Why not pawn to e5 instead of e6?

Why is pawn to e6 a better move than pawn to e5 in this instance?

Doesnt e5 give centre control and attack d4 knight?

Hmm, no position given.

I'm guessing you're asking about the Sicilian.

A Scheveningen type set up (e6) vs a sveshnikov type set up (e5).

Each has its pros and cons. Maybe the most notable is when you play e5 the d5 square becomes a "hole" (none of your pawns can defend it) and so d5 is a good outpost square for white. Also your d6 pawn may come under pressure when it's very difficult to advance it because white will own d5.

When you play e6 the pawns are abreast and work together to control many squares. It's a smaller center, but a very solid structure and play usually develops on the wings. Black also reserves the possibility to break in the center with d5 later (the e6 pawn helps control d5). He can also play e5 later.

Everything depends on the position. Give an example and we can answer.

I think leiph is right, he must be talking about the Sicilian because he mentions the knight on d4.

When I first opened the thread I wondered if it might be about the position after 1. e4!

Forgot to include the screenshot https://imageshack.com/i/f0K1zdE2p

Most of you knew what i was talking about without a reference. Impressive.

It's a horrible image - No Scroll bar, and zoomed in so big that all you can see is that it says Sicilian Najdorf variation.

All I can say to that is that it depends on what White played on move 6.

Against 6.Bg5 and 6.Bc4, 6...e5 is too dangerous because it weakens d5 too quickly.

Against slower lines where White isn't putting immediate pressure on Black, like 6.Be2, 6.Be3, or 6.f4, either 6...e5 or 6...e6 is ok, and it depends on player's taste.

I'm no expert on the Najdorf, so I couldn't tell you what to use as your basis for deciding between 6...e5 and 6...e6, but I do know that it's no good against 6.Bc4 or 6.Bg5.  There 6...e6 (or against 6.Bg5, the new and popular idea of 6...Nbd7) is the way to go.

It's against Bg5 he's wondering.

The bishop pinning the knight 'removes' a black piece which controls the d5 square. With the pawn on e5 and no pawn on the c file, this square can no longer be attacked by a black pawn and so white has a lot of central control of this square which can be used to reposition pieces etc.

It's known as the Boleslavsky hole (although more common in other variations).

Wikipedia text regarding the pawn structure (but not the exact line):

"It is a paradoxical idea that Black can strive for equality by voluntarily creating a hole on d5. The entire game revolves around control of the d5 square. Black must play very carefully or White will place a knight on d5 and obtain a commanding positional advantage. Black almost always equalizes, and might even obtain a slight edge, if the d6-d5 break can be made. Black has two options for his queen bishop: on e6 and on b7 (after a7-a6 and b7-b5). Unusually for an open formation, bishops become inferior to knights because of the overarching importance of d5: White will often exchange Bg5xf6, and Black usually prefers to give up his queen bishop rather than a knight in exchange for a white knight if it gets to d5.

When white castles queenside, Black often delays castling because his king is quite safe in the center."