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Basic Tactics

The Skewer

A piece is said to be skewered if it is under attack from an enemy piece in such a way that it is forced to move (i.e., the only remotely rational response is to move), thus exposing another (usually less valuable) piece of the same color to capture by the enemy piece.

Examine the board below:

By playing Bf3! the White Bishop skewers the Black Rook. The only reasonable response for Black in this position is to move the Rook to safety, which then allows the White Bishop to capture the Black Knight. Click here for a demonstration.

Examine the board below:

By playing Rd3! the White Rook skewers the Black Queen. The only reasonable response for Black in this position is to move the Queen to safety (probably with ... Qxb2, capturing a pawn, so things aren't a total loss), which then allows the White Rook to capture the Black Rook. Click here for a demonstration.

Examine the board below:

With Black to move, is the Black Queen being skewered? Well, sort of. This position certainly has the form of a skewer, but Black can move the Queen without fear if Black plays 1... Qe5! (Several other Queen moves will work as well, as long as they protect the Black Knight.) It’s true that White can follow this with 2. Bxc5, but then Black can simply play 2... Qxc5! This pointless exchange has not affected the material balance (remember, both Knights and Bishops are worth 3 points of material). Click here for a demonstration.

Examine the board below:

With Black to move, is the Black Knight being skewered? Well, sort of. This position certainly has the form of a skewer, but Black can move the Knight without fear if Black plays ... Nxc6! It’s true that White can follow this with Bxg7, but the exchange of a pawn in return for a Bishop nets Black 2 points of material. Click here for a demonstration.

Examine the board below:

With Black to move, is the Black Queen being skewered? Well, sort of. This position certainly has the form of a skewer, but Black can simply play ... Qxb2!

You may notice that pins and skewers look a lot alike geometrically: in both cases, the relevant pieces are arranged in a line. Whether the potentially exposed piece is more valuable (pins) or less valuable (skewer) than the attacked piece is often (but not always) what distinguishes the two. Here’s another way to tell the difference (at least most of the time . . . ): if it’s the lesser of two evils to keep the attacked piece where it is, then it’s probably a pin; if it’s the lesser of two evils to move the attacked piece and expose another piece to attack or capture, then it’s probably a skewer. Don’t worry about definitions though: you’ll become plenty clear on the difference with a little experience.

Next: The Discovered Attack