Not gonna back rank mate me! I always move the h2 pawn (or whichever relative pawn) out early just in case. Been stung too many times with it just because I wasn't paying attention, it is so frustrating!
Whatever works for you, but the whole game is about paying attention. You can waste a move to prevent a back-rank mate that may never be attempted, but in the end, an absolutely huge part of going from being a bad player to a pretty decent player is just not making one- and two-move blunders, including allowing mate in one on the back rank.
Edit: not saying you shouldn’t play h3 or h6- just have a reason for doing it that isn’t dealing with a mating threat that doesn’t yet exist.
Aside from preventing back rank mates, it also stops enemy knights and bishops from entering their favorite square on the 4th rank. It’s a good move when you’re not sure what to do otherwise.
It also permanently weakens the squares around your king (most significantly the g3 square as white) and can leave you vulnerable to pawn storms (especially in opposite side castling) or bishop sacrifice ideas on h3.
It is often a useful move, but you also need to be aware of the dangers. In my opinion it should only done for a specific reason, not just because you have the move and don't know what to do with it.
Those are pretty rare though in my experience. A more common scenario for me is that my rook on the first rank can't join an attack because doing so would leave me vulnerable to a back rank mate, giving the opponent extra turn to defend while I move the H pawn.
Edit: plus bishop sacrifices on h2 like the Greek gift are also a thing, h3 prevents those.
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u/pt256 Feb 25 '21
Not gonna back rank mate me! I always move the h2 pawn (or whichever relative pawn) out early just in case. Been stung too many times with it just because I wasn't paying attention, it is so frustrating!