[Event "Round 4: Rojas Raraz, Jarely Katty - Goodkind, Lauren"] [Site "https://lichess.org/broadcast/xvii-campeonato-continental-femenino-de-ajedrez-de-las-americas-2026--standard/round-4/4waEHvfl/Vh5hu3Et"] [Date "2026.04.02"] [Round "4"] [White "Rojas Raraz, Jarely Katty"] [Black "Goodkind, Lauren"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "1493"] [BlackElo "1863"] [TimeControl "90+30"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "B13"] [Opening "Caro-Kann Defense: Exchange Variation"] [StudyName "XVII Campeonato Continental Femenino de Ajedrez de Las Américas 2026"] [ChapterName "Rojas Raraz, Jarely Katty - Goodkind, Lauren"] [ChapterURL "https://lichess.org/study/WIIXjDsm/0Co77A1u"] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/ChessLifeOnline"] [Orientation "white"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 Nf6 5. Ne2!? { Already a rare move. White's idea is to meet ... Bc8-g4 with f2-f3. The knight is on an inferior square compared to the main line, but White did not have to spend a turn on h2-h3. } (5. h3 { is usually played here, preparing Ng1-f3 without having to deal with ... Bc8-g4. }) 5... Bg4 6. f3 Bh5 7. g4 Bg6 8. Bf4 e6 9. h4 { White signals early kingside aggression with her pawns. } 9... Nc6 10. a3 Bd6 11. Bb5?! (11. Bxd6 Qxd6 12. h5 Bxd3 13. Qxd3 $10 { Black has succeeded in getting both sets of bishops off the board. With so many holes on the kingside, Black is happy to make trades and reach an endgame. }) 11... h6 { Preventing White from trapping my bishop with a future h5 push. } (11... Bxf4 12. Nxf4 Qc7 13. Nxg6 Qg3+! { would have been a way to exploit the holes on White's kingside. } 14. Ke2 fxg6!? $17 { [%cal Ge8g8] }) 12. Nbc3 Qc7 { Developing with a direct threat on the f4-bishop. } 13. Bxd6 Qxd6 14. Qd2 O-O-O { Castling kingside felt far too dangerous with her pawns already advanced on g4 and h4, which could easily invite a devastating pawn storm. } 15. O-O-O Nd7 16. Bd3 Bxd3 { Trading to secure a rock-solid pawn structure. } 17. Qxd3 Nb6 { Eyecatching maneuvers toward the queenside. } 18. Nb5 Qe7 { Protecting my queen while eying the premium c4-outpost for my knight. } 19. Qb3 { A clever try by White, setting up a tricky tactical shot: 20. Nxa7+! Then, if my knight recaptures, my b6-knight falls. } 19... Kb8 { My king steps over to safeguard a7. } 20. Kb1 Nc4 { Mission accomplished. This knight is a monster outpost deep in White's territory. } 21. Rd3 a6 { Time to evict the intruder. } 22. Nbc3 Ka7 { Unpinning my b7-pawn from the gaze of the b3-queen. } 23. Ka2?? { A massive blunder that severely restricts the mobility of White's queen. } (23. Nd1 { might be best, helping White's queen escape. But after } 23... Rb8 $17 { , Black can attack on the queenside. } { [%cal Gb7b5] }) 23... N4a5 { Capitalizing instantly. The queen can't even skip to b4 due to my c6-knight. } 24. Qa4 Rb8 { I initially calculated } (24... b5 { but realized White could sacrifice a knight for two pawns to expose my king. 24. ... Rb8 is much deadlier, maintaining the trap and threatening 25. ... b5 next turn with total containment. }) 25. Nb5+ { Desperate to free her trapped queen, Jarely offers her knight. } 25... axb5 26. Qxb5 { I'm up a full minor piece, though I must remain cautious with her queen loitering near my king. } 26... Rbc8 { Vacating the b8-square for my king if things get dicey. } 27. Nc3 b6 { Solidifying the a5-knight and freeing up my queen. } 28. Na4 { Threatening the b6-pawn with check. } 28... Qb7 { Defending comfortably. Being up a piece, my primary endgame strategy is to force a queen trade. } 29. Nc3 Qa6? { Right idea, wrong execution. This actually opens up a tactical escape. } 30. Qa4?? { Jarely misses a brilliant saving line: } (30. Qxa6+ Kxa6 31. b4 { attacking my knight. If it moves, 32. b5+ forks my king and knight, winning the piece back. Fortunately, we both missed it in real-time. }) 30... Qc4+ { Re-establishing my plan to simplify the board. } 31. Qxc4 Nxc4 32. b3 Nd6 33. f4 g6 (33... Nxd4 { was another beautiful alternative. The d3-rook is completely overloaded protecting both d4 and c3. If 34. Rxd4, then 34. ... Rxc3 collects extra material. }) 34. Rf1 f5 35. gxf5 gxf5 36. Re1 { White targets the backwards e6-pawn. } 36... Ne4 { Planting a dominant knight block, anchored by the f5- and d5-pawns. } 37. Nxe4 fxe4 { Taking with the f-pawn dynamically gridlocks White's d4-pawn. } 38. Rd2 Rcf8 { Activating the rook to hunt down the weak f4-pawn. } 39. Rf1 Rhg8 { The h-rook swings into play, taking absolute control of the open g-file. } 40. c4 Rg4 { Forking the f4- and d4-pawns. } 41. cxd5 exd5 42. f5 Rf6 { Blockading White's passed pawn. It's completely stuck. } 43. Rh2 { Protecting h2, but leaving d4 completely unprotected. } 43... Nxd4 44. Rd2 { If I casually move the knight, my d5-pawn falls. I need something sharper. } 44... e3 { A beautiful dual-purpose tactical stroke! My g4-rook guards the knight, while the e3-pawn attacks her d2-rook. } 45. Rd3 e2 { Pushing the passed pawn to the second rank to attack the f1-rook. } 46. Re1 Rxf5 47. h5 Re4 48. Rxd4 { Forced to sacrifice quality, she trades her rook for my dominant knight. } 48... Rxd4 49. Rxe2 { White manages to eliminate the advanced e2-pawn, but is now down a devastating full rook. } 49... Re4 50. Rd2 Rxh5 51. Kb2 Rhe5 52. Kc3 h5 53. Rh2 h4 54. a4 Rh5 { Perfectly aligning my rook behind the passed h-pawn to guide it home. } 55. Kd3 h3 56. Kd2 { Checkmate becomes entirely unavoidable. } 56... Rg4 57. Ke3 Rg2 58. Rxg2 hxg2 { White is entirely lost, and it's time for the final finish. } 59. Kf2 Rg5 60. Kg1 d4 61. b4 d3 62. a5 d2 63. axb6+ Kxb6 64. b5 d1=Q+ 65. Kf2 g1=B# { A picture-perfect underpromotion checkmate! } 0-1