Chess · Stage 4: Tactics

The skewer

A skewer hits the bigger piece first, and the smaller one falls behind it. Rooks, bishops and queens skewer along lines.

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A skewer is a pin turned round. The more valuable piece is in front. It is attacked and must move, and the piece behind it falls. Here a rook check on a7 would drive the king off the seventh rank, and then the rook takes on h7.