Week 7 — Skewers

Beginner youth chess · Ages 8–10 · 60-minute lesson

Tactic: skewerLong-range piecesPattern recognitionForcing moves

Lesson goal: Recognize two enemy pieces lined up, attack the more important front piece, and win the piece behind it after the front piece moves.

What is a skewer?

A skewer is a line tactic. A rook, bishop, or queen attacks a valuable piece in front. That front piece moves away, and the attacker then captures the piece hiding behind it. A useful memory trick is: important piece in front, target behind.

Pin or skewer? In a pin, the less valuable piece is usually in front and cannot or should not move because something more valuable is behind it. In a skewer, the more valuable piece is in front and is attacked first.

Recognition routine: LINE → FORCE → WIN

LINE: Are two enemy pieces on the same rank, file, or diagonal?
FORCE: Can a rook, bishop, or queen attack the front piece — especially with check?
WIN: If the front piece moves, can you safely capture the rear piece?
VERIFY: Is your first move legal, and does your opponent have a defense that saves both pieces?

Worked visual examples

Start with the king-in-front patterns, then compare them with relative skewers where the front target is a queen.

White to move

Worked example 1

Rook skewer: king, then queen

Play Re1+. The king is the front target and must leave the e-file; the queen behind it can then be captured.

Attacker: White rook
Targets: Black king on e4, then queen on e7

Why it works: the front target has to respond first; moving it uncovers the rear target on the same rank, file, or diagonal.

Original teaching diagram. Concept adapted from standard skewer definitions in Chess.com and Lichess beginner materials.

White to move

Worked example 2

Bishop skewer on a long diagonal

Play Bc3+. The bishop checks the king and, after the king moves, the diagonal opens all the way to h8.

Attacker: White bishop
Targets: Black king on f6, then rook on h8

Why it works: the front target has to respond first; moving it uncovers the rear target on the same rank, file, or diagonal.

Original teaching diagram. Concept adapted from standard skewer definitions in Chess.com and Lichess beginner materials.

White to move

Worked example 3

Queen skewer on a file

Play Qg4+. The king stands in front of its rook. Moving the king exposes the rook to Qxg8.

Attacker: White queen
Targets: Black king on g7, then rook on g8

Why it works: the front target has to respond first; moving it uncovers the rear target on the same rank, file, or diagonal.

Original teaching diagram. Concept adapted from standard skewer definitions in Chess.com and Lichess beginner materials.

White to move

Worked example 4

Rook skewer through the king

Play Rd1+. One straight line contains the attacker, king, and rear target.

Attacker: White rook
Targets: Black king on d5, then bishop on d8

Why it works: the front target has to respond first; moving it uncovers the rear target on the same rank, file, or diagonal.

Original teaching diagram. Concept adapted from standard skewer definitions in Chess.com and Lichess beginner materials.

White to move

Worked example 5

Bishop skewer wins a queen

Play Bg2+. After the king leaves the diagonal, the bishop can take the much more valuable queen on b7.

Attacker: White bishop
Targets: Black king on d5, then queen on b7

Why it works: the front target has to respond first; moving it uncovers the rear target on the same rank, file, or diagonal.

Original teaching diagram. Concept adapted from standard skewer definitions in Chess.com and Lichess beginner materials.

White to move

Worked example 6

Queen skewer on the h1–a8 diagonal

Play Qh1+. The diagonal runs h1–g2–f3–e4–d5–c6–b7–a8.

Attacker: White queen
Targets: Black king on e4, then rook on a8

Why it works: the front target has to respond first; moving it uncovers the rear target on the same rank, file, or diagonal.

Original teaching diagram. Concept adapted from standard skewer definitions in Chess.com and Lichess beginner materials.

Black to move

Worked example 7

Relative skewer: queen in front

The rook attacks the queen first. The queen is not forced by check, but if it moves away, the bishop behind it becomes exposed.

Attacker: White rook
Targets: Black queen on d4, then bishop on h4

Why it works: the front target has to respond first; moving it uncovers the rear target on the same rank, file, or diagonal.

Original teaching diagram. Concept adapted from standard skewer definitions in Chess.com and Lichess beginner materials.

Black to move

Worked example 8

Relative skewer with a bishop

The bishop attacks the queen on e4. When the queen moves, the same diagonal opens toward the rook on h7.

Attacker: White bishop
Targets: Black queen on e4, then rook on h7

Why it works: the front target has to respond first; moving it uncovers the rear target on the same rank, file, or diagonal.

Original teaching diagram. Concept adapted from standard skewer definitions in Chess.com and Lichess beginner materials.

Black to move

Worked example 9

The rear target can be a minor piece

A skewer does not have to win a queen or rook. Here the king must move from the h-file, exposing the knight.

Attacker: White rook
Targets: Black king on h5, then knight on h8

Why it works: the front target has to respond first; moving it uncovers the rear target on the same rank, file, or diagonal.

Original teaching diagram. Concept adapted from standard skewer definitions in Chess.com and Lichess beginner materials.

White to move

Worked example 10

Set up the skewer with a forcing move

Play Qg5+. First look for checks; a forcing check often creates the alignment needed for a skewer.

Attacker: White queen
Targets: Black king on g7, then rook on g8

Why it works: the front target has to respond first; moving it uncovers the rear target on the same rank, file, or diagonal.

Original teaching diagram. Concept adapted from standard skewer definitions in Chess.com and Lichess beginner materials.

Skewer checklist

Look for enemy pieces lined up.
Checks come first: a checked king must respond.
Rooks skewer on ranks and files; bishops on diagonals; queens can do both.
Name both targets before moving.
After the front target moves, re-check that the rear capture is safe.

Exercises — 10 puzzles

For every puzzle, say the attacker, the front target, and the rear target before choosing a move.

White to move

Puzzle 1

Find the best move

Find a skewer that wins material.

Source: ChessGo — “Skewer Puzzles — Easiest difficulty” sample PDF; redrawn from source position.

White to move

Puzzle 2

Find the best move

Find a skewer that wins material.

Source: ChessGo — “Skewer Puzzles — Easiest difficulty” sample PDF; redrawn from source position.

White to move

Puzzle 3

Find the best move

Find a skewer that wins material.

Source: ChessGo — “Skewer Puzzles — Easiest difficulty” sample PDF; redrawn from source position.

Black to move

Puzzle 4

Find the best move

Find a skewer that wins material.

Source: ChessGo — “Skewer Puzzles — Easiest difficulty” sample PDF; redrawn from source position.

White to move

Puzzle 5

Find the best move

Find a skewer that wins material.

Source: ChessGo — “Skewer Puzzles — Easiest difficulty” sample PDF; redrawn from source position.

Black to move

Puzzle 6

Find the best move

Find a skewer that wins material.

Source: ChessGo — “Skewer Puzzles — Easiest difficulty” sample PDF; redrawn from source position.

White to move

Puzzle 7

Find the best move

Find a skewer that wins material.

Source: ChessGo — “Skewer Puzzles — Easiest difficulty” sample PDF; redrawn from source position.

Black to move

Puzzle 8

Find the best move

Find a skewer that wins material.

Source: ChessGo — “Skewer Puzzles — Easiest difficulty” sample PDF; redrawn from source position.

Black to move

Puzzle 9

Find the best move

Find a skewer that wins material.

Source: ChessGo — “Skewer Puzzles — Easiest difficulty” sample PDF; redrawn from source position.

White to move

Puzzle 10

Find the best move

Find a skewer that wins material.

Source: Original teaching diagram created for this lesson.

Exit review

In a skewer, which target is attacked first: the more valuable or less valuable piece?
Which three pieces create most skewers?
Why are checking skewers especially powerful?
What is the difference between a pin and a skewer?