Lesson Plan 10: Pins & Skewers

Lining Up the Enemy

Duration

45 Minutes

Week

Week 10 of 16

Prerequisites

Lessons 1-9

Learning Objectives

Students will identify a pin and name the piece that is pinned
Students will distinguish an absolute pin from a relative one
Students will identify a skewer and explain how it differs from a pin
Students will explain why only rooks, bishops and queens can pin

Materials Needed

Chess sets (1 per 2 students)
Demonstration board
String or rulers to lay along lines
Pin and skewer puzzle cards

What to Teach About Pins

A pin: a piece cannot move without exposing something more valuable behind it
Absolute pin: the king is behind — the pinned piece may not move at all, by law
Relative pin: a valuable piece is behind — moving is legal but usually bad
A skewer is the reverse: the valuable piece is in front and must move, losing what is behind it
Only line pieces: rook, bishop and queen pin and skewer; knights and pawns never do

Lesson Timeline

5 min

Review & Hook

Set a black king on e8, a black knight on e6, a white rook on e1. "Can that knight move?" Let someone try, then explain why the move is illegal.

12 min

Pins

Name the hook position: an absolute pin, and the knight is frozen
Replace the king with a queen: now the knight may move, and it is a relative pin
Lay string along the line so the three pieces are visibly in a row
Pairs build one of each and say which it is
Teach the follow-up: attack a pinned piece again, because it cannot run

10 min

Skewers

Set a black king on g8 and a black rook on g1 with a white rook arriving on the g-file... reverse it
Build it properly: king in front, rook behind — check, the king moves, the rook falls
Say the difference once, clearly: pin protects what is behind, skewer wins what is behind

10 min

Which Piece Can Do It?

Ask whether a knight can pin anything. Work out why not: its attack is a jump, not a line
Same question for a pawn
Conclude: lines pin, jumps do not

6 min

Pin Puzzles

Pairs work through the puzzle cards and name each one.

2 min

Wrap-Up

Ask for the one-sentence difference between a pin and a skewer.

Pin & Skewer Puzzle Set

Two absolute pins: find the pin and then the move that wins the pinned piece
Two relative pins: decide whether moving the pinned piece is worth it
Two skewers: give the check and say what falls next
One position with a knight apparently pinning something — the trap is that it cannot
One position where breaking a pin by defending is better than running

Teacher Tip: Whenever a child says "it is pinned", ask "to what?" Naming the piece behind the pinned one forces them to see the line, and it exposes the common error of calling an ordinary attack a pin.

Assessment

Observation: during puzzles, listen for the pinned piece and the piece behind being named
Puzzle cards: at least five of eight correct
Exit question: "Can a knight pin a queen? Why not?"

Common Mistakes to Address

Calling any attack a pin
Moving an absolutely pinned piece, which is not legal
Confusing pin and skewer because both are three pieces on a line
Forgetting that a pinned piece defends nothing — it cannot capture while pinned

Differentiation

Support: Hand the child a ruler to lay along the rank, file or diagonal; if the three pieces do not touch the ruler, it is not a pin.
Challenge: Ask for a position where a pin can be broken profitably, by interposing a third piece or by counter-attacking the pinning piece.