defence · recognise → explain → apply

Capture the pawn spearhead when the tactics permit

An attacking pawn advances ahead of its support near your king.

Explanation styleChoose any style. Age is not playing strength; no birth date is needed.

Loading progress…

Notes and replay positions are saved. Practice games are temporary; export their PGN to keep them.

Choose an example

Karjakin,Sergey – Radjabov,T

2nd FIDE GP · 2008.08.14 · 0-1

15... Nxh5 · White to move

Jump to move

What to notice at 15... Nxh5

Black captures the h5 spearhead and later transforms the attack through an exchange sacrifice.

A legally replayed historical example, not a claim that every move is best. A game’s result does not prove every defensive position was lost or drawn.

Game source ↗

Your thinking first

Name the signal, choose a plan, and test the opponent’s most challenging response.

What do you notice?What is your plan, and why?How could the opponent resist?

Recall and explain

1. What has Black accepted after ...Nxh5?

Explain it in your own words before revealing.

Make it memorable

Count the helpers behind the spear.

Teach this to a friend in one minute. Then return to a different example and look for the same signal without being told its name.

Reflect and revisit

This is your self-assessment, not an engine grade or a promise of mastery.

Connect the ideas

Practise pawn transformations →

Sources and further reading

Original GolgiChess teaching and game analysis. Topic references are credited below; no affiliation or endorsement is implied.

Exeter Chess Club — The Theory of Steinitz ↗