Skewer — Chess Puzzles

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A skewer is a pin turned around: the valuable piece is in front, and when it moves out of the attack, the piece behind it is taken. Because the front piece is usually the king or the queen, the opponent has no choice about moving it — which is what makes the skewer so often decisive.

How to spot it

• The enemy king and another piece stand on the same rank, file or diagonal with nothing in between.
• You have a rook, bishop or queen that can attack the front piece along that line.
• The front piece has to move — a check leaves no choice at all — and the one behind it has no defence.
• Open lines and few pieces make skewers likelier, which is why they decide so many endgames.

A worked example

White: king d3, rook g3. Black: king c5, rook a4. Black to move.

1. Ra3 checks along the third rank, where the white king and the white rook already stand together — the king in front.
2. A check leaves no choice: the king has to move, and stepping aside abandons the rook behind it.
3. Rxg3 takes it. Nothing defended that rook; the geometry did all the work.

The idea A pin freezes the piece in front. A skewer forces it to move — and when the piece in front is the king, whatever stands behind it has no defence at all.