what was the game
I didn't find the game important because the focus of this thread is that exact position from my post-game analysis, but if you want, here is the entire game. The thread position is a variation 9. Ne2 Be7 10. h3!?
what was the game
I didn't find the game important because the focus of this thread is that exact position from my post-game analysis, but if you want, here is the entire game. The thread position is a variation 9. Ne2 Be7 10. h3!?
oh you bullied him ..wth
my first thought was 'a place for N, h2' especially if white decided to take on e4 followed by fxe4. But toying with engine it turned out that h2 could be also 'a place for B' if black would choose to play g5 threatening white B
h3 ! is a good move (against g5 and Nd7 I think...)..after g5 you should play B.b8 or Be5 Nd7 or Bg3 N.g3 ...but with h3 you can play Bh2..(.I play g3 line against this setup🙂)
h3+g4, usually prepared by Kh1 and Rg1 is a very common idea in these sorts of positions. It's one of white's main ways to get play against the Stonewall.
(Not talking about the exact position, just the general structure)
i have never seen that symbol before and i tried to see if i could get it but doing it said that moving the pawn was a mistake and not.... whatever that symbol means
lol No problem; that is an annotation symbol which means "Interesting Move." I manually added it in. The game report never uses this icon. It only looks at errors like blunders, mistakes, or inaccuracies.
Oh wow, @squid and @GYG I thought h3-g4 was a joke at first, but now I see you were both serious. I've seen these h3-g4 motifs with Kh1-Rg1 before, but admittingly never have seen it in this exact Stonewall formation (more precise; "saw formation" as Kmoch refers to it in Pawn Power In Chess).
h3+g4, usually prepared by Kh1 and Rg1 is a very common idea in these sorts of positions. It's one of white's main ways to get play against the Stonewall.
(Not talking about the exact position, just the general structure)
things are much more concrete here..but i get what you mean..its a general idea..but why is h3 the best here? i think my explanation can be decent but somebody higher rated can come with better lines and concrete variations why h3 might be better than rc1 or qc2 ..
i have never seen that symbol before and i tried to see if i could get it but doing it said that moving the pawn was a mistake and not.... whatever that symbol means
that symbol means its an interesting move...wheras the other way around it means its doubtful
!? interesting move
?! doubtful move
h3+g4, usually prepared by Kh1 and Rg1 is a very common idea in these sorts of positions. It's one of white's main ways to get play against the Stonewall.
(Not talking about the exact position, just the general structure)
things are much more concrete here..but i get what you mean..its a general idea..but why is h3 the best here? i think my explanation can be decent but somebody higher rated can come with better lines and concrete variations why h3 might be better than rc1 or qc2 ..
h3 is just centi-pawns off from Qc2 and Rc1, so I'm more intrigued with possible human plans behind h3. Perhaps an even deeper depth engine analysis will reveal h3 to be 2nd or 3rd best move and not 1st. I could run it deeper, but it isn't really important to me.
It looks like space for the Bishop to retreat to if necessary. However, Stockfish doesn't retreat the Bishop over the following 10 moves. So, it might be just a principled move.
It looks like space for the Bishop to retreat to if necessary. However, Stockfish doesn't retreat the Bishop over the following 10 moves. So, it might be just a principled move.
Yup. Retreat square for Bishop or Knight is what h3 might allow in other situations, but since that didn't appear to be happening soon: this is why I decided to create this thread 
Yup. Retreat square for Bishop or Knight is what h3 might allow in other situations, but since that didn't appear to be happening soon: this is why I decided to create this thread
One of these days Stockfish may have AI capability and explain its reasoning. 
Yup. Retreat square for Bishop or Knight is what h3 might allow in other situations, but since that didn't appear to be happening soon: this is why I decided to create this thread
One of these days Stockfish may have AI capability and explain its reasoning.
Reminds me of these videos lol
That video was fun to watch. Stockfish has a superior attitude. I'd like to see Stockfish develop a more teacher-like persona rather than one so intimidating.
The sad reality is that nobody can understand modern day engines easily. I think that there is nothing to do in the position and it wants a subtle waiting move but I’m sure
That video was fun to watch. Stockfish has a superior attitude. I'd like to see Stockfish develop a more teacher-like persona rather than one so intimidating.
Yeah, that video was from chess.com's official YouTube channel. It is just a robotic animation to imitate Stockfish and uses the same announcer from those Reddit memes and stories xD
It was just a funny video for entertainment, but since then, I've seen several other people create videos using this same Stockfish persona and one person even created a YouTube channel around this theme. I don't watch these things much, but I still find it funny 
When I was analyzing this game of mine, this was a variation which came up. Of course, Rc1 and Qc2 were good alternatives, but Stockfish recommended this curious h3!? move. I'd like some help interpreting its meaning.
I don't really care about a few centi-pawns on whether or not this move is "best", but what I care about is why is this move even a candidate move (and engine approved no less!).
h3 doesn't appear to be creating a luft for the Bishop to retreat to h2 (no threats like ...Nh5 in sight to warrant that) and I don't see h3 securing much kingside space. It also isn't supporting an outpost and I also don't see the importance of controlling the g4 square with this pawn.
There must be some "secret" behind this move, but what is the purpose of h3 here? I ran a few engine variations, but couldn't decipher the positive significance of this pawn move.