Fried Liver Attack - Traxler Counterattack (4...Bc5)
Castle, play Nc3, and jump Nd5+ when possible, meeting ...h6 with Qh5+ then Nb6, hitting the rook and threatening mate on f7. Watch for ...Bg4 tries, since Nd5+ there just wins material. Aim for a safe king and a kingside pawn majority.
Let's learn the Traxler Counterattack! Black plays an early mistake with 4...Bc5, leaving f7 undefended. We grab the free pawn on f7 and chase Black's king into the open. Let's begin with 1.e4.
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Key lines
The free lines of this chapter, each one trainable move by move.
- Main Line
… 9... Nxh7 10. Nd5+ Ke8 11. Qh5+ Rf7 12. Nb6
- Trap: 6...Bxf2+, you win a piece
… 5. Bxf7+ Kf8 6. Bb3 Bxf2+ 7. Kxf2 d5 8. exd5 Ng4+ 9. Kg1 Qxg5 10. dxc6 Qh4 11. Qe2
- Trap: 6...h6, you win a rook
… 5. Bxf7+ Kf8 6. Bb3 h6 7. Nf7 Bxf2+ 8. Kxf2 Nxe4+ 9. Kg1 Qh4 10. Qf1 Ke7 11. Nxh8 Qf6 12. Nc3
- Trap: 7...Bxf2+, you win a piece
… 5. Bxf7+ Kf8 6. Bb3 d5 7. exd5 Bxf2+ 8. Kxf2 Ng4+ 9. Kg1 Qxg5 10. dxc6 Qh4 11. Qe2
- 5...Kf8
… 5. Bxf7+ Kf8 6. Bb3 d5 7. exd5 Nd4 8. Nc3 Nxb3 9. axb3 Bxf2+ 10. Kxf2 Ng4+ 11. Kg1
- 7...h6
… 7. O-O h6 8. Nf3 Nxe4 9. Nc3 Nxc3 10. dxc3 d6 11. b4 Bb6 12. a4
- 7...h6
… 7. O-O h6 8. Nf3 d6 9. Nc3 Bg4 10. Be2
- 7...Qe8
… 7. O-O Qe8 8. Nc3 Qg6 9. d3
- Trap: 8...Bg4, you win a piece
… 8. Nc3 Bg4 9. Nd5+ Nxd5 10. Qxg4 Nd4 11. exd5 Rf4 12. Qd1
Other chapters
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Na5 6. Bb5+ c6 7. dxc6 bxc6 8. Be2 h6 9. Nh3 Bxh3 10. gxh3 Bc5 11. O-O O-O 12. Nc3
Suhle Defense (8...h6, after 4...d5 5.exd5 5...Na5 6.Bb5+)
After 8.Be2, Black plays 8...h6 to kick your knight back. Meet it with 9.Nh3, and after 9...Bxh3 10.gxh3 Bc5, castle and follow with 12.Nc3, eyeing d5. You get the bishop pair and a queenside majority, against Black's isolated c6 pawn, while your own f-pawn and doubled h-pawns need care.
10 lines1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Na5 6. Bb5+ Bd7 7. Qe2 Bd6 8. O-O O-O 9. Bxd7 Qxd7 10. Nc3 c6 11. dxc6 Nxc6 12. d3
6...Bd7 Lines (after 4...d5 5.exd5 5...Na5 6.Bb5+)
After 6.Bb5+, Black blocks with ...Bd7, then plays ...Bd6 and castles kingside. Meet it with Qe2, defending your bishop and eyeing e5, then O-O, Bxd7, Nc3, dxc6 and d3 to cover e4. Aim for a position where you hold a queenside pawn majority.
8 lines1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Nxd5 6. Nxf7 Kxf7 7. Qf3+ Ke6 8. Nc3 Nb4 9. O-O c6 10. d4 Nxc2 11. dxe5 Nxa1 12. Nxd5 cxd5 13. Rd1
Fried Liver Attack (6.Nxf7, after 4...d5 5.exd5)
After 4...d5 and 5...Nxd5, strike with 6.Nxf7 and 7.Qf3+, launching the Fried Liver Attack. Follow up with 8.Nc3, 9.O-O, 10.d4, and 13.Rd1, improving every piece. Watch for the common mistakes 10...Nxc2 and 11...Nxa1, both of which we punish. You reach a winning position with a passed e5 pawn against Black's isolated d5 pawn.
7 lines1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Nd4 6. c3 b5 7. Bf1 Nxd5 8. cxd4 Qxg5 9. Bxb5+ Kd8 10. O-O Bb7 11. Qf3
Fritz Variation (5...Nd4, after 4...d5 5.exd5)
After 4...d5 5.exd5, Black retreats with 5...Nd4 into the Fritz Variation. Meet it with 6.c3, let 7.Bf1 bait ...Nxd5, then hit back with 8.cxd4 and 9.Bxb5+. Watch for 11.d3? Nf4 mate, so play 11.Qf3 instead, hitting f7. You'll often reach a position with doubled isolated d-pawns but strong piece activity.
5 lines1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 b5 6. Bf1 Nxd5 7. Bxb5 Bb7 8. d4 exd4 9. O-O Be7 10. Qh5 g6 11. Qh6 Qd7 12. Re1
Ulvestad Variation (5...b5, after 4...d5 5.exd5)
After 4...d5 5.exd5, Black strikes with ...b5, hitting your bishop on c4. Retreat with 6.Bf1, then meet ...Nxd5 with Bxb5, d4, O-O, Qh5 and Qh6, pinning the e7 bishop with Re1. Watch the Qxd5 line, where Bxc6+ can win Black's queen. You aim for active piece play with a queenside pawn majority.
8 lines1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 Nxe4 5. Bxf7+ Ke7 6. d4 Nxd4 7. c3 Nc6 8. Bb3 Nf6 9. Nf7
Other 4th moves (4...Nxe4)
The opponent blunders with 4...Nxe4. Reply 5.Bxf7+ Ke7 6.d4, then after 6...Nxd4 7.c3 Nc6 8.Bb3 Nf6, play 9.Nf7 with a plan of Nxh8 and Bg5, pinning the f6 knight. Watch for 7...Nc6, a common mistake that traps Black's king in the center.
3 lines
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