The capture of this pawn is decisive. Black is left with a shattered pawn structure: 3 isolani. White retains 2 healthy groups of pawns, including connected passers on the king-side, which should be enough to force a win by straightforward advance.

The superiority of the knight in this position is evident, as it dances around the mono-chromed bishop and sequentially hits Black's weak squares, forcing the rook to defend.

With the bishop off the board, Black no longer has any effective blockader of the g- and h-pawns. The remainder of the game is based on the following principle: a lone rook cannot hold two connected passers once they reach the 6th rank. White's entire energies are now directed toward getting the g- and h-pawns onto the 6th rank, while holding the Black king out of the box comprised of f8-f6-h6-h8 (the box which the Black king would have to enter in order to intercept the White pawns). To this end, the White king will escort the g- and h-pawns to the 6th rank, while the White rook will hold the d-file closed to the Black king as long as necessary. White can safely ignore all Black pawn moves (in so far as they do not gain Black a runaway passer).

Black can no longer prevent h6 and g6, or thereafter the promotion of at least one of the White pawns. The approach of the Black king via d6-d5-d4 or d6-e5 avails nothing, as this is too slow to stop the promotion of at least one of White's pawns. 1 - 0