The skewer is one of the most direct ways to win material in Chinese chess. It exploits alignment: hit the front piece, and the piece behind it is exposed.

1. What a skewer is

A skewer uses one piece — usually a chariot or a cannon — to attack two enemy pieces lined up on the same file or rank:

  • the front piece is attacked first, so it must move or be traded;
  • the moment it steps aside, the piece behind it sits on the same attacking line;
  • so whatever the opponent does, they lose one of the two.

The difference from a fork: a fork attacks two targets in different directions, a skewer attacks two targets lined up front to back.

2. Conditions for a skewer

  1. Both targets on one line, one behind the other;
  2. Your piece can reach that line without being blocked;
  3. The opponent cannot solve both threats with one move (no counter-attack, no single block or trade);
  4. The front piece is worth at least as much as the back one, so they will not simply give it up.

3. Common shapes

  • Chariot skewer — a chariot aims down a file at an enemy chariot with a weaker piece behind it;
  • Cannon skewer — a cannon uses a screen to threaten both the front and rear piece at once;
  • Checking skewer — a check forces the general to step aside, exposing whatever stood behind it.

4. How to defend

  • Do not stack pieces on one line — spreading your pieces across files is the basic prevention;
  • Give the front piece an escape or a defender so the skewer fizzles out;
  • Counter-attack — if you can threaten something bigger, the skewer stops being profitable;
  • Trade off — offer to exchange the front piece and the skewer structure disappears.

5. Why it matters

Skewers appear most often during exchanges, when pieces are being traded on the same lines. Getting into the habit of checking whether your opponent's pieces are aligned will find material in many quiet-looking positions.

How to practise:

  1. Replay your own games and mark the moments when a skewer was available;
  2. Set up two aligned pieces in the endgame editor and practise building the skewer with a chariot and a cannon, calculating every reply.

Read next: the fork and discovered attack guides.