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Tactic · Beginner

Skewer in chess

A skewer is a pin in reverse: you attack a valuable piece, it has to move out of the way, and you win the piece behind it.

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touch_appTry it: A skewer is a reversed pin: attack the valuable piece first, then take what stands behind it.

What is a skewer in chess?

A skewer is a pin in reverse: you attack a valuable piece, it has to move out of the way, and you win the piece behind it. Checks make the strongest skewers, because the king must move and leave the piece behind undefended.

  • Look for an enemy king or queen with another piece directly behind it on a line.
  • Bishops skewer along diagonals; rooks and queens along files and ranks.
  • In endgames, a check that skewers the king and a rook or a queening pawn often decides the game.

Worked examples

Bishop Skewer: White to move. A skewer is a reversed pin: attack the valuable piece first, then take what stands behind it.

Solution: 1.Bf3+ Ke5 2.Bxb7. Bf3+ checks the king along the long diagonal. Once the king steps aside, the rook on b7 behind it is exposed, and Bxb7 wins it. With a skewer, the front piece must move because it's worth more.

Rook Skewer: Win the Queen: White to move. King and queen on the same rank? Check the king and collect the queen.

Solution: 1.Ra5+ Kf6 2.Rxh5. Ra5+! The king must leave the 5th rank, and Rxh5 wins the queen. Watch for enemy pieces lined up behind their king.

Ask Wingo why it works

Wingo, our coach, never works out chess moves on its own. Stockfish finds the best line, chess.js writes down the facts of the position, and Wingo's explanation is built from that analysis. This is its real answer for "Bishop Skewer", unedited (a person checked it before it went on this page).

1 · Position + engine

2 · Fact sheet (chess.js + Stockfish)

Side to move: White.
White: king g1, bishop e2, pawn g2.
Black: king d5, rook b7.
Material: White 4, Black 5 (Black up 1).
Loose/under-defended pieces: none.
Defenders and attackers (verified):
Black rook b7: defended by nothing; attacked by nothing.
White bishop e2: defended by nothing; attacked by nothing.
Line-ups (verified geometry): Black rook b7 and Black king d5 are on a diagonal (nothing between them).
White's legal moves (15): bishop e2: Bd3, Bc4+, Bb5, Ba6, Bf3+, Bg4, Bh5, Bf1, Bd1; pawn g2: g3, g4; king g1: Kf2, Kh2, Kh1, Kf1.
Engine best line: 1.Bf3+ Kd6 2.Bxb7 Kc7 3.Bf3 Kd6 — winning (+8.8) for White.
Best move theme: check.
After Bf3+, the opponent has 6 legal replies (the reply is NOT forced; the line shows the best one).

3 · What the coach said

Great job! The move Bf3+ puts the black king in check, so the king has to move. When the king steps away to d6, the bishop on f3 now lines up with the black rook on b7, and the rook is sitting directly behind the king on the same diagonal. Because the bishop attacks the king first, the rook is “skewered” – it can’t stay where it is without losing the king, so the bishop can capture it on the next move (Bxb7). After that the bishop can go back to f3 and keep the king busy, winning a whole piece. Tip: When you see a line where a valuable piece (like a king or queen) and a less valuable piece (like a rook or bishop) sit on the same line (diagonal, rank or file), think about moving a piece to attack the valuable one first. If the opponent must move that piece, you may then capture the piece behind it. This “attack‑first, then take what’s behind” is the hallmark of a skewer.
Engine line: Bf3+ Kd6 Bxb7 Kc7 Bf3 Kd6. In the app you can ask Wingo about any position, and about your own wrong moves.

Solve skewer puzzles at your level

extension12 skewer puzzles from real games, in three levels. Find the move; a wrong try is explained. No account needed.

Beginner · under 1200

Improver · 1200–1599

Intermediate · 1600+

Puzzles from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0), each checked by Stockfish.

Do you miss skewers in your own games?

Our mistake finder checks your recent games with Stockfish and lists the 3 mistakes you repeat most. Missed skewers are counted under "Missing forks and double attacks". Every mistake it finds becomes a puzzle from your own game, so you practise exactly the positions you got wrong.

Check my Chess.com gamesarrow_forwardEnter your username. Free, about a minute.Check my Lichess gamesarrow_forwardEnter your username. Free, about a minute.Check my Wings Chess gamesarrow_forwardUses the games you play here, after 5 games.

Use it in a real game

Puzzles tell you a skewer is there. In a game nobody does. Play Sharp Idris, one of our bots that think at a human pace and make human mistakes, and look for the pattern yourself. The coach can point it out afterwards if you miss it.

Play Sharp Idris (1600)arrow_forwardStrong club player. Rarely blunders.About Sharp Idrisarrow_forwardHow this bot plays, and tips to beat it.

Train this in the app

Lesson: Bishop Skewerarrow_forwardA skewer is a reversed pin: attack the valuable piece first, then take what stands behind it. With hints, stars and your progress saved.Endless skewer puzzlesarrow_forwardRated puzzles on this theme at your level, plus puzzles made from your own mistakes.

Keep going

Pinarrow_forwardA pin is when a piece can't move because a more valuable piece stands behind it on the same line.Forkarrow_forwardA fork is one piece attacking two or more enemy pieces at the same time.Batteryarrow_forwardA battery is two pieces lined up on the same line so they attack together: a queen and bishop on a diagonal, or two rooks (or a queen and rook) on a file.Opening: Queen's Gambitarrow_forwardOffer a wing pawn to pull Black's d-pawn away from the center.