Skewer puzzles
A skewer attacks a valuable piece, forces it to move, and wins the piece behind it. These ten Lichess positions show skewers on files, ranks and diagonals.
Skewers are the reverse of pins, and they hide in plain sight. A king and queen share a diagonal after a trade, a king steps up the board in an endgame, and a single check wins everything behind it.
They reward a habit more than calculation: tracing every open line through the enemy king and queen. Repeating a skewer set builds that scan, and it carries over directly to rook endgames, where skewers decide many games.
What to look for
- The enemy king or queen on an open line with another piece behind it.
- Checks along ranks and files in endgames, where the king has few safe squares off the line.
- Exchanges or checks that drive two pieces onto the same line first.
- Pieces that defend the rear piece; a skewer against a defended piece may win nothing.
10 puzzles
Solve these skewer puzzles
Real positions from the Lichess puzzle database, rated 926 to 1645, easiest first. The board faces the side to move.
Puzzle 1 · rated 926
Black to move. Puzzle 2 · rated 934
White to move. Puzzle 3 · rated 1150
Black to move. Puzzle 4 · rated 1157
White to move. Puzzle 5 · rated 1344
White to move. Puzzle 6 · rated 1361
White to move. Puzzle 7 · rated 1436
Black to move. Puzzle 8 · rated 1579
White to move. Puzzle 9 · rated 1619
White to move. Puzzle 10 · rated 1645
White to move.
Train these as a Woodpecker set
Ten puzzles show the pattern; repetition makes it automatic. Peck builds a 100-puzzle skewer set from the same database and times you through 5 cycles, with a review queue for the ones you miss. Or take the PGN into any chess app and repeat it there.
FAQ
Skewer puzzles: questions
What is a skewer in chess?
A skewer is an attack on a valuable piece that, when it moves out of the way, exposes a less valuable piece behind it on the same line to capture.
Which pieces can skewer?
Only the line pieces: bishops on diagonals, rooks on ranks and files, and queens on both. The king-and-queen skewer with check is the most common winning version.
Are skewers common in real games?
Yes, especially in endgames with rooks and exposed kings, and after exchanges that line pieces up. They are rarer than forks, which is exactly why a focused set helps.
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