Answers.Body: <blockquote>
  <p>So, why does the engine prefer taking with the c6 knight?</p>
  </blockquote>
  <p>The problem is that white has the move Nd5. If you take with the c6 knight then you can easily kick the knight away (after having dealt with the threat to c7) by moving the pawn to c6. If you take with the d7 knight then you can still defend against the threat to c7 but it takes you several moves to be able to dislodge the d5 knight.</p>
  <pre><code>[fen &quot;r3qrk1/pppn1pbp/2n3p1/4P1B1/2P1P1b1/2N2N2/PP2B1PP/R2Q1RK1 b - - 4 1&quot;]
  
  1...Ndxe5 (1...Ncxe5 2. Nd5 Nxf3+ 3. gxf3 Bh3 4. Rf2 c6 5. Nf4 (5. Nc7 Qe5) f6 6. Nxh3 fxg5 7. Nxg5 Nc5 8. Rg2 {black is threatening Rd8 followed by Bd4 pinning the rook to the king} Bxb2 9. Rb1 Rd8 10. Qe1 Bf6 11. Nh3 {and black's pieces are almost all better than white's} ) 2. Nd5 Nxf3+ {You need the e5 square for your queen to defend c7} 3. Bxf3 Qe5 4. Qd2 Bxf3 5. gxf3 Nd8 6. Be7 Re8 7. Bb4
  </code></pre>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2024-04-09T22:47:36.933Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2024-04-09T22:47:36.933Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Brian Towers
Body: <p>In a rapid game I played on Chess.com, I played the KID and got this position:</p>
  <pre><code>[Title &quot;Black to Move&quot;]
  [FEN &quot;r3qrk1/pppn1pbp/2n3p1/4P1B1/2P1P1b1/2N2N2/PP2B1PP/R2Q1RK1 b - - 4 12&quot;]
  </code></pre>
  <p>The move I chose was Ndxe5, which I feel is more natural, since the d7 knight is somewhat passive. Additionally this knight blocks the d-file. However, after reviewing the game Stockfish said this move was inaccurate and recommended the slightly awkward (IMO) Ncxe5 which just feels less stable to me. The engine preferred Ncxe5 to taking the other way by around 80cp and even said Bxf3 was 20cp better than what I played.</p>
  <p>So, why does the engine prefer taking with the c6 knight?</p>
  
Tags: <analysis><strategy>
Title: Why is Ncxe5 more accurate than Ndxe5?
ThreadText: # Why is Ncxe5 more accurate than Ndxe5?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2024-04-09)
  
  In a rapid game I played on Chess.com, I played the KID and got this position:
  [Title "Black to Move"]
  [FEN "r3qrk1/pppn1pbp/2n3p1/4P1B1/2P1P1b1/2N2N2/PP2B1PP/R2Q1RK1 b - - 4 12"]
  
  The move I chose was Ndxe5, which I feel is more natural, since the d7 knight is somewhat passive. Additionally this knight blocks the d-file. However, after reviewing the game Stockfish said this move was inaccurate and recommended the slightly awkward (IMO) Ncxe5 which just feels less stable to me. The engine preferred Ncxe5 to taking the other way by around 80cp and even said Bxf3 was 20cp better than what I played.
  So, why does the engine prefer taking with the c6 knight?
  
  **Tags:** analysis, strategy
  
  
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  ## 1 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_1 on 2024-04-09. Score: 7 | Accepted answer
  
  So, why does the engine prefer taking with the c6 knight?
  
  The problem is that white has the move Nd5. If you take with the c6 knight then you can easily kick the knight away (after having dealt with the threat to c7) by moving the pawn to c6. If you take with the d7 knight then you can still defend against the threat to c7 but it takes you several moves to be able to dislodge the d5 knight.
  [fen "r3qrk1/pppn1pbp/2n3p1/4P1B1/2P1P1b1/2N2N2/PP2B1PP/R2Q1RK1 b - - 4 1"]
  
  1...Ndxe5 (1...Ncxe5 2. Nd5 Nxf3+ 3. gxf3 Bh3 4. Rf2 c6 5. Nf4 (5. Nc7 Qe5) f6 6. Nxh3 fxg5 7. Nxg5 Nc5 8. Rg2 {black is threatening Rd8 followed by Bd4 pinning the rook to the king} Bxb2 9. Rb1 Rd8 10. Qe1 Bf6 11. Nh3 {and black's pieces are almost all better than white's} ) 2. Nd5 Nxf3+ {You need the e5 square for your queen to defend c7} 3. Bxf3 Qe5 4. Qd2 Bxf3 5. gxf3 Nd8 6. Be7 Re8 7. Bb4
  
  
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