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Many chess openings get their name from a player who invented it and/or played it and/or documented it. Place names are also frequently used, denoting where an opening was first played or became prominent, or perhaps where players who used it were from. Other openings may take their name from some sort of description of style or some other feature of the opening.

The Fried Liver Attack doesn't seem to follow any of these patterns. Where does the name come from?

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  • 3
    As anyone who's watched Ben Finegold will know, it was named after the person who popularised it - Mr Attack
    – Joe
    Sep 30, 2019 at 10:58
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    From a complete noob - is this different from "Liver and Onions" moves? Sep 30, 2019 at 12:33
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    @CarlWitthoft: I'm not familiar with "Liver and Onions" moves. However, I've added a link in the post to the Wikipedia page on the Fried Liver Attack. Are these the same moves?
    – GreenMatt
    Oct 2, 2019 at 15:32

1 Answer 1

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From the Wikipedia article on the Fried Liver,

Italian way of cooking liver ("Fegatello" means to put the liver in a net and cook it over a fire, or, in modern times, in a pan. Here we can see a metaphor for what happens to Black’s king in this line: it is cooked like a "fegatello". Usually Black’s king is caught in the mating net and White increases the heat move by move – "dead as a piece of liver".)

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    In Spanish, it's still known as "Fegatello"
    – David
    Sep 30, 2019 at 11:22
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    In French too we call it "Fegatello". "Fried Liver Attack" is just a weird attempt at translating.
    – Evargalo
    Sep 30, 2019 at 11:47

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