Skewer
A skewer is the reverse of a pin. A long-range piece (Bishop, Rook, or Queen) attacks a high-value piece — often the King or Queen — that must move, exposing a less valuable piece behind it for capture. Like pins, skewers need a straight line: a file, rank, or diagonal.
When your child meets this
When your child meets this: the most common version in kids’ games is a Rook skewering the enemy King and Rook along the back rank — the King has to move out of check, and the Rook behind it is captured for free. It’s taught as the natural next step after pins, since it uses the same idea of lining pieces up on one line, just aimed the opposite way. Children usually get the concept quickly once they’ve already understood pins; the harder part is checking whether the opponent has a way to block or counterattack before the capture actually happens.
Read more in Chess Tactics for Kids: Pin, Fork, Skewer, and More.
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