shows how to avoid it. Every line here is checked legal with the same engine the board runs, and every checkmate is verified.