With this move, White fixes the pawn on c6, which is attacked by the powerful knight on e5. Black can barely move here!

3...Nf6 4.h4 and White enjoys a fantastic space advantage!

The difference between bishops is significant. Once we have played e4, the b-file is accessible for our rooks, and the c4-pawn is very weak. Black can only await a slow death. It's very important to note that the bishop on d6 is controlling the b8-square so Black cannot fight for the open file!

The best move and the right time to do it! Naturally Black cannot take on e5 since there is a fork.

Nice move from Nepo, stopping Bxc6.

Gaining space on the queenside.

A positional inaccuracy. 15...a5 was a better option.

After this trade, we eliminate the defender of the c5-square, which will be accessible for our knight after fixing Black’s pawn structure on the queenside.

Creating a favorable structure! Now the knight will travel all the way to c5. After that, a rook can come to b3 creating tremendous pressure on the queenside.