Chess skewer puzzles

Attack through to the piece behind.

Level

Solved 0Streak 0Best streak 0

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Click a piece and then a square, or drag it. Arrow keys and Enter work too, Esc puts a piece back and N goes to the next puzzle.

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How to solve skewer puzzles

  1. Every puzzle here uses a skewer: an attack on a valuable piece that has to move, uncovering a piece behind it on the same line.
  2. After the opponent’s move, look for two of their pieces on one rank, file or diagonal, with the more valuable one in front, often the king.
  3. Attack along that line by clicking or dragging. When the front piece steps aside, take the one behind it.

Skewers to look for

  • A king and queen skewer is a bishop or rook check that lines up the king with the queen behind it.
  • King and rook skewers are common in endgames: check the king along a rank or file, then take the rook.
  • A queen and rook skewer attacks the queen so it moves and leaves a rook exposed.
  • Sometimes a check first drives the king onto the line for the skewer.

Tips

  • Look for two pieces on one line with nothing between them and the more valuable one in front.
  • A skewer with check is the strongest: the king must move first, so the piece behind is usually lost.
  • If the piece behind is protected, the skewer may only trade, so check what you actually win.

About these puzzles

All positions are from real games in the public-domain Lichess puzzle database, tagged as skewer puzzles and checked by an engine. Only puzzles played at least a thousand times are included.