One bump only. I'd like an answer from a chess expert now, please. I'm too lazy right now to read one of my 45 chess books or even try google. 
When to play Kh1?
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Jun 26, 2010
0
#2
I'm no chess experct but I don't think you can't just say definitively when to (or not) play Kh1, because it's a matter of how the game is going...even if Black still has his ls-Bishop, if it is not trained on the a8-h1 diagonal or the position is closed in the center, then Kh1 is a possibility. Sometimes Kh1 and Rg1 to get something going on the kingside to attack the enemy King on g8...or maybe to open the g1 square for a piece (like a Knight) to play f4 or get the Bishop or Queen to the kingside...I guess I'm saying that there are a lot of different reasons to play Kh1.
Jun 26, 2010
0
#4
AnthonyCG wrote:
It's usually some prophylactic thing.
If you think your king is on a dangerous diagonal then move him out of the way.
That's it;
So it's seldom a worry about a check from Black's knight, but mostly Black's queen and dark squared bishop attacking g1? A queen-bishop battery on the a7-g1 diagonal would be quite unpleasant for White. Thanks.
@ Hammerschlag - Kg1-h1, Rf1-g1 - attacking Black's king on g8. Opening the g1 square for the knight to relocate to f4. Excellent ideas. Something to explore. Thank you.
Jun 26, 2010
0
#5
AnthonyCG wrote:
You can find examples in the sicilian dragon yugoslav attack when White plays Kb1 and what happens when he doesn't. Not pretty;
I forgot all about the long castle. I've always played Kb1 instinctively after long castling. The king looks misplaced at c1, as it only protects two of the three pawns that form the pawn cover.
Wiki -
Yugoslav attack with 9.0-0-0
After years of believing White's best play and chance for advantage lay in the main line with 9.Bc4, this older main line made a major comeback. White omits Bc4 in order to speed up the attack. It used to be thought that allowing 9... d5!? here allows Black to equalize easily but further analysis and play have proved that things are not so clear cut. In fact, recently Black experienced a time of difficulty in the 9... d5 line facing a brilliant idea by Ivanchuck which seemed to give White the advantage. In fact some Black players began experimenting with 9... Bd7 and 9... Nxd4. Fortunately for Black, the 9... d5 line has been doing better in practice. A brilliancy found for White one day is soon enough overturned by some new resource for Black. A case in point is the following line where the evaluation of a major line was turned upside down overnight because of an ingenious queen sacrifice played by GM Mikhail Golubev, an expert on the Dragon Variation. After Qxd1 Be6!, Black has sufficient compensation for the queen.
Of course it prevents tactics on the a7-g1 diagonal, so if you have nothing more urgent to do, it may make for a useful waiting move if you see any chance of there maybe being some tactical idea there in the future (maybe the bishop is on c5, ot could come there, whatever). It's wise to prevent tactics from the opponent when you have the time. Of course, there are some positions where the king may indeed be better on g1, defending more squares, and it could be a position where those tactics on the diagonal could never really come alive.
To get a feel for Kh1 and when/why to play it look at some najdorf sicilians in which white plays 6 Be2 . Karpov's and Geller's games come to mind immediately as great examples to examine. The move f4 is usually a part of whites plan in these lines and the WK is almost always better placed on h1 in the positions that arise. Whats interesting is that sometimes Kh1 is played before f4 and sometimes only after.
Jun 26, 2010
0
#8
Reb wrote:
To get a feel for Kh1 and when/why to play it look at some najdorf sicilians in which white plays 6 Be2 . Karpov's and Geller's games come to mind immediately as great examples to examine. The move f4 is usually a part of whites plan in these lines and the WK is almost always better placed on h1 in the positions that arise. Whats interesting is that sometimes Kh1 is played before f4 and sometimes only after.
I'll study 6.Be2 and the move f4. Thanks for the tip!
@ Elubas - King saftey does come first. Keeping an eye on the a7-g1 diagonal needs to happen. Thank you!
Usually I'll do it to avoid an incoming check, thats if there's nothing else more threatening going on. That, or maybe as a holding move in tight situations.
Seems like there is a lot of ways you might consider Kh1. I suppose the answer lies in finding out when not to play Kh1.
I normally only play Kh1 if I use my f-pawn to start an attack opening up my king.
However, When I castle queenside I often consider the move Kb1 a natural part of my developement simply because I don't want to be embarrassed by my opponent playing his queen in, checking my king, and forking off a couple pieces by doing so....
allewyn wrote:
@AnthonyCG
I'm not sure why anyone would play Kh1 unless it was absolutely necessary. AS with other chess moves, it's a matter of timing as to when one plays any certain move. If one feels his king is soon to be threatened on g1, either by the center being opened or by direct attack, moving it must be considered. Also it can be moved to h1 if there is an idea to open the g-file for a rook. Many reasons for and against moving a king. Kh1 is almost always a defensive move so isn't played much by tactical players unless it's part of a bongcloud manuever.
wow, I would not normally call BS on someone rated that much higher than me, but that is just bunk.
"Kh1 is almost always a defensive move so isn't played much by tactical players"
So, tactical players are not allowed to play defense? Defense IS tactics. King safety is tactic #1.
Agree with: AnthonyCG / Archaic71
Disagree with: allewyn
But seriously, Kh1 is book in multiple opening lines, meaning all different manner of GMs have played/play it. The question isn't whether it's good or not, but why (or possibly when) it's good (basically already answered above).
AnthonyCG wrote:
allewyn wrote:
@AnthonyCG
I'm not sure why anyone would play Kh1 unless it was absolutely necessary. AS with other chess moves, it's a matter of timing as to when one plays any certain move. If one feels his king is soon to be threatened on g1, either by the center being opened or by direct attack, moving it must be considered. Also it can be moved to h1 if there is an idea to open the g-file for a rook. Many reasons for and against moving a king. Kh1 is almost always a defensive move so isn't played much by tactical players unless it's part of a bongcloud manuever.
Sometimes it's simply played as a preventative measure. There may not be an immediate threat but a player will sometimes move the king out of the way if lines are about to open. This is called prophylaxis.
Among more experienced players this gets used a lot more to avoid losing tempo. I'd say once your chess.com rating is around 1700 you become more aware of this measure. The best/most common example of this would probably be....
or maybe....
When is it good to play Kh1? I don't know.
I thought about possible annoying checks/removal of the pawn cover from Black's knight.
Example with Kg1: Nf6-Nh5-Nf4-Nh3+. That's four moves.
Examples with Kh1: Nf6-Nh5-Ng3+ , Nf6-Ng4-Nf2+ , Nf6-Ne4-Ng3+ . It's easier to check White's king at the h1 square.
There's something I'm not getting about the move Kh1. If Black's light square bishop is gone, then White's king saftey could be improved by Kh1, but it would be at the expense of protecting the pawn/square at f2.
I'm clearly missing something here.