chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

, a skewer is an attack upon two pieces in a line and is similar but opposite to a pin; the difference is that in a skewer, the more valuable piece is the one under direct attack and the less valuable piece is behind it. The opponent is compelled to move the more valuable piece to avoid its capture, thereby exposing the less valuable piece which can then be captured (see chess piece relative value). Only line pieces (i.e. bishops, rooks, and

queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

) can skewer; kings, knights, and pawns cannot.

Details

Compared to the pin, a passive action with only an implied threat, the skewer is a direct attack upon the more valuable piece, making it generally a much more powerful and effective tactic. The victim of a skewer often cannot avoid losing ; the only question is which material will be lost. The skewer occurs less often than the pin in actual play. When it does occur, however, it is often decisive. In this diagram, with White to move, the white king and queen are skewered by the black bishop. The rules of chess compel White to get out of check (if possible). After White chooses one of the handful of legal king moves available, Black will capture the white queen. In this diagram, with Black to move, the black queen and rook are skewered by White's bishop. If Black moves the queen to avoid capture, White can take the rook. Black is likely to move the queen, which is more valuable than the rook, but the choice is still available (unlike the king being skewered as above).

Examples from games

In the game Nigel Short– Rafael Vaganian, Barcelona 1989, White sacrifices a bishop to win a queen by a skewer. White has just played 51.Be5+ skewering Black's king and queen (). If Black responds 51...Kxe5 to avoid the immediate loss of the queen, 52.Qc3+ wins the queen by another skewer, when White will be favored to win. Black resigned in this position.Hooper & Whyld (1996), p. 374. ''skewer''.

Conversion

Skewers can be escaped by gaining a tempo with a credible threat. For example, if either defending piece leaves the skewer to give check, the other can be rescued on the next move. The skewer can also be reversed into a

discovered attack In chess, a discovered attack is a direct attack revealed when one piece moves out of the way of another. Discovered attacks can be extremely powerful, as the piece moved can make a threat independently of the piece it reveals. Like many chess ...

: if the less valuable piece can attack the skewering piece, making a threat with the more valuable piece allows the defender to capture the attacker first (if the threat does not itself drive off the attacker). If there is empty space between the skewering and the skewered pieces, it may be possible to convert the skewer into a pin by moving a lower-valued piece to intervene.

References

Bibliography

External links