Strange Castle Setup

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Avatar of 01G3M

When analyzing chess games, I often see this odd-looking setup:

 

 

Can anyone explain me the idea behind this, or are the players gone mad?

Avatar of SmithyQ

Playing g3 and Bg2 puts the Bishop on the long diagonal.  The Bishop is a good defender for the King.  White’s plan often includes advancing the f-pawn at some stage.

If Black has a Bishop on c5 (or anywhere on the a7-g1 diagonal), then the f-pawn is pinned and can’t move.  Moving the King breaks the pin.  Even if there is no pin, moving the f-pawn will always give Black a potential check later, so moving the King off the diagonal is a useful prophylactic move.

A downside to the Bishop being on g2 is that it cannot break a Bg4 pin of a Knight on f3.  As such, playing h3 to keep a piece off of g4 is very useful.  If Black has his own Bishop on e6 and then Queen on d7, it forms a battery against h3.  The pawn would then be hanging.

By playing Kh2, then, White safeguards the pawn while preparing a safe advance of his own f-pawn.  That is it in a nutshell.