Skewer: bishop to b6
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The tactical motive
Skewer: a valuable piece is forced to move, exposing the one behind it.
Difficulty 1179 ShuffleRating — club-player level.
Black to move — find the best continuation
How to recognize this tactic
A skewer is a pin reversed — the valuable piece stands in front and, when it moves, the piece behind falls. Line your rook, bishop or queen up against the king or queen and win whatever is hiding behind it.
General method: before you move, list the forcing candidates — every check, every capture, every direct threat — and calculate those first. The solution to a tactic is almost always among them.
Position on the board
White: king d4, bishop f2, pawn h3 a4 c4.
Black: king c6, bishop c7, pawn f4 a6 h7.
5 white and 5 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 58.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 6 points of pieces on each side (pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9).
The white king stands on d4, the black king on c6.
It is Black to move on move 58, with 14 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 3 pawns, Black 3. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): b, d, e, g — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for Black: c.
The Black king has 4 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
58... Bb6+ 59. c5 Bxc5+ 60. Ke4 Bxf2
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to b6 keeps the pressure (+5.9).
- Well found: bishop to c5 (+6.3).
- Strong! bishop to f2 is the sharp choice (+6.2).
- You win a piece — the bishop.
- If instead c5, then Bxc5+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 58… Bb6+ — bishop to b6 with check
- 59. c5 — pawn to c5
- Bxc5+ — bishop to c5 (capture) with check
- 60. Ke4 — king to e4
- Bxf2 — bishop to f2 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Skewer
A line attack forces the valuable piece to move, exposing the one behind it.
A skewer is a pin turned inside out: the valuable piece stands in front and something cheaper hides behind it. The big piece must step aside, and you collect the one that was sheltering in its shadow. Scan for the enemy king or queen sharing a file, rank or diagonal with another enemy piece. The deadliest version comes with check — the king moves, the rook behind it dies.
Minor-piece endgame
Bishops and knights duel — geometry decides.
A minor-piece endgame leaves only bishops and knights with pawns, and geometry decides. The bishop loves an open board and play on both wings; the knight loves fixed pawns and outpost squares. Check which color squares the pawns stand on and where the knight can actually reach in time. Practical tip: against a knight, spread the play across both flanks — short legs cannot cover everything.
Win the pinned piece
The pinned piece cannot run — attack it again and win it.
A pinned piece cannot flee, which means you can win it outright by attacking it one more time. Count attackers against defenders: if you outnumber them, the piece is yours. The best extra attacker is a pawn, since it costs less than anything it might capture. Do not rush the capture — build up the pressure first, then harvest.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 007
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