A skewer is a pin turned around. A long-range piece attacks down a line, the more valuable enemy piece stands in front, and something worth taking stands behind it. The front piece has to step away. The piece behind is then lost.

Skewer or pin

In a pin, the piece in front is the one that cannot move, because something more valuable sits behind it. A bishop that pins a knight to a king freezes the knight. In a skewer, the piece in front is the valuable one, so it must move, and the piece behind falls.

The usual front piece is the king, because a check cannot be ignored. A rook on e1, a Black king on e7, and a Black queen on e8 is a skewer the moment the e-file is open: the king is in check and must leave the file, and the queen is then taken. Swap the king and queen and you have a pin instead. The queen cannot step off the file, because that would expose the king.

💡 Chess Hint: If the king is the front piece, look for a skewer. If the king is the back piece, look for a pin. The geometry is the same line.

Which pieces skewer

Rooks and queens skewer on files and ranks. The open e-file and the eighth rank produce most of them. Bishops and queens skewer on diagonals. A bishop on a2 that checks a king on b3, with a rook sitting on c4 behind the king, wins the rook as soon as the king moves.

Knights do not skewer. They do not attack through a line of squares. If a knight is winning two pieces, you are looking at a fork, not a skewer.

How to build one

Skewers are created by opening a line, not by hoping the pieces line up. Capture the pawn that blocks the file, or check from the side so the king steps onto the file where your rook already sits. A common version: your rook is on the d-file, their queen is on d6, their king is on d8, and a pawn on d7 blocks the line. Remove that pawn with check from another piece and the skewer appears on its own.

Defense is the mirror. Do not leave the queen on the same line as the king when an enemy rook can open that line in one capture. Step the queen aside while the pawn still blocks the file. Once the line is open, the skewer is no longer a threat. It is a move.

When the front piece is not the king

A queen in front of a rook, attacked by a bishop, is still a skewer if moving the queen is the only way to save it and the rook behind is then loose. These are easier to miss because nothing is in check. Scan diagonals that touch your queen whenever the opponent's bishop has a clear path, and ask what of yours sits on the far side of the queen.

Absolute pins, where the king is the piece behind, are a separate pattern. They are laid out in how to spot chess pins.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a pawn create a skewer?

No. A skewer needs a sliding piece: queen, rook, or bishop. A pawn that attacks two pieces is forking them.

What if I can block the line?

Interposing a piece between the attacker and the king answers the check, and it saves the piece behind for the moment. That is the main defense when the geometry is already on the board.

Is an x-ray the same thing?

Players use "x-ray" for the same idea: an attack through an enemy piece at the unit standing behind it. If the front piece is forced to move, call it a skewer.

Look through the king

Every open line that touches the enemy king is a candidate. Check what stands behind it before you spend the move on a quiet plan. Drill the pattern on the puzzle ladder, and test a suspicious file with chess hints.

Solve a puzzle Review pins

Try the line on the board with chess hints.