The skewer: align, force, capture
Master the skewer to force a valuable piece to move and win material behind it. Typical patterns, mistakes to avoid, and exercises to boost your rating.
What is a skewer?
A skewer is the reverse of a pin: you attack a high-value piece (often king or queen) forcing it to move, exposing a less valuable piece behind it that you then capture.
Rook skewer on king and queen
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
a1
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
- d5: Skewering rook
- d2: Checked king
- d1: Queen falls next
Why skewers win material
When the front piece must move—especially under check—the piece behind is often lost. The more forcing the line (checks), the clearer the gain.
Best pieces for skewers
Long-range pieces dominate this tactic. Keep lines clear.
- Bishop: deadly on long diagonals against weakened castles.
- Rook: controls open files, very powerful in endgames.
- Queen: combines bishop + rook power; watch for counterplay.
Typical positions
Look for king-rook or king-queen alignment on the same file/diagonal, especially after exchanges.
- Endgames: king in front of a rook on the same file after a rook check.
- Weak diagonals: king and queen on light/dark squares controlled by a bishop.
- Forced alignments: sacrifices that open a file toward the king.
Mistakes to avoid
Prepare your skewers so you don’t hand over counter-tactics.
- Launching a skewer without backup: the attacker may be chased away.
- Ignoring interpositions: check for defensive blocks by rooks/knights.
- Overlooking perpetual resources: ensure you’re not walking into endless checks.
Practice drills
Add 10 skewer puzzles per session to automate the pattern.
- Mix skewers with discovered checks to increase forcing power.
- Train endgames (king + rook) to punish misaligned pieces on open files.
- Alternate with pins to internalize the differences and shared motifs.