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| Black has just played 17...Rae8 in Spanton (1946) - Andreas Kessler (2084) |
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White has more space, and the black isolani is more of a liability than the white one. My main engines give White the upper hand (Dragon1) or at least a slight edge (Stockfish17).
But after 18.Ne4? their evaluations change to a slight edge for Black, their main line running 18...Bxe5 19.dxe5 Nxe4 20.Qxe4 Nb6, when White still has more space and has a tempting outpost at d6.
But White will never be able to occupy d6, at least in the foreseeable future, as Black's knight is about to take up residence on d5, from where it can only be evicted by an unsound exchange sacrifice.
Black still has an isolani (White's is gone) but it is masked, and meanwhile the white bishop is awkwardly placed, albeit doing a useful job controlling d8.
Having seen the consequences of my move, it is easier to understand why one of the moves preferred by the engines is 18.Bxf6!? (they also like 18.a3!?).
My choice is one of those continuations that looks like it is the type of move that should be played, but concrete analysis should have revealed that Black could force swops, including giving up bishop for knight, that bring about a position in which the only minor pieces on the board are a strong black knight and an awkward, technically bad, white bishop.
LESSON: what counts is not what leaves the board, but what stays on.
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