In a skewer you attack the more valuable piece, which when it moves exposes the piece behind it to attack.
In an x-ray you are attacking a piece through an opponents piece.
e.g.
Skewer:
X-Ray
The bishop is attacked twice - the white queen is performing an x-ray attack through the black queen.
A typical x-ray.
why Qc5? Qd3 seemed to save the bishop.
Don't forget the B2 pawn.
He's talking about the threat of back rank mate, which wasn't really the point. It was intended as a comparison, not a puzzle.
Sorry, my mistake. I don't know why I saw Qc3 instead of Qd3. Of course, you are right.
thank you so much friends
it was well explained in this thread: it's when your piece acts through an opponent's piece. It can be even a defensive tactic:
Funny how in the videos on here most authors keep confusing the "x-ray" with the simple threat of a discovery or a pin.
hmm thanks a lot friends
This is a beautiful skewer :
check out http://chesstrainerapp.blogspot.fr/2014/01/the-skewer.html for more.
it was well explained in this thread: it's when your piece acts through an opponent's piece. It can be even a defensive tactic:
Funny how in the videos on here most authors keep confusing the "x-ray" with the simple threat of a discovery or a pin.
thank you so much, it is nice.
A skewer and an x-ray are synonymous--two terms for the same tactical motif.
I imagine that prior to 1895, the term x-ray would not have been used because the phenomenon of x-rays was only discovered by Wilhelm Rontgen in that year.
The piece that cannot move without exposing the piece behind it to attack is said to be pinned, if that intermediate piece is of a lower value than the one behind it.
plzz help