Chess Patterns   ❯   Types of Pawns   ❯   Poisoned Pawn

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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!

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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.

 
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