Every Day Chess › Tactics › Skewer
Chess Skewer Tactic
A skewer is sometimes called the reverse pin — but it works very differently. Instead of trapping a piece in front of something valuable, you attack a high-value piece directly and force it to move, exposing a less valuable piece behind it to be captured. The result is winning material from the less valuable piece that gets left behind.
How a skewer works
Like a pin, a skewer requires three pieces in a line: your attacking piece, the opponent's valuable piece in front, and a less valuable piece directly behind it. Unlike a pin (where the piece in front cannot move), in a skewer the piece in front must move — either it is the king being checked, or it is being attacked and retreating is the only safe option. Once the front piece moves, the piece behind it is undefended and you capture it.
The check-skewer
The most reliable skewer is one that involves check. You attack the king directly with a rook, bishop, or queen, forcing the king to move out of check. The moment the king moves, a piece that was hiding behind it becomes exposed and is captured next move. Since the opponent must deal with check immediately, there is no defense against this pattern once it is set up.
The queen skewer
A bishop or rook attacks the opponent's queen along a diagonal or rank, threatening to capture it. The queen must move, and a piece that was sheltered behind the queen is now attacked and lost. Queen skewers are especially common in endgames where the queen and king stand on the same rank or diagonal.
Skewer versus pin — the key difference
In a pin, the piece in front is the less valuable one. It cannot or should not move because the valuable piece behind it would be exposed. In a skewer, the piece in front is the more valuable one — it must move because you are attacking it directly, which exposes the less valuable piece behind it. The result is the same (you gain material) but the mechanism is opposite: pin traps, skewer chases.
Try three skewer puzzles
Here are three positions where a skewer wins the game. Tap a piece, then tap its destination — the same board and rules as the daily workout.
How to spot a skewer opportunity
Three things to look for:
- King and rook on the same file or rank. This is the most common skewer setup in endgames. Place your rook on the file behind the king (checking it), and when the king moves, you capture the rook. Or vice versa — your bishop attacks the king along a diagonal, and a rook stands behind it.
- Queen in line with a less valuable piece. When your opponent's queen stands in front of a bishop or rook, check whether your rook or bishop can attack the queen along that line. If the queen retreats, you take what was behind it.
- Two-step skewer setup. The skewer position does not have to exist yet — you can create it in one move by placing your attacking piece on the right square, or by forcing the opponent's pieces into alignment with a threat.
How Every Day Chess builds skewer recognition
Skewer puzzles appear regularly in the daily ten, especially in the higher bands where endgame patterns are more common. The free workout tracks your theme accuracy and your misses come back as Rematches. The Program's 12-session assessment identifies whether skewers (or related alignment tactics) are specifically a gap in your pattern library.
Practice skewers in today's live positions — free.
Ten daily chess puzzles at your level. Tracked by theme. No account, no card.
Play today's ten →