TacticsPlay as White

The Skewer

A pin in reverse: hit the big piece in front and take the one behind it.

Introduction

A skewer is a pin the other way round. In a pin, the small piece is in front and cannot move. In a skewer, the big piece is in front — it has to move, and the one behind it drops. Skewers with check are the most brutal, because the king has no choice at all.

Lesson Content

Try this position

Almost nothing left on the board — and that is exactly when skewers appear. The black king on g6 and the black rook on g1 stand on the same file, with nothing in between — attack the king down that file and the rook behind it is White's, a whole rook and with it the game.

Skewer

Try this position

71. ♖︎g8+

Which file do the black king and the black rook share?

♖︎g8+ — The rook swings onto the g-file with check. The king has to leave, and the rook on g1 falls next move — a whole rook for one check.

Skewer

Alternative Moves

♖︎h8 — Going after the h-pawn misses the skewer. Black gets counterplay with 1...♖︎f1+ and holds the draw.

Try this position

45. ♖︎d4+

Put your rook on the line the black king and rook already share.

♖︎d4+ — Same idea, one file over: the king on d5 and the rook on d8 share the d-file, so the rook steps in front of the king with check. Wherever the king goes, ♖︎xd8 follows.

Skewer

Alternative Moves

♖︎a4 — The rook goes active but the black king simply steps off the d-file to e5: king and rook no longer share a line, the skewer is gone, and the free rook is never won.

Try this position

Skewers work along ranks and diagonals too. Look at the fourth rank: the black king on c4, the black queen on e4 — and a black pawn on a4 that the white rook can capture on the way in. Check the king along that rank and the queen behind it falls — a queen for one rook check.

Skewer

Try this position

42. ♖︎xa4+

Can you capture something and give check on the rank at the same time?

♖︎xa4+ — The rook takes a pawn and lands on the fourth rank with check in the same move. The king must step off the rank, and then ♖︎xe4 collects the queen.

Skewer

Alternative Moves

♖︎c1+ — A check that achieves nothing: the king steps to b3, off the rank the queen is on, so the skewer is gone — and Black still has a queen and a passed a-pawn against rook and bishop.

Try this position

The black king on e6 and the black rook on h6 are on the same rank. Which move wins the rook?

Skewer

Try this position

What is the difference between a pin and a skewer?

SkewerPin

Key Takeaways

A skewer hits the valuable piece first; the one behind it is the real prize.
Skewers with check are unanswerable — the king must move.
Endgames are full of skewers: fewer pieces means more open lines.

Now play it through

Step through every move on a real board, try the wrong ones, and ask Knighty why they fail.

Practice Interactively

Related Lessons

The Pin

Kill Box Mate

Hanging Pieces

Summary

Whenever two enemy pieces share a rank, file or diagonal and the bigger one is in front, look for the move that attacks it — especially if that move is check, because then your opponent has no way to keep both.

Ready to Practice?

Practice Interactively

Next in this course

Spot the Threat

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