Chess tactics
Skewer in Chess: The Reverse Pin
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A skewer attacks a valuable piece along a rank, file, or diagonal, with a second target behind it. If the front piece has to move and the rear target cannot be saved, the line piece captures the rear target next. It resembles a pin with the targets in the opposite value order.
On this page
Skewer: what it is and how it works
Bishops, rooks, and queens create skewers. A check against the front piece is especially useful because the king must get out of check, but that does not guarantee the rear target: the reply may capture the attacker, block the line, or move the king to defend the piece behind it. A non-checking skewer must also survive counter-threats.
Open files and diagonals make the geometry easier to see, particularly in queen and rook endings. Before taking the rear piece, recalculate the exchange: the front piece may have moved with tempo, the rear piece may be defended, or an interposition may have changed the line.
How to spot it over the board
- Look for the enemy king or queen on an open line with another target behind it, then test whether an attack on the front piece leaves the rear one available.
- A skewering check forces an answer, but verify whether that answer also saves or defends the rear target.
- Open files and long diagonals after trades are prime skewer territory; rooks and bishops do the work.
- Keep your own king and queen off the same line as a lesser piece, or you may be the one getting skewered.
A common calculation error
Seeing two pieces on a line is only the start. Test captures of the attacker, interpositions, counter-checks, and moves by the front piece that protect the rear one. The skewer wins material only if those resources fail and the final capture is favourable.
How hard are these puzzles?
This collection contains 17 skewer puzzles, with a recorded median rating of 1049 and a dataset range from 674 to 2131. Puzzle ratings are estimates produced by results in their source pool; they can change and should be read as a guide for choosing practice, not as an objective measure of difficulty.
- Puzzles tagged
- 17
- Lowest recorded rating
- 674
- Recorded median
- 1049
- Highest recorded rating
- 2131
Skewer puzzles to solve
These positions come from the LibreChess trainer and are ordered by the rating stored in this dataset. Play your candidate move on the board, then compare it with the listed solution and replay the continuation.
Worked example 1 — rated 674
White to move. Find the skewer, then reveal the solution.
68. Rh6+ 68... Ke7 69. Rxb6Worked example 2 — rated 944
White to move. Find the skewer, then reveal the solution.
34. Rh7+ 34... Kf8 35. Rh8+ 35... Ke7 36. Rxc8Worked example 3 — rated 1049
White to move. Find the skewer, then reveal the solution.
31. Rg3+ 31... Kf8 32. Rh8+ 32... Ke7 33. Rxa8Worked example 4 — rated 1533
White to move. Find the skewer, then reveal the solution.
33. Qxg6 33... e5 34. Qg8+ 34... Ke7 35. Qxc8Worked example 5 — rated 2131
White to move. Find the skewer, then reveal the solution.
41. c6 41... bxc6 42. Rc5+ 42... Ke6 43. Rxg5Keep training by rating
Choose a rating band as a starting point. If the positions are routinely immediate or opaque, move one band up or down; puzzle ratings are pool estimates rather than fixed grades.