Black has moved (ply 16). It's my move now (ply 17). Let me see the current board and legal moves — I remain **up a knight** and need to keep pressing.

Black retreated: **8...Bd7** (bishop e6→d7). I'm **up a knight** (balance +2; Black has zero knights, I have the strong d4-knight) and only down the e4 pawn. Black's king is still stuck on e8 (f8-bishop and d8-queen block both castling directions). The d4-knight is safe (the d5-pawn eyes c4/e4, not d4; the bishop on d3 is now safe from the d5-pawn's c4-attack). My plan: keep the knight active, develop with pressure on Black's uncastled king. The cleanest move is **9.Re1** — placing the rook on the e-file, directly targeting the e7-pawn and the e8-king behind it (the e-file opens the moment the e7-pawn moves). This keeps the strong d4-knight in place while building pressure.