Skewer: pawn to f3
li-0JbOJOpens in the app if installed, otherwise downloads the APK.
The tactical motive
Skewer: a valuable piece is forced to move, exposing the one behind it.
Difficulty 2116 ShuffleRating — expert level — few solve it at first try.
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 g2, rook e2, knight e4, pawn b3 d3 a4 c4 h4 g5.
Black: king c6, bishop e3 f5, pawn d4 f4 c5 h5 a6 g6.
9 white and 9 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 39.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 2 points of material (14 against 12; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on g2, the black king on c6.
It is Black to move on move 39, with 16 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 6 pawns, Black 6. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): e — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for Black: b.
Black hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. 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
39... f3+ 40. Kxf3 Bg4+ 41. Kg2 Bxe2
Why it works
- Great move! pawn to f3 keeps the pressure (+5.8).
- Well found: bishop to g4 (+6.3).
- Strong! bishop to e2 is the sharp choice (+6.4).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Kxf3, then Bg4+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 39… f3+ — pawn to f3 with check
- 40. Kxf3 — king to f3 (capture)
- Bg4+ — bishop to g4 with check
- 41. Kg2 — king to g2
- Bxe2 — bishop to e2 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Royal fork
A fork with check: the king must move, and the second piece is lost.
A royal fork is a fork with check — one of the two targets is the king itself. The check must be answered first, so nobody is left to rescue the second piece. Look for squares where your piece gives check and simultaneously attacks an undefended queen or rook. It is the most reliable fork of all, because your opponent literally has no choice.
Passed pawn
Nothing can stop the passer — escort it to the last rank.
A passed pawn has no enemy pawns in front of it or on the neighboring files: only pieces can stop it. Check who can blockade the pawn or catch it with the king — if nobody can, the pawn is worth a whole piece. Push the passer with your pieces supporting it, and put your rook behind it. The beginner's mistake is shoving the pawn forward unprotected, straight into a capture.
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.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Pack 015
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads