This is a Slow Italian / Giuoco Pianissimo structure. White has chosen the modern slow plan: build the position so that d3–d4 becomes favorable later.
The point of the position
White does not want to play d4 merely because it is legal. White wants to prepare it until opening the center improves the pieces instead of creating a target.
- supports the future break.
- protects e4 before the center opens.
- is a transit square for Nf1–g3 or Nf1–e3.
- keeps pressure along the a2–g8 diagonal.
The detail that changes the plan
Black’s bishop has already retreated to . If it were still on c5, d4 could arrive with tempo by attacking the bishop. Here, the break is less forcing, so White usually improves the pieces first with h3, Nf1, Ng3 or Ne3, Be3, and Qe2.
What White is really asking
Can I improve my pieces faster than Black can arrange ...d5 or useful exchanges?
That is what makes the position more than a sequence of moves. The familiar plan remains—but one small change determines how urgently it should be played.