The Skewer

It's not about BBQ, no. You're right though: a 'skewer' is a long pin of wood or metal for inserting through meat or other food to hold or bind it in cooking. But in chess it has a slightly different meaning: a skewer (or X-ray attack) is an attack upon two pieces in a line and is similar to a pin. In fact, a skewer is sometimes described as a 'reverse pin'; the difference is that in a skewer, the more valuable piece is in front of the piece of lesser or equal value, and is not able to defend it. It's another important weapon that every chess player should master; in this episode Ronen shows us a lot of examples, especially of rook endings, where the skewer becomes a powerful piece of winning tactics.

In this new video series Ronen tackles one of the most important part of the game: Tactics. And he does this from a beginner and intermediate player's perspective: everyone will be able to enjoy, learn and improve watching this new series. All of us have at least once asked ourselves the typical questions: What is tactics in chess? Why is tactics one of the most important piece of knowledge you need to play chess? How to spot tactics in a game? How to take advantage of it? Well, Ronen is here to answer our queries, by guiding us - with many interesting examples - through the basics of chess tactics, such as double-attacks, forks, pins, how to use material to create tactics; to then move on into more complicated topics, such as intermediate moves, double threats, and more. Don't miss this new and formative ICC video series!