The curious but effective Bd3 !

It seems at first odd to develop the bishop on d3 if your d-pawn is on d2.

like this

It seems like the bishop on c1 will have a hard time getting developed....

___________________________________________________________________________________________

but let's see this game from @Hikaru (Hikaru Nakamura) against @GMWSO (Wesley So)

@Hikaru will play c2-c3 and the bishop will end up on c2.

Position on move 10

the knight on d2 will go to f1-g3

@Hikaru plays these moves very fast and likes to start the game quietly but later on he will put maximum pressure on his opponent.

Position after move 19, White to play

let's pause here. White has maintained a strong center with c2-c3 and then d2-d4. The bishop is now back to d3, but with the d-pawn on d4. 

What is White's plan ? Hikaru pushes e4-e5 and starts to mount a kingside attack. Highly instructive.

and here's the position after White's Qg4

White threatens Bxh6 and the white's attack was made possible by the strong center e4-d4 and the thematic push e4-e5

and here's the finish

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Of course this is only 1 game, yet against a very strong GM. Let's see another one from @Hikaru

Once again the bishop on d3 blocks the d2 pawn. But the bishop will go to c2 and then White will try to gain control of the center 

In this game Black plays d7-d5 and as White plays e4-e5, we transpose in a french advance variation type of position, but with White having a bishop on c2.

Position after 13..b5

We note that once again, White plays Nd2-f1-g3 and here White will push b2-b4 before attacking on the kingside !

Here's how the game went