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Pins and skewers

Chess

Freeze a piece, or force a valuable one to move.

What coaches agree on

  • Only a bishop, rook, or queen can create a pin or skewer — it takes a long-range attack along an open rank, file, or diagonal, which a knight, pawn, or king can never do.
  • A pin against the king is absolute — the pinned piece is illegal to move, full stop. A pin against any other piece is relative — moving it is legal, just usually costly; the same absolute/relative split applies to skewers.
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  • Winning a pin is rarely the final move — keep adding attackers to the pinned piece, or use the pin to force the position open, to actually cash it in for material or an attack.
  • Before playing a pin or skewer, check that what you'll win is actually worth it, and when more than one lining-up move is available, pick the one that wins the most valuable piece.

Common mistakes

  • Moving your queen or rook onto the same rank, file, or diagonal as your own king without checking whether an enemy bishop, rook, or queen can exploit it is a genuine, recurring mistake in real games, not just bad luck.
pins and skewers
Intermediate

pins and skewers

Coach's take: Strong lesson -- the 'pin to a square, not just a piece' idea alone is worth knowing.

3.8
Pins and Skewers
Beginner

Pins and Skewers

Coach's take: Solid, correct basics with decent puzzle examples.

3.4
Chess - Skewers
Beginner

Chess - Skewers

Coach's take: Multiple real examples, explained clearly and repeated until it sticks -- solid teaching.

3.1
Tactics - Skewers
Advanced

Tactics - Skewers

Coach's take: Great volume of real combinations, but it flies by without much explanation -- bring your own foundation.

2.9