Lessons From Bischofsgrün: More On Finding The Best Move

IN round nine I had to choose how to recapture after my opponent made the first capture of the game.

White has just played 14.cxd5 in Achim Heller (2036) - Spanton (1954)

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I captured with the knight, but after the further moves 15.dxc5 Bxc5 16.b4 Be7 17.Nc4 the menace to Black's kingside is palpable. Indeed, White is winning, according to Stockfish17 and Dragon1.

Instead 14...exd5 is much better. If then, as in the game, 15.dxc5, Black can reply 15...bxc5 with a reasonable hanging-pawns position in which the white queen's knight cannot advance to c4 (or e4), and the black kingside looks much safer. The game is equal, according to Stockfish17, although Dragon1 reckons White might have an edge.

The big differences between the two recaptures in the diagrammed position are a) the safety of the black king, b) the activity available to the white pieces.

LESSON: when choosing between two positional continuations, ie tactics are not a factor, choosing the option that weakens the king's setup and allows the opponent more activity is unlikely to be the correct choice.