By playing 1...b6, Black prepares to fianchetto the queen's bishop where it will participate in the battle for the centre. The downside of this plan is that White can occupy the centre with pawns and gain a spatial advantage. Moreover, 1...b6 does not prepare kingsidecastling as 1...g6 does, and it is harder for Black to augment their pressure against the centre with ...f5, which weakens the kingside, than it is to play the corresponding move ...c5 after 1...g6.[2] Owen's Defence accordingly has a dubious reputation.[3][4][5]
The first master strength player to employ 1.e4 b6 on a regular basis was the 19th-century vicar and strong amateur chess player John Owen,[1] after whom the opening is named. Owen seems to have used 1.e4 b6 as his main defence for the majority of his career, including in two games against Paul Morphy in 1858 (scoring one win[6] and one loss.[7])
The theory of Owen's Defence is less developed than that of other openings. This makes it attractive to some players, since their opponents will often be ill-prepared for it and hence forced to think for themselves.[2]GMChristian Bauer observes:[9]
To be honest, I don't think Black can equalise as quickly with 1...b6 as he sometimes does in standard openings, and he may suffer against a well-prepared opponent. Then again, the well-prepared opponent is rare for such marginal variations as 1...b6, and in any case, with reasonable play I'm sure White can't get more than a slight advantage from the opening – a risk everyone is running as Black, aren't they?
According to MCO-15, after 2. d4 Bb7 White gets the advantage with either:
3. Bd3 e6 4. Nf3 c5 5. c3 Nf6 (5...cxd4 6.cxd4 Bb4+ 7.Nc3 Nf6 8.Qe2 d5 9.e5 Ne4 10.0-0!? Bxc3 11.bxc3 Nxc3 12.Qe3 Nc6 13.Bb2 Ne4 14.Ba3 and White had a large advantage in Adams–Vanderwaeren, Moscow Olympiad 1994) 6. Nbd2 Nc6 7. a3! d5 8. e5 Nfd7 9. b4 Be7 10. 0-0 0-0 11. Re1 "with a clear plus", or
Black may also be able to transpose into forms of the Hippopotamus Defence, by playing ...g6 and ...Bg7, attaining a double fianchetto formation. This approach was used by GM Boris Spassky in games 12 and 16 of his 1966 World Championship match against the then World Champion Tigran Petrosian; Spassky drew both games. It had been developed and played by the Slovakian International MasterMaximilian Ujtelky a few years before this.
Illustrative games
Speelman vs. Basman, 1984
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Final position after 20.Rge3
Speelman vs. Basman, British Championship 1984: 1. e4 e6 2. Nc3 b6 3. d4 Bb7transposing to a position more commonly reached by 1.e4 b6 2.d4 Bb7 3.Nc3 e6. 4. Bd3 Nf6 5. Nge2 c5 6. d5! a6 6...exd5 7.exd5 Nxd5 8.Nxd5 Bxd5 9.Nf4 Bc6 (9...Be6? 10.Be4 wins; 9...Qe7+!?)[11] 10.Bc4! "gives White strong pressure".[12]7. a4 exd5 8. exd5 Nxd5 9. Nxd5 Bxd5 10. Nf4 Be6 11. Be4 Ra7 12. 0-0 Be7Watson and Schiller also give 12...g6 13.a5! as favoring White after 13...bxa5 14.Bd2 or 13...b5 14.Be3 d6 15.b4 Be7 16.Nxe6 fxe6 17.Qg4 Qc8 18.bxc5 dxc5 19.Bh6, intending Rad1, Rfe1, and h4–h5 "with great pressure for just a pawn".[13]13. Ra3 0-0 14. Rg3 f5 15. Bd5 Rf6? Better is 15...Bxd5!? 16.Qxd5+ Rf7 17.Nh5 with a strong attack.[11]16. Re1 Bxd5 17. Qxd5+ Rf7 18. Nh5 g6 19. Bh6 Nc6 20. Rge3 (see diagram) 1–0[14] White threatens both 21.Rxe7! Nxe7 22.Nf6+ Kh8 23.Qxf7 and 21.Nf6+! Bxf6 (21...Kh8 22.Qxf7) 22.Re8+. On 20...gxh5, 21.Rg3+ wins; 20...Bf8 21.Re8 gxh5 23.Bxf8!; 20...Ra8 21.Rxe7! Nxe7 and now either 22.Rxe7 Qxe7 23.Qxa8+ or 22.Nf6+ Kh8 23.Qxf7 wins.[11]
Bibliography
Bauer, Christian. Play 1...b6 (Everyman Chess, 2005).
Coles, Nevil. Owen's Defence, chapter 19 (pp112-120) in the 1977 & 1978 impressions of Nimzowitsch/Larsen Attack by Keene, R. (Batsford, 1977). Absent from subsequent reprints.
Gawehns, Klaus. Theorie und Praxis: Owen-Verteidigung (Part I in Kaissiber 30, pp20-42, Part II in Kaissiber 32, pp45-61, both 2008, ISBNs 4194305406103/80030 & 4194305406103/80032).
Lakdawala, Cyrus. 1...b6: Move by Move (Everyman Chess, 2014).
Odessky, Ilya. 'Winning quickly with 1.b3 and 1...b6 (New In Chess, 2020).
Trent, Lawrence. 1...b6 Against Everything (Chessable.com, 2021).
^Owen's Defence "enjoyed a brief revival at the hands of American IM Regan and Yugoslav GMSahović. Unfortunately, the attention it received unearthed more accurate lines for White and it is currently considered insufficient." Garry Kasparov and Raymond Keene, Batsford Chess Openings 2, Collier Books, 1989, p. 228. ISBN0-02-033991-7.
^Speelman–Basman, British Championship 1984. ChessGames.com. Retrieved on 2009-07-15.
External links
The Wikibook Chess Opening Theory has a page on the topic of: Owen's Defence
Marcin Maciaga,
August 22, 2023
owen, defence, also, known, queen, fianchetto, defence, uncommon, chess, opening, defined, moves, abcdefgh8877665544332211abcdefghmoves1, b6ecob00origin1619named, afterrev, john, owenparentking, pawn, openingsynonym, queen, fianchetto, defence, b6by, playing, . Owen s Defence also known as the Queen s Fianchetto Defence 1 is an uncommon chess opening defined by the moves Owen s Defenceabcdefgh8877665544332211abcdefghMoves1 e4 b6ECOB00Origin1619Named afterRev John OwenParentKing s Pawn OpeningSynonym s Queen s Fianchetto Defence 1 e4 b6By playing 1 b6 Black prepares to fianchetto the queen s bishop where it will participate in the battle for the centre The downside of this plan is that White can occupy the centre with pawns and gain a spatial advantage Moreover 1 b6 does not prepare kingside castling as 1 g6 does and it is harder for Black to augment their pressure against the centre with f5 which weakens the kingside than it is to play the corresponding move c5 after 1 g6 2 Owen s Defence accordingly has a dubious reputation 3 4 5 Owen s Defence is classified as code B00 by the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings Contents 1 History 2 Theory 3 Illustrative games 4 Bibliography 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksThis article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves History EditThe first master strength player to employ 1 e4 b6 on a regular basis was the 19th century vicar and strong amateur chess player John Owen 1 after whom the opening is named Owen seems to have used 1 e4 b6 as his main defence for the majority of his career including in two games against Paul Morphy in 1858 scoring one win 6 and one loss 7 In 1889 Owen s Defence was played seven times by Isidor Gunsberg at the US Chess Congress scoring 4 2 1 but the opening was otherwise a very rare visitor in master level chess until the 1970s when it was adopted by freethinkers such as Bent Larsen and Michael Basman In more recent times Owen s Defence has been played with some regularity by grandmasters Pavel Blatny Artashes Minasian Nona Gaprindashvili Tony Miles Edvins kengis and Normunds Miezis and by International Masters Bauer Bricard and Filipovic 8 The opening remains rare but has enjoyed a certain amount of popularity in top level online blitz tournaments including in games by Alireza Firouzja Magnus Carlsen Hikaru Nakamura Ian Nepomniachtchi and Teimour Radjabov Theory EditThe theory of Owen s Defence is less developed than that of other openings This makes it attractive to some players since their opponents will often be ill prepared for it and hence forced to think for themselves 2 GM Christian Bauer observes 9 To be honest I don t think Black can equalise as quickly with 1 b6 as he sometimes does in standard openings and he may suffer against a well prepared opponent Then again the well prepared opponent is rare for such marginal variations as 1 b6 and in any case with reasonable play I m sure White can t get more than a slight advantage from the opening a risk everyone is running as Black aren t they According to MCO 15 after 2 d4 Bb7 White gets the advantage with either 3 Bd3 e6 4 Nf3 c5 5 c3 Nf6 5 cxd4 6 cxd4 Bb4 7 Nc3 Nf6 8 Qe2 d5 9 e5 Ne4 10 0 0 Bxc3 11 bxc3 Nxc3 12 Qe3 Nc6 13 Bb2 Ne4 14 Ba3 and White had a large advantage in Adams Vanderwaeren Moscow Olympiad 1994 6 Nbd2 Nc6 7 a3 d5 8 e5 Nfd7 9 b4 Be7 10 0 0 0 0 11 Re1 with a clear plus or 3 Nc3 e6 4 Nf3 Bb4 5 Bd3 Nf6 6 Bg5 h6 7 Bxf6 Bxc3 8 bxc3 Qxf6 9 0 0 d6 10 Nd2 e5 11 f4 Qe7 12 Qg4 as in David Bauer France 2005 10 Black may also be able to transpose into forms of the Hippopotamus Defence by playing g6 and Bg7 attaining a double fianchetto formation This approach was used by GM Boris Spassky in games 12 and 16 of his 1966 World Championship match against the then World Champion Tigran Petrosian Spassky drew both games It had been developed and played by the Slovakian International Master Maximilian Ujtelky a few years before this Illustrative games EditSpeelman vs Basman 1984abcdefgh8 877665544332211abcdefghFinal position after 20 Rge3 Speelman vs Basman British Championship 1984 1 e4 e6 2 Nc3 b6 3 d4 Bb7 transposing to a position more commonly reached by 1 e4 b6 2 d4 Bb7 3 Nc3 e6 4 Bd3 Nf6 5 Nge2 c5 6 d5 a6 6 exd5 7 exd5 Nxd5 8 Nxd5 Bxd5 9 Nf4 Bc6 9 Be6 10 Be4 wins 9 Qe7 11 10 Bc4 gives White strong pressure 12 7 a4 exd5 8 exd5 Nxd5 9 Nxd5 Bxd5 10 Nf4 Be6 11 Be4 Ra7 12 0 0 Be7 Watson and Schiller also give 12 g6 13 a5 as favoring White after 13 bxa5 14 Bd2 or 13 b5 14 Be3 d6 15 b4 Be7 16 Nxe6 fxe6 17 Qg4 Qc8 18 bxc5 dxc5 19 Bh6 intending Rad1 Rfe1 and h4 h5 with great pressure for just a pawn 13 13 Ra3 0 0 14 Rg3 f5 15 Bd5 Rf6 Better is 15 Bxd5 16 Qxd5 Rf7 17 Nh5 with a strong attack 11 16 Re1 Bxd5 17 Qxd5 Rf7 18 Nh5 g6 19 Bh6 Nc6 20 Rge3 see diagram 1 0 14 White threatens both 21 Rxe7 Nxe7 22 Nf6 Kh8 23 Qxf7 and 21 Nf6 Bxf6 21 Kh8 22 Qxf7 22 Re8 On 20 gxh5 21 Rg3 wins 20 Bf8 21 Re8 gxh5 23 Bxf8 20 Ra8 21 Rxe7 Nxe7 and now either 22 Rxe7 Qxe7 23 Qxa8 or 22 Nf6 Kh8 23 Qxf7 wins 11 Bibliography EditBauer Christian Play 1 b6 Everyman Chess 2005 Coles Nevil Owen s Defence chapter 19 pp112 120 in the 1977 amp 1978 impressions of Nimzowitsch Larsen Attack by Keene R Batsford 1977 Absent from subsequent reprints Gawehns Klaus Theorie und Praxis Owen Verteidigung Part I in Kaissiber 30 pp20 42 Part II in Kaissiber 32 pp45 61 both 2008 ISBNs 4194305406103 80030 amp 4194305406103 80032 Lakdawala Cyrus 1 b6 Move by Move Everyman Chess 2014 Odessky Ilya Winning quickly with 1 b3 and 1 b6 New In Chess 2020 Trent Lawrence 1 b6 Against Everything Chessable com 2021 See also EditList of chess openings List of chess openings named after peopleReferences Edit a b David Hooper and Kenneth Whyld The Oxford Companion to Chess 2nd ed 1992 p 286 ISBN 0 19 866164 9 a b Christian Bauer Play 1 b6 Everyman Chess 2005 p 5 ISBN 1 85744 410 8 Owen s Defence enjoyed a brief revival at the hands of American IM Regan and Yugoslav GM Sahovic Unfortunately the attention it received unearthed more accurate lines for White and it is currently considered insufficient Garry Kasparov and Raymond Keene Batsford Chess Openings 2 Collier Books 1989 p 228 ISBN 0 02 033991 7 Owen s Defence is viewed by theory as unreliable Nick de Firmian Modern Chess Openings 15th edition Random House Puzzles amp Games 2008 p 385 ISBN 978 0 8129 3682 7 Owen s Defence is regarded by current theory as suspicious Bauer 2005 p 7 Paul Morphy vs John Owen London m2 1858 ChessGames com Retrieved on 2011 08 29 Paul Morphy vs John Owen London m2 1858 ChessGames com Retrieved on 2013 12 12 Bauer 2005 p 6 Bauer 2005 p 7 de Firmian 2008 p 385 a b c Speelman s annotations in Chess Informant Volume 38 Sahovski Informator 1985 p 74 Watson amp Schiller 1995 p 111 Watson amp Schiller 1995 p 114 Speelman Basman British Championship 1984 ChessGames com Retrieved on 2009 07 15 External links Edit The Wikibook Chess Opening Theory has a page on the topic of Owen s Defence Marcin Maciaga Flexible System of Defensive Play for Black 1 b6 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Owen 27s Defence amp oldid 1167524796 Matovinsky Gambit, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
