  We report on a general principle using the interlayer exchange coupling to
extend the regime of chiral magnetic films in which stable or metastable
magnetic skyrmions can appear at zero magnetic field. We verify this concept on
the basis of a first-principles model for a Mn monolayer on W(001) substrate, a
prototype chiral magnet for which the atomic-scale magnetic texture is
determined by the frustration of exchange interactions, impossible to unwind by
laboratory magnetic fields. By means of \textit{ab initio} calculations for the
Mn/W$_m$/Co$_n$/Pt/W(001) multilayer system we show that for certain
thicknesses $m$ of the W spacer and $n$ of the Co reference layer, the
effective field of the reference layer fully substitutes the required magnetic
field for skyrmion formation.
