The Skewer: a skewer puzzle

White to move. Find the one move that wins. About 1000 ELO.

King and queen on the same rank. Check the king and take what's behind it.

Hint

Check along the 4th rank.

What is a skewer?

A pin in reverse: attack a valuable piece that must move, and win the piece behind it.

How to spot it

Kings and queens lined up on a rank, file or diagonal are a skewer waiting to happen.

Tip

A skewer is a reverse pin: attack the bigger piece first, and when it moves, take the one behind it.

Solve it on the board above, or take a hint. Every ChessLvl puzzle is checked by a chess engine to have exactly one best move.