John Owen (8 April 1827 – 24 November 1901) was an Englishvicar and amateur chess master. He ranked among the world's top ten chess players for certain periods of the 1860s.[1] He was a major figure in English chess from the mid 1850s to the 1890s.
In 1858 he won a chess game against the young American master Paul Morphy, the world's best player, who was then touring Europe. This led to a match between the two. Despite being given odds of pawn and the move (meaning he started the game with an extra pawn and always moved first), Owen lost the match 6–1, never winning a game.
His performance in the very strong 1862 London tournament, the first international round-robin event (in which each participant plays every other) was more impressive. He finished third, ahead of future world champion Wilhelm Steinitz, and was the only player to win against the eventual tournament winner, Adolf Anderssen. Louis Paulsen placed second. This result was arguably Owen's top lifetime chess achievement.
Owen continued to play frequently and often successfully in British tournaments into the 1890s, and performed strongly in several matches against top British players, who were essentially chess professionals. He never competed outside the British Isles. He died in Twickenham.
Owen is the eponym of Owen's Defence, a chess opening characterised by the moves 1.e4 b6. Owen was the first strong player to play this frequently, including in his victory over Morphy.
john, owen, chess, player, other, people, named, john, owen, john, owen, disambiguation, john, owen, april, 1827, november, 1901, english, vicar, amateur, chess, master, ranked, among, world, chess, players, certain, periods, 1860s, major, figure, english, che. For other people named John Owen see John Owen disambiguation John Owen 8 April 1827 24 November 1901 was an English vicar and amateur chess master He ranked among the world s top ten chess players for certain periods of the 1860s 1 He was a major figure in English chess from the mid 1850s to the 1890s Contents 1 Biography 2 Legacy 3 References 4 External linksBiography editOwen was born in Marchington and obtained his early schooling at Repton School Derbyshire In 1850 he graduated from Trinity College Cambridge and received his M A from Cambridge three years later 2 He was ordained by the Church of England in 1851 and served as Vicar of Hooton Cheshire from 1862 to his retirement in 1900 3 In 1858 he won a chess game against the young American master Paul Morphy the world s best player who was then touring Europe This led to a match between the two Despite being given odds of pawn and the move meaning he started the game with an extra pawn and always moved first Owen lost the match 6 1 never winning a game His performance in the very strong 1862 London tournament the first international round robin event in which each participant plays every other was more impressive He finished third ahead of future world champion Wilhelm Steinitz and was the only player to win against the eventual tournament winner Adolf Anderssen Louis Paulsen placed second This result was arguably Owen s top lifetime chess achievement Owen continued to play frequently and often successfully in British tournaments into the 1890s and performed strongly in several matches against top British players who were essentially chess professionals He never competed outside the British Isles He died in Twickenham Legacy editThis section uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves Owen is the eponym of Owen s Defence a chess opening characterised by the moves 1 e4 b6 Owen was the first strong player to play this frequently including in his victory over Morphy References edit chessmetrics com the John Owen events file British Chess Magazine 1893 p 75 chessgames com the John Owen player fileExternal links editChess games of John Owen Biography by Stephen Mann using archive information Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Owen chess player amp oldid 1171272021, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
