Fried Liver Attack - 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.
Let's learn the Ulvestad Variation! Black pushes the pawn to b5, attacking our bishop. We retreat it to f1 and keep pressure on Black's knight. Let's begin with 1.e4.
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Scroll the moves: the board follows.
Key lines
The free lines of this chapter, each one trainable move by move.
- Main Line
… 9... Be7 10. Qh5 g6 11. Qh6 Qd7 12. Re1
- Trap: 7...Qd8, you win material
… 6. Bf1 Qxd5 7. Nc3 Qd8 8. Bxb5 Bb7 9. Qe2 Bd6 10. Bxc6+ Bxc6 11. Nxf7 Kxf7 12. Qc4+ Kg6 13. Qxc6 Qe8 14. Qc4
- 6...Qxd5
… 6. Bf1 Qxd5 7. Nc3 Qd8 8. Bxb5 Bd7 9. Bc4 Be6 10. Nxe6 fxe6 11. Bb5 Qd6 12. Qf3
- 6...Qxd5
… 6. Bf1 Qxd5 7. Nc3 Qc5 8. Bxb5 Bb7 9. d3 h6 10. Be3 Qd6 11. Nge4 Nxe4 12. dxe4 O-O-O 13. Qxd6 Rxd6 14. f3
- 6...Qxd5
… 6. Bf1 Qxd5 7. Nc3 Qc5 8. Bxb5 Bd7 9. d3 h6 10. Nge4 Nxe4 11. dxe4 Rd8 12. O-O
- 6...Nd4
… 6. Bf1 Nd4 7. c3
- 7...Bd7
… 7. Bxb5 Bd7 8. Nxf7 Kxf7 9. Qf3+ Nf6 10. Bxc6 Bxc6 11. Qxc6 Bd6 12. Nc3
- 8...Be7
… 8. d4 Be7 9. Nf3 e4 10. Ne5 Qd6 11. O-O O-O 12. Bxc6 Bxc6 13. c4
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 Bc5 5. Bxf7+ Ke7 6. Bc4 Rf8 7. O-O d6 8. Nc3 h6 9. Nh7 Nxh7 10. Nd5+ Ke8 11. Qh5+ Rf7 12. Nb6
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.
9 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
Learn Ulvestad Variation (5...b5, after 4...d5 5.exd5) on the board
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