How To Turn A Fried Liver Into A Greek Gift

In the following game, White appears to have the upper hand, trying a Fried Liver attack on f7. Suddenly, he castles, and LOSES!

What?! Castling is not supposed to make you lose, and neither is the Fried Liver.

Obviously White made some mistakes in the game. See if you can find them! This is a great lesson in turning a game around. Black completely destroys White using the Greek gift sacrifice.

Here's how they start out:

What is White's threat? How does Black stop the threat? (P.S. If you want to avoid this threat in the first place, instead of 3. Nf6 play 3. Bc5! P.P.S. Black can counterattack with Bc5 now, and that leads to some exciting complications by attacking f2! But I'm looking for a simpler response from Black.)

Nice work! Now if White tries to sac on f7, Black will recapture safely. The following moves are standard book moves.

The better move for White is Qf3, pinning the pawn to the rook on a8. It also develops a new piece and maintains the pressure.

All of a sudden, White is lost! I know your coach tells you to castle, castle, castle. But she also tells you to develop your pieces! Look at White's queenside...

You might notice that Black has this interesting little triangle upstairs: the queen at home, the knight on f6, the bishop on d6. How will they work together to break open the castle walls?

Now White has four squares to move the king. They all lose! Try this one...

Black turned that game around fast! Be sure to develop ALL your pieces, and don't castle into an attack.