Chess Patterns ❯ Types of Pawns ❯ Poisoned Pawn
Poisoned Pawn
Poisoned Pawn
The Poisoned Pawn is an enticing, seemingly defenseless pawn that, if captured, actually puts the capturing player at a disadvantage. In the diagram above, if Black captures the undefended b2-pawn with 1...Qxb2, then 2.Na4 wins Black's Queen!
Ideas for when you have a Poisoned Pawn: (1) Be prepared for all potential variations that may arise upon its capture. Ideas against a Poisoned Pawn: (1) carefully assess the potential consequences before snatching it. It might just be bait for a devastating counterattack. One of the most famous games featuring a poisoned pawn is the 1972 World Chess Championship match between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky. Fischer accepted the poisoned pawn, only to find his Queen trapped by Spassky!
Designed with Love in Italy
Designed with Love in Italy
These chess icons are our indie studio's tribute to chess lovers around the world. A way of making chess more visual and fun. You can use the icons for free in publicly accessible content, simply by crediting us (see our Licensing Policy). Each icon is paired with examples and numbered insights to help you pick up ideas quickly and talk about chess with confidence. You can get the cards here.



Master the Poisoned Pawn
When we started adding a playful touch to chess learning, we looked through thousands of videos and hundreds of books to find the best resources out there. Here's our curated selection of the best content we encountered on Poisoned Pawns. We also included some smaller creators who are growing fast and we believe deserve your attention. Check out these resources if you want to master this type of pawns.
-
A fun introductory video by Chess Kid. Don’t let the animations fool you: any beginner will find great value here!
-
Learn the Najdorf: The Poisoned Pawn
A one-hour deep dive by Saint Louis Chess Club on the Poisoned Pawn Variation of the Najdorf. Good for intermediates.
-
Poisoned Pawns: Every Sacrifice*
A couple of very interesting examples of Poisoned Pawns analyzed by WGM Keti Tsatsalashvili for Chess.com.
-
A very well-structured Openings book for beginners by James Eade. It also contains some general examples of poisoned pawns.
-
Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy*
This book is for more advanced players. Here John Watson shows you how to BREAK the chess rules and yes, actually go ahead and capture poisoned pawns.