What Is a Skewer in Chess? (Reverse Pin Guide)
A skewer is a pin turned inside out: the attacker hits the more valuable piece first, forcing it to move, and then captures the weaker piece standing behind it on the same line.
Because the front piece must move, the defender loses whatever is behind. Rooks skewering kings, queens skewering rooks, and bishops skewering queens are all everyday patterns from beginner to master level.
Skewers often appear at the end of a forcing sequence — after a check the king must answer, and suddenly a rook behind it is hanging. Endgames with few defenders are full of skewers.
Example position
A rook-and-queen facing position on one open file: whichever side moves first delivers a skewer — the queen checks along the file, and the rook behind the king has to fall. This shows why alignment with your own heavy pieces is dangerous in simplified positions.
Open this position in GameLens →How to create it
- ✓ Give checks along lines where a second enemy piece waits behind the king or queen.
- ✓ Trade down to endings — fewer defenders makes skewers much easier to land.
- ✓ Use pawn checks too; even a pawn push can skewer two pieces on a diagonal.
- ✓ Keep your heavy pieces on open files so their range reaches aligned targets.
How to defend against it
- ✗ Never place a lesser piece directly behind your king or queen on an open line.
- ✗ When checked, scan the full line through your king before choosing the response square.
- ✗ In endgames, keep kings near their pawns but avoid standing in front of them on open files.
- ✗ Trade the piece that would be skewered if the alignment looks dangerous.
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