Learn How to Skewer: Decisive Material Gain
This middlegame puzzle is a classic example of a crushing short skewer: a forcing queen move creates immediate check and exposes a more valuable target behind it. In positions like this, the key is not just spotting checks, but noticing how a checked king can be pulled onto a square that leaves another heavy piece vulnerable. White’s queen and rook are already active near the black king, so the tactic works because the king’s escape squares are limited and the back rank is loose.