The Rook Lift!

Originally posted by Doctor Rat
The theme of the Rh3 lift in the French Classical should come as no surprise, for example, both Anand-Shirov, Tehran 2000 and Sakaev-Bareev, Elista 1998 followed 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.Nce2 c5 6.f4 Nc6 7.c3 Qb6 8.Nf3 f6 9.a3 Be7 10.h4 0-0 11.Rh3.

But what was it for? it seems like an engine move.

Originally posted by tomtom232
But what was it for? it seems like an engine move.

It doesn't seem like an engine move at all, especially since there isn't any direct tactical payoff. So, in answer to "What is it for?" it develops the rook. With a locked center, White can try to keep his king in the middle where it will be relatively safe, all the while trying to create chances down the kingside files. This means White would like to find a way to get his h1-rook into the game if he is going to avoid kingside castling. Lifting the rook allows for a slide to g3 and pressure down the g-file, and it also clears the h1-square for occupation by another heavy piece. The white h-pawn can continue to be pushed, and if Black isn't careful, White's knights can be very mobile and set themselves up for sacrifices against Black's kingside pawn chain to blow the position up.

Why do you think Rh3 is an engine move, even after being shown that Anand played it in the FIDE Knockout tournament in Tehran?

Originally posted by Doctor Rat
It doesn't seem like an engine move at all, especially since there isn't any direct tactical payoff. So, in answer to "What is it for?" it develops the rook. With a locked center, White can try to keep his king in the middle where it will be relatively safe, all the while trying to create chances down the kingside files. This means White would like to fin e, even after being shown that Anand played it in the FIDE Knockout tournament in Tehran?

ih8sens was banned for engine use, That's his basis. I have stated in another thread that I found nothing suspicious in that game, and that the rook lift is indeed common in many french lines, though I most often see it when I play the McCutcheon.

The only thing that did suprise me was that he followed Rh3 up with Ng3 when I expected Rg3.

In the end, I trust the game mods to do their job, and since I'm more interested in playing chess than second guessing people who commit tons of time to this site, I'll leave it at that.