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Step 6: Tactics I + CCA · about 25 min

Skewers

🖨 Worksheet🔑 Answer key🖨 Easy-reading worksheet

Goal: Kids can play a skewer: attack a big piece so it moves and uncovers the piece behind it.

You need: One board and set per pair

1 · Teach it (15 min)

Read these out loud, or put them in your own words. Show each board on screen or set it up on a demo board.

  1. 1.“A skewer is like a pin turned around. You attack a big piece in front, it has to move, and then you capture the piece behind it.”

  2. 2.“Here: rook to a6 is check. The king has to step off the row, and then the rook captures the queen on h6.”

  3. 3.“Skewers work best with check, because the king must move. Look for a king and a big piece standing on the same line.”

With younger kids: A skewer is a shish kebab: the stick goes through the first piece and gets the one behind it.
Watch for:
  • Skewering with a piece the king can capture.
  • Confusing pins (small piece in front) with skewers (big piece in front).

2 · Play it: Line-Up Hunt (10 min)

Set up: Normal game in pairs, or this lesson's extra puzzles.

  1. During the game, look for two enemy pieces standing on the same line.
  2. If you can attack the front one with a bishop, rook or queen, it's a pin or a skewer!
  3. Say which one it is. Bonus point if you're right.

3 · Practice and pass check

On iPads, kids open Student → Step 6 → Skewers: Through the Middle. On paper, print the worksheet. A kid passes by getting 2 of 3 on the pass check. The pass code for this lesson is S6-L4-9N.

🧩 Extra puzzles: 60 real puzzles from lichess.org for kids who finish early: the Extra puzzles button in student mode, or tick Extra puzzles on the worksheet page (8 per set).

Practice (3) with answers

1.Find the rook skewer. Draw an arrow or write the move.

abcdefgh

Move: Rh7+

2.Find the bishop skewer. Draw an arrow or write the move.

abcdefgh

Move: Bc4+

3.In a skewer, which piece is in front?

  • ✓The more valuable piece
  • The less valuable piece
Pass check (3) with answers

1.Find the skewer. Draw an arrow or write the move.

abcdefgh

Move: Ra6+

2.Find the skewer. Draw an arrow or write the move.

abcdefgh

Move: Bh7+

3.What's the difference between a pin and a skewer?

  • There's no difference
  • ✓In a pin the smaller piece is in front; in a skewer the bigger piece is in front
  • Only queens can skewer

Topic order based on: Chess for Children, Part 5 (basic tactics). All wording is original.