After the pieces are exchanged Black clears his Queen off the d file and begins the
couterattack on White's c pawn. Black plans to put a rook where the Queen had been.
White sets a trap by retreating his Knight to e1. White would ultimately like to support his
e pawn by the move f3. As the White Kingside seems secure, it also mat be timely to shift
the Knight to a morer aggressive post on the Queenside. Black repositions his Knight and
chases the White Rook with move 17. White is aware the e4 pawn is threatened. Instead,
Black moves his Queen to c6 and applies some pressure to a4, c2 and e4. Note that both
fourth ranks are empty of pieces.
If Black takes the
e4 pawn with his
Knight at move
18 when White
moves the
Bishop to either
d2 or h6, the
Black Knight can
be captured by
White's Queen.
White can
mobilize a
Kingside attack
with Queen and
Rook quickly.