Why do the chess.com computers always overestimate space advantages?

When I'm Black, I sometimes play hypermodern openings in which my opponent gets a space advantage early in the game. When I analyze these games with the computer, I see that the computer always thinks that my opponent (the side with the space advantage) is either much better or winning when, in reality, he is only slightly better. What is happening?

space is a huge factor; space leads to more combinations and tactics thats how it works ma boi(or gurl)

Well its hard to say in the abstract, but quite often when white grabs a **** ton of space, he is dancing on the edge of a knife.  A human player will often make a mistake and suddenly get murdered by the black pieces.  For the computer, dancing on the edge of a knife is no big thing -- the computer sees only the edge in the best line, not the likelihood that a human player will go astray.  For example, think of some of those lines in the Advance Variation where white plays g4 -- I find those hideously uncomfortable for both sides, with disaster lurking for white, especially in a blitz game.  But for an engine, those can be quite lovely positions with a clear edge for white.  

But space isn't always good. Many times, the spatially challenged player can turn the space-gaining pawns into targets, jump into weak squares left behind by the pawns. Even in the opening, space advantages are winning if the spatially challenged player doesn't attack his/her opponent's pawn center.

Without showing an example of a position it's hard to say anything; as you just said yourself, a space advantage can be anything from near-winning, to a liability. Like most things, it just depends.

The computer is on a set level, and it is coded a certain way.  Hikaru once played against a computer, i forgot if it was stockfish or Komodo, but he closed the position with pawns and made the computer think a sac was necessary. Unless the computer is Alpha Zero, who studies grandmaster games and coppies their techniques, computers will always have small problems. 

Momoca,  what do you think is a more reliable way to analyze games? Chessbase 14? What do you have?

Space to manoeuvre.

I don't perform well in those types of positions.

I wouldn't trust the chess.com engine too much. Aside from that though, space is a huge factor in many chess games and can be pushed well by strong players. Hypermodern openings have their own draw though, you just have to treat them gingerly.

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