Top 10 reasons to play 1.h3

1.h3 is the greatest opening move ever conceived:

1. It opens up the h2 square for the development of the king rook, where it would control black's 7th rank, defending against a rook invasion on this rank later on in the game.
2. It carries a threat: 2.h4, 3.h5, 4.h6, 5.hxg7, 6.gxh8
3. It prevents black's threat: 1…h5, 2…h4, 3…h3, 4….hxg2, 5…gxh1.
4. Your opponent's more traditional view of opening theory will lead him to believe that 1.h3 indicates that you are a chess moron, and will play much more carelessly.
5. It immediately ruins your ideal pawn formation for kingside castling, so you don't have to worry and fret about it for the rest of the game.
6. It just feels right.
7. If you move subtly, weaker opponents expecting something like 1.e4 or 1.d4 might not even realize that you moved, and they will let precious time on their clocks tick away.
8. It is creative: moves like 1.e4 are such clichés.
9. It virtually gives you the black pieces, helping to limit the amount of opening theory you need to know (since you are always playing as if you have black). Also, black is cool.
10. Playing 1.h3 is like saying "I don't need the advantage of moving first to beat you". The psychological advantage is enormous. Staying with this line of thinking, playing 2.a3 is like saying "I don't need a second move to beat you either". Putting your queen in the line of fire is like saying "I don't even need my queen to beat you" (or "I am stupid" depending on your opponent reads it), and your opponent will be confused and afraid. Stripping away all of your defenses from your king is like saying "My king is strong. He's a super-king. He will march out and destroy everything in his path." At this point all but the bravest opponents will resign.

How true. I once played against a friend who started 1.h4. I laughed my ass off and eventually lost. Albeit alcohol was involved...

Quite fascinating theory. I've only just started playing again after a break of practically 40 years. I read something of the Grob opening (1.g4) and used it to beat the star of my club. The carnage was quick and bloody, and after a game of brilliant tactical ineptitude I had reduced my opponent to a confused wreck! I'm thinking that 1.h3 might have the same mesmeric effect on our erstwhile champion.

P.S. isn't alcohol generally not always involved?

What has Lenny Bongcloud to say about 1. h3?

dueds! you cut off the king's path to the other side man

h3 is an opening my coach use to thrash all his students. A wonderful choice of opening. He follows up by 2.h4

I prefer 1.h4+-

11. If you castle O-O it provides luft for the king.

12.  It prevents all Bxh2 captures and sacrifices.

Could u post a few games when u played 1. h3

sure

this is my recent blitz game with 1.h3!

 1. h3! e5 2. e4 Nf6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Bc4 c6 5. Nf3 Bxc3 6.

dxc3 O-O 7. Bg5 h6 8. h4 hxg5 9. hxg5 Nxe4 10. g6 d5 11. Nxe5 Qg5 12. Bxd5 Qxe5

13. Bxf7+ Rxf7 14. Qd8+ Rf8 15. Rh8+ Kxh8 16. Qxf8# 1-0

don't believe what your engine says after 1.h3

it just dosen't understand the power of the move

one more game at standard time controls

1. h3!! d5 2. Nf3 c5 3. g3 Nc6 4. Bg2 e5 5. d3 Nf6 6. O-O Be7

7. e4 O-O 8. Nc3 d4 9. Ne2 Ne8 10. Nd2 Be6 11. f4 f6 12. f5 Bf7 13. g4 Nd6 14.

Nf3 c4 15. Ng3 Rc8 16. Rf2 Rc7 17. Bf1 cxd3 18. cxd3 Qd7 19. g5 Rfc8 20. g6

hxg6 21. fxg6 Bxg6 22. Nh4 Bh7 23. Be2 Nb8 24. Bd2 Qe8 25. Bg4 Nd7 26. Be6+ Kh8

27. Qg4 Bf8 28. Raf1 Rd8 29. b4 a5 30. a3 axb4 31. axb4 Rc2 32. Rg2 Nb6 33. Nh5

Rc7 34. Bh6 Qe7 35. Nxg7 Bxg7 36. Bxg7+ Qxg7 37. Qh5 Qxg2+ 38. Kxg2 Rg7+ 39.

Kh1 Ne8 40. Nf5 Rg6 41. Bf7 Rg5 42. Qh6 Nd7 43. h4 Rg4 44. Rg1 Rxg1+ 45. Kxg1

Rc8 46. Bxe8 Rxe8 47. Qg7# 1-0

1.h3 takes your opponent out of colors-reversed Bongcloud book!

It's also a great move for kids, whose arms are too short to reach the center of the board.

i just now played this game in a 3min game on playchess as black

this is just to provide some encouragement for h-pawn opening players.with which the game plan becomes simple.just move ur h-pawn far enough so that u need not worry abt a open file for ur rook and also u need not worry about which side to castle .

All of the games you have posted have had not good opponets i noticed

Right. After all, it's important that we don't discriminate against people who open with the h-pawn. This is an equal-opportunity website. Instead of discouraging them, we should increase awareness of this move, which will also help improve h-pawn-openers' self-esteem.

@billyjoe3125

probably u didn't notice the quality of the 2nd game.

actually i created the exact masterpiece which was created my nadjorf first in 1953 against taimanov.[with colours reversed] 

The h-pawn was weak at first, defended only by the h-Rook. However, as the great Nimzovich taught us, overprotection is the key to victory, and the pawn is defended four times on h3.

@tonydal

excellent analysis!!

i only thing i didn't like in ur post was the name of the opening.i thing it deserves a better name.

but i strongly believe that most of the variations will be named after me after few years when i will use it successfully use it world championships.

did anyone read pafu's opening systems[the beginner's game,the centre game and the defense game]??what do you people think of those systems? i  think we need to study them closely as the present opening theory seems to be infinite