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The Skewer

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

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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

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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
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1. ..Rg8+

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
Rh8 — Going after the h-pawn misses the skewer. Black gets counterplay with 1...Rf1+ and holds the draw.
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2. Rd4+

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, Rxd8 follows.

Skewer
Alternative Moves
Ra4 — 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.
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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
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3. Rxa4+

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 Rxe4 collects the queen.

Skewer
Alternative Moves
Rc1+ — 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 a rook.
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The black king on e6 and the black rook on h6 are on the same rank. Which move wins the rook?

Skewer
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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.

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Practice Interactively

Next in this course

Discovered Attack

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