Fried Liver Attack

In the second week of after school chess club, my beginning group doubled in size and includes several who have never played chess. While emphasizing how the pieces move and other first things, I showed the group Gibaud -- Lazard 1924, then offered assistance as the students paired off and played.

The advanced group saw this game, but not with all of the annotations presented here.

Von der Lasa,Tassilo -- Mayet,Carl [C57]
Berlin Berlin, 1839

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5

White's aggressive move immediately presents Black with some problems.

4.d3 is the main line and scores best.

4...d5

4...Bc5 is the other principal way of meeting White's threats. 5.Nxf7 Bxf2+ 6.Kf1 and White should be better 6...Qe7 7.Nxh8; 4...b5 5.Bxf7+ Ke7 6.Bb3.

4...h6 5.Nxf7 Qe7 6.Nxh8 was played in De Wit -- Soylu 1999.

5.exd5 Nxd5

Accepting the Fried Liver gives White strong practical chances. Black is okay, and probably better, but it is much easier for Black to err. Moreover, errors are often fatal.

5...Na5 is a recommended alternative, as we saw last week.

White to move

6.Nxf7

6.d4 is an alternative, leading to:

a) 6...Bb4+ 7.c3 Be7 8.h4 Bxg5 9.Bxg5 Qd7 10.dxe5 Nb6 and was drawn in 47 moves Stoltz,G (2487) -- Karaklajic,N (2436), Belgrade 1952.

b) 6...exd4 7.0–0 Be6

7...Be7 was played against Paul Morphy when he was playing blindfold 8.Nxf7 Kxf7 9.Qf3+ Ke6 10.Nc3 dxc3 11.Re1+ Ne5 12.Bf4 Bd6 13.Bxe5 Bxe5 14.Rxe5+ Kxe5 15.Re1+ Kd4 16.Bxd5 Rf8 17.Qd3+ Kc5 18.b4+ Kxb4 19.Qd4+ 1–0 Morphy,P -- Amateur,New Orleans 1858.

8.Re1 Qd7 9.Nxf7 Kxf7 10.Qf3+ Kg8 11.Rxe6 is the line recommended by Tartakower and Du Mont, 500 Master Games of Chess (1952). Last week's game also came from this book.

6...Kxf7 7.Qf3+ Ke6

Beginners sometimes play 7...Ke8 8.Bxd5 Qf6 9.Bxc6+ bxc6 10.Qxf6 gxf6 11.d3 and White has a clear advantage with both material and positional superiority.

8.Nc3

Black to move

8...Nce7

8...Ncb4 is Black's principal alternative, and one that I prefer as Black.

White's main responses are:

a) 9.Qe4 c6 10.a3 Na6

Alternately, Black can return the material in hopes of finding a secure home for the king 10...Nxc2+ 11.Qxc2 Kf7.

11.d4 Nac7 12.Bf4 Kf7 13.Bxe5 Be7 14.0–0–0 with a clear lead in development for White.

b) 9.Bb3 c6 10.a3 Na6 and Black is surviving for now.

c) 9. a3 Nxc2+ 10.Kd1 Nxa1 11.Nxd5 Kd6 12.d4 Be6

In a correspondence game ten years ago, I played 12...b5 13.Ne7!? and I spent several hours finding Bg4.

The knight is untouchable:

13...Bxe7 14.Qd5#
13...Kxe7 14.Qf7+ Kd6 15.Qd5+ Ke7 16.Qxe5+ Be6 17.Qxe6#
13...Qxe7 14.Qd5#

13.Re1 b5 14.Nb4 bxc4 15.Qc6+ Ke7 16.Bg5+ Kf7 17.Bxd8 Rxd8 18.Qxc7+ Rd7 19.Qxe5 Rd6 20.d5 Bd7 21.Qf4+ Kg8 22.Qxc4 a5 23.Nd3 a4 24.Nc5 h5 25.Nxd7 Rxd7 26.d6+ Kh7 27.Re6 g6 28.Rxg6 1–0 Shirov,A (2709) -- Sulskis,S (2544), Tromso 2014.

9.d4 b5 10.Nxb5 

Black to move

10...c6

Students were asked to find White's refutations of 10...Ng6.

11.Bxd5+ Qxd5 12.Nxc7+

11.Nc3 Qb6

11...Bb7 is met by 12.Ne4.

12.dxe5 Bb7 13.Ne4 Qb4+?

13...Kd7 may be Black's best chance.

14.Bd2 Qxc4

White to move

This position offers a good example of materialism vs. piece activity and coordination. White has sacrificed two minor pieces, netting three pawns, but has a decisive attack.

15.Qg4+! Kxe5 

15...Kf7 16.Nd6+ Kg8 17.Qe6#
15...Nf5 16.Ng5+ Kd7 17.Qxc4+-.

16.f4+ Kd4 

16...Kxe4 17.Qe6+ Kd4 18.Be3+ Nxe3 19.Qe5#.

17.c3+ 

17.0–0–0 wins as quickly.

17...Nxc3 18.Bxc3+

Black to move

18...Kxe4

18...Qxc3+ 19.bxc3+ Kc4 20.Qe2+ Kd5 21.0–0–0+ Ke6 22.Ng5+ Kf5 23.Qe6+ Kxf4 24.Nh3#.

19.f5+

Von der Lasa missed a quicker checkmate:19.0–0–0 Qd3 20.f5+ Kd5 21.Rxd3+ Kc5 22.Qb4#.

19...Kd5 20.0–0–0+ Kc5 21.b4+ Kb5 

21...Kb6 22.Qxc4

22.a4+ 1–0

White regains far more material than he sacrificed to create an attack against the king.