What is the disadvantage of the move 3. ..h6 in the Queen's Gambit Declined? One of my opponents keep playing 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 h6!? against me. Thus avoiding the main lines of the Queen's Gambit Declined that start after the normal 3) ..Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. Nc3 etc.

Is there any disadvantage of the move 3) ..h6 that White may try to exploit? And if 3) ..h6 was a playable move for Black then why it is so seldom played?

I had a look at my database and I found a meager 32 games starting with 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 h6, those are played by the lower rated players only. For the part of comparison, the Albin-Counter Gambit I have found are 100x games. Surely there must be a reason why it is so seldom played?

I understand that Black should try to develop the pieces in the opening firstly and 3) ..h6 doesn't look so terrible active, but on the other hand, the position is quite closed and after e.g. 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Bf4 (I do not want to shut the Bishop with 5. e3) 5 .. Bd6!?, now the Black catches up in development and has a very solid position. What would you play instead?



[FEN ""]
1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 h6!?
I suspect that a good try for white here is to go into Colle-Zukertort system: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colle_System#Colle.E2.80.93Zukertort_System

Then 3...h6 is not only a tempo loss, but also a unpleasant weakness of the king side.