A:Answer Basically, yes. If the front face is flush with the front plane of the adjacent cabinet you will need a several inch open gap to the left, for the "door" to swing open.
Alternatively, if the front of the MW is pushed a few inches more out front of the front plane of the cabinets, then you can mount it flush up against the cabinet, sidewall to sidewall. Haier lists the MW depth as 16.5" and I'm guessing they expect it to be mounted alongside a 12" deep cabinet, which probably would allow the front of the MW to push out forward far enough for the hinge to clear. My cabinets were 15" deep (plus 3/4" for the door), so I had to get creative.
This is not how it is depicted in the installation guide, but it is how it works.
