Pin & Skewer


The queen, rook, and bishop can attack more than one piece in a straight line.

  • In a skewer, the stronger piece, like a queen or rook, is attacked first, and when it moves, the weaker piece behind it can be taken.
  • In a pin, the weaker piece, like a knight or pawn, is attacked, but it can’t move because there’s a stronger piece, like the king or queen, behind it.

So, a skewer attacks the big piece first, while a pin traps the small piece in front!

The presence of the king in a pin and a skewer is essential.

Absolute pin: This is when a piece, like a knight or a rook, can’t move because if it does, the king behind it would be in danger. In chess, you are never allowed to move a piece if it puts your king in check, so the piece is «stuck» or «pinned.»
Relative pin: This is when a piece is blocking a more important piece, like the queen, from being attacked. You can still move the pinned piece, but if you do, the more important piece behind it might get captured.

So, an absolute pin is stricter because the piece can’t move at all without breaking the rules, but in a relative pin, the piece can move, though it might be risky.

Absolute pin & relative pin

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