Am using Chrome Version 26.0.1410.43 beta in Ubuntu 12.04.
I use pinned tabs for various Google apps (Gmail, Calendar, Contacts, Drive). I also use bookmarks bar for frequently visited sites. If my browser's focus is on Gmail, and I click on a bookmark, or type something into the Omnibar, then the new destination loads into the pinned tab. I would like for the pinned tab to remain protected, so that these behaviors would open a new tab by default.
The same behavior happens on Chrome in a Windows environment.
I use pinned tabs in Firefox and it behaves correctly (new URLs are launched in new tabs and tab is protected). Because of issues with Firefox and Google Talk Video acceleration I need to use Chrome right now.
Best Answer
From reading the feature request Locking Pinned Tabs, I would assume that this is not possible in Chrome without extensions.
The thread mentions that extensions exist to achieve this. For example, Lock Tab.
After installation of the extension, you'll see a small lock icon in the address bar:
By clicking it, you'll lock the tab. If you then try to navigate away from it, you'll get the following message:
Additionally, you'll have the option to "freeze" locked pages. This causes any clicked links on a locked tab to be opened in a new tab: