[TimM]

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I will admit this is easily the part of the game where I am the worst. I usually find myself lost at this point. If I were playing I would throw my rooks on both open files and then not have a clue what to do. So I'll try to learn something here.

Is the point of Ne4 to play Qb6 and tie the rook to the f pawn? Also what do we after d4? I hate to push d4 like that with no plan. I see no way to play d3 in the immediate future.

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OK let's look at each move suggested so far...

16...d4 has some ideas of clearing d5 for the black queen, closing the a1-h8 diagonal, and preventing White from dealing with an attack on the e2 pawn by playing e3. I think 17.Qf3 is the only reply we need to look at closely as it does counter our plans. On 17...Re8 he does not need to play 18.Re1 but can instead play 18.Rd1. I don't think this is anything great for black.

16...Qb6 I suggested as a way of getting ...Rc8 in without allowing Qd4, but he can just play 17.Bb2 Rac8 18.Qd3 Rfe8 19.e3 threatening to take our knight and then the d5 pawn, and also Bd4.

16...Ne4 is a way of trying to get out of this battery of bishop and queen aiming at our g7 square before he has a chance to set it up, but I don't think it works. After 17.Qd4 White will have time to play Bb2, and we are just going to be stuck to defending our d-pawn soon with no counterplay.

16...Rc8 does occupy the open file with tempo, but that queen has to move anyway so we can always keep this in reserve. White might prefer to reply with 17.Qd3, which protects e2 in advance, and keeps c2 covered for the moment. Bg5 or Bb2 are coming, followed by contesting the c-file with Rfc1.

16...Re8 attacks the one weak pawn in White's position. Should he play 17.e3 we no longer have to worry about Bg5, and the light squares around White's king have been weakened. Now I like 17...Rc8, if 18.Qd4 Rc2, or after 18.Qd3 maybe 18...Ne4 19.Bb2 and now we have options like 19...Nc5 or 19...Qg5. If 17.Re1 Rc8 again. The rook is just awkwardly placed on e1. On 17.Qd3 we can continue the attack on the pawn with 17...Qe7, which is not threatening if our rook were on c8 instead of e8, of course. But now he needs to defend the pawn and also worry about Qe4+.

So far 16...Re8 is the best idea I've seen. It seems to cause more problems for White than the other moves.