These three tactical ideas β forks, pins, and skewers β appear in every level of chess. They are among the first patterns that beginners should learn to recognise and create. Mastering them will immediately improve your ability to spot threats, set traps, and defend effectively.
A fork happens when a single piece attacks two or more enemy pieces at the same time. Knights are particularly dangerous because they can jump to attack multiple squares at once, but queens, bishops, and pawns can also deliver powerful forks.
Forks often win material because your opponent can only defend one target. Common examples include a knight forking a king and rook, or a pawn advancing to attack two pieces simultaneously.
How to spot forks:
A pin occurs when a piece cannot move without exposing a more valuable piece behind it. Bishops, rooks, and queens commonly create pins along diagonals, files, and ranks.
For example, if a bishop attacks a knight that stands in front of its king, that knight cannot legally move β it is βpinned.β If the piece behind is not the king but still valuable (like the queen), the pin is called a relative pin.
How to use pins effectively:
A skewer attacks a valuable piece first, forcing it to move and revealing a less valuable piece behind it. Whereas pins paralyse, skewers chase β the target moves away, leaving something to be captured.
Skewers are most often seen along open files or long diagonals, using rooks and bishops. A typical example is a bishop checking a king, with a queen or rook exposed behind it.
Recognising skewer opportunities:
Whenever you make or face a move, scan for forks, pins, and skewers. They often decide games at the beginner level, and recognising them quickly is a major step towards tactical mastery.