Skewer in Chess
One of the most important chess tactics is called “skewer”. It’s a powerful weapon in the arsenal of every player whether a kid, a teenager, or an adult. Skewers can win you games and make you a stronger player if you learn how to add them to your repertoire of chess weapons.
Let’s dive into the world of skewers in chess and learn everything about them; from what they are, how to successfully use this powerful move to win, and how to defend properly to get out of skewers.
Here is what you will learn.
- What is a Skewer in Chess?
- Difference Between a Skewer and Pin
- Types of Skewers & Examples
- How to Get Out of a Skewer?
- Retreat the More Valuable Piece
- Give a Check and Then Save the Less Valuable Piece
- Block The Skewering Line with Another Piece
- Find a Strong Counter Attack/Counter Tactics
- How to Practice Skewers on ChessKid
- Wrapping Up
- Chess Skewer Video
What is a Skewer in Chess?
A skewer is a basic attacking tactic with two aligned pieces. It occurs when a more valuable piece (e.g. king, queen, or rook) is standing in line with a less valuable piece behind it (e.g. bishop, or knight, but it could be also a queen or rook if the king is in front). The more important chessman is under direct attack, and if we move it, the other piece will be exposed and could be captured.
In other words, a skewer happens when a chess piece attacks an opponent's chessman, which hides a less important piece behind it. If the first piece moves (e.g. king or queen), the less important one can be captured (e.g. a bishop or knight).
It’s also good to know that only the so-called line pieces can deliver a skewer:
- Bishops
- Rooks
- Queens
The others- kings, knights, and pawns are not that lucky to have this privilege.
In life, we use skewers for the barbecue to hold together the meat as we grill it.
Difference Between a Skewer and Pin
The skewer is quite similar to the pin. The difference is that when you put your opponent in a skewer position, the more valuable piece is under direct attack in front, and the less valuable piece is behind it. In contrast, if the less valuable chessman is defending a more precious chess piece and standing in front of it, this is a pin.
The skewer can be thought of as a backward pin because the more valuable piece is the one in immediate danger. Both are powerful chess tactics based on the same idea, and learning them well will help you win a lot of games and prevent losses.
Types of Skewers & Examples
Depending on the pieces that are threatened, we can have different types of skewers. Chess skewers can be relative and absolute. Let’s see the difference between them.
Relative Skewer
When we have the queen or rook standing in front and being attacked by an opponent’s piece, this is a relative skewer. We can move the attacked piece, but we are not obliged to do so.
An example of a relative skewer where the queen is in front of a less valuable piece- the bishop.
Another instance of a relative skewer would have been if the rook was on “d5” instead of the queen. Like this:
An example of a relative skewer this time with the rook having the unfortunate destiny to be “skewered”.
The good thing about relative skewers is that there are more options to escape from them and prevent losing material. We will review a few defensive examples below.
Absolute Skewer
If the king becomes a victim of this chess tactic, the options are more limited. According to the rules of chess, the king must get out of the piece that puts him in danger. There are a couple of ways to do that and we will examine them in a bit.
While with a relative skewer you are not obliged to eliminate the danger right away, with an absolute skewer, this is a must. Sorry, we can’t sacrifice our most precious piece and must protect it at all costs.
In this situation the Black king could not ignore the thread coming from White’s bishop on “f3”.
How to Get Out of a Skewer?
Now, that you know what a skewer is, what types of skewers exist, and the main differences with another common chess tactic, the pin, let’s see what are the ways to get out of a skewer.
Retreat the More Valuable Piece
Retreating your attacked chessman is one of the simplest solutions. Sometimes, this will be enough to get out of the skewer without significant material loss. In this case, both the attacked piece and the one behind will be happy.
Black’s queen is under pressure, but luckily for her there is one escape square from which she can defend the bishop.
In some situations, a simple move as a defensive retreat of the attacked piece will do the trick. Let’s take a look at the above example. Going back to “d7” is the only move that will save the queen and also protect the bishop on “b7”.
Give a Check and Then Save the Less Valuable Piece
Have you heard of the intermediate move concept, also known as an in-between move or zwischenzug? The main idea of it is that you can use a tempo to escape from a difficult situation and even to put your opponent in a tough spot. Check out the following example-
Black’s queen is attacked and at first, it might seem there are no good squares to retreat to and to save the bishop at the same time.
Here the player with the black pieces has the important resource “Qh6+!” This way the queen escapes from the dangerous skewer with a tempo. White’s king has to move and then Black has different options to save its bishop. They can either exchange it with the white bishop from “g2”, or move it to a square where it will be protected (“a8” for example).
Block The Skewering Line with Another Piece
Another way to escape from a skewer is to "ask" for help from another chess piece in your army. The rescue chessman will come and block the line and protect your more valuable piece. Let’s take a look at the following example-
Can you see which of Black’s pieces can block the diagonal and save both the queen and the bishop?
The queen doesn’t have a safe square to escape to and to protect the bishop on “b7” at the same time. However, Black could simply block the dangerous diagonal with another piece. With “Nd5” the horsey will come to save the day and give time for Black’s army to regroup.
Find a Strong Counter Attack/Counter Tactics
In some situations Black’s only saving resource is a counter-attack or counter-tactic. Let’s examine the following position:
Initially, it may look like Black’s queen has no good square to retreat to as the bishop will be lost.
With a clever queen sacrifice Black is able not only to save the bishop but also deliver a beautiful checkmate and end the game on the spot. The winning move is …”Qd1+!!”. Of course, the queen can be captured, but then Black’s rook penetrates the first rank with great power and the checkmate is inevitable. Here is this nice skewer escape by using a counter-tactic and winning the game:
As a rule of thumb, whenever you are in a tough position that might look desperate, always look for tactics and surprising moves that may save the day.
How to Practice Skewers on ChessKid
Here is some great news - you can practice skewers on our puzzles page where we have a dedicated section. You only need to go to https://www.chesskid.com/puzzles/skewer and have fun while learning and improving your chess skills. Enjoy!
Wrapping Up
Now you are well-prepared and know everything important: what a chess skewer is, how to use it to win your game, and also how to escape from this important chess tactic when you are on the defensive side.
Are you ready to put what you have just learned into practice? You can start a game against a kid right away from our play chess online page or play chess against one of our chess bots (computers). Your choice!
Chess Skewer Video
Check out the video below to learn even more about skewers in chess.