It beats the chap with the skill (5)
I believe the answer is:
heart
'it beats' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'chap with the skill' is the wordplay.
'chap' becomes 'he' ().
'with' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'the skill' becomes 'art' (both can mean a talent).
'he'+'art'='HEART'
'the' is the link.
(Other definitions for heart that I've seen before include "Centre; core" , "show enthusiasm" , "Body organ" , "Nucleus" , "one needs to beat" .)