Let the Queen Go: Megan Paragua Wins with a Pawn That Could Not Be Stopped

Look at the position above. Black's queen on f7 is attacked by White's queen. The natural thing is to save the queen, or trade it. Megan Paragua, with 76 seconds left on her clock, did neither.

She won with that idea on Monday, beating Anna Zatonskih with the black pieces in Round 9 of the 2026 U.S. Women's Championship in Saint Louis. It was her fourth win of the event, and it moved her to 5 points out of 9, one point behind the leaders with two rounds to go.

Try to find her move before you read on. The answer is below.

A quiet start and a clock problem

The game opened with 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+. The bishops were traded at once, 4.Bd2 Bxd2+ 5.Nbxd2, and both players castled. For a long time the game was close to level. Our Stockfish 17.1 engine, at depth 20, never rated either side more than about two-thirds of a pawn better in the first 30 moves.

The clock told a different story. Zatonskih spent almost 20 minutes on 8.cxd5 and almost 14 on 13.Bf5. By the time she played 28.h3, she had 70 seconds left to reach move 40.

In this event, each player gets 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, plus 30 seconds for every move. When the clock gets that low, a player is living on those 30 seconds, one move at a time.

The rook that hit two pieces

With under a minute left, Zatonskih played 34.g3. Our engine wanted 34.Ne4 instead, and after 34.g3 its number swung by more than two pawns in Black's favor.

Paragua found the reason: 34...Rd4.

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After 34...Rd4. The rook on d4 attacks both White's rook on d1 and the knight on d6. White to move.

Analyze this position

The rook on d4 attacks two things at once: the rook on d1 and the knight on d6. When one piece attacks two, it is called a double attack. After 35.Rxd4 cxd4, a new black pawn stood on d4, and it was attacking White's rook on e3.

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After 35...cxd4. The pawn on d4 attacks the rook on e3. White to move.

Analyze this position

Here our engine's choice was 36.Ne4, which still left Black better. Zatonskih, with under a minute left, went for checks: 36.Qc8+ Rd8 37.Nxf7+ Qxf7 38.Qxe6. White had taken the knight on e6, the material was level, and White's queen was now attacking Black's queen. That is the position at the top of this page.

The answer: 38...dxe3

Paragua played 38...dxe3. Her pawn took the white rook on e3, and her queen stayed where it was, under attack.

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After 38...dxe3. Black's queen on f7 can be taken, but the black pawn on e3 is two squares from becoming a queen. White to move.

Analyze this position

Why let the queen go? Count the moves. If White takes the queen with 39.Qxf7, Black plays 39...e2, and the pawn is one square from the end of the board. White's queen is far away on f7. And White's king cannot step to f1 to block the pawn's path, because the pawn on e2 guards that square.

That is exactly what happened: 39.Qxf7 e2.

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After 39...e2. The pawn is one step from e1. Black's rook on d8 is ready to help. White to move.

Analyze this position

Then 40.Qe7 Rd1+ 41.Kg2 e1=Q. The rook check pushed the white king away, and the pawn became a new queen. A pawn that reaches the last rank and turns into a queen (or another piece) is called promotion.

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After 41...e1=Q. Black has a new queen and a rook. White has a queen and four pawns. White to move.

Analyze this position

Now Black had a queen and a rook against White's queen. Zatonskih gave a series of checks, 42.Qf8+ Kh7 43.Qf5+ Kg8 44.Qc8+ Kf7 45.Qb7+ Ke8 46.Qb8+ Rd8 47.Qxa7, but the checks ran out. After 47...Qe7, the game was over, and the point went to Paragua.

How strong was 38...dxe3? Our engine rated it almost six pawns in Black's favor. Its next-best moves for Black, like trading queens with 38...Qxe6, left the game close to level. So this was the one move that won, and Paragua found it in 31 seconds.

The game in numbers

• The turning point: 34.g3, played with under a minute left, moved our engine's number by more than two pawns.
• The clock: after 28.h3, Zatonskih had 70 seconds for 12 moves. Paragua had 52 seconds after 36...Rd8 and 76 seconds after 38...dxe3.
• The winning move: 38...dxe3, about six pawns better for Black than the other moves our engine looked at.
• Paragua's event: four wins, two draws and three losses, 5 points from 9 games.

The race in the Women's Championship

Round 9 changed the top of the table. Irina Krush beat Alice Lee, Jennifer Yu beat Thalia Cervantes, and Rachael Li beat Nazi Paikidze in a knight endgame that lasted 88 moves. Every game in the women's section ended in a win.

The table after Round 9:

• Rachael Li 7
• Alice Lee 6, Irina Krush 6
• Thalia Cervantes 5.5
• Megan Paragua 5

Paragua can still reach 7, two points from two games. Her last two games are against two of the players above her: Krush on Tuesday, with White, and Cervantes on Wednesday, with Black. Each of those results can also change who finishes first.

What to take away

• Count before you save your queen. A queen is worth a lot, but a pawn that will become a new queen is worth a queen too. Ask: if they take, what happens next?
• Checks help a pawn run. 40...Rd1+ pushed the white king away from the pawn's path, one move before 41...e1=Q.
• Spend your time where it counts. Zatonskih used a lot of time early and had to play the sharpest moves of the game with seconds on her clock.

Earlier in this event, Paragua beat defending champion Carissa Yip in Round 2 and lost a long endgame to Alice Lee in Round 4. Read her story here. Also on Monday: Carissa Yip beat Anna Sargsyan, and Caruana and So drew.