![]() ![]() ![]() Bd5 Rf6? Better is 15.Bxd5!? 16.Qxd5+ Rf7 17.Nh5 with a strong attack. 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". d4 Bb7 transposing to a position more commonly reached by 1.e4 b6 2.d4 Bb7 3.Nc3 e6. Possibilities offered by Trent include 5.e5 Ba6, which gives an Advance French type structure where Black can swiftly exchange off his bad bishop, and 5.exd Qxd 6.Nc3 Qd8 where the structure might be taken to resemble either an unusual form of Qd8 Scandinavian or a rare type of Exchange French where Black had re-captured with the Queen to keep the pawn structure asymmetrical (i.e. He therefore suggests that Black may be better off exploring the sideline 4…d5. b6/.Bb7.Īccording to IM Lawrence Trent, 4…c5 has ‘generally been almost refuted by cloud engines’. cxd4 (either immediately or in the next few moves) transposing into an unorthodox type of Open Sicilian where Black has played an early. GM John Shaw has suggested that White may fare even better by opting for 5.Nc3 after which Black has little option but to play. 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?Īfter 1.e4 b6 2.d4 Bb7 the mainline has historically been 3.Bd3 e6 4.Nf3 (4.c4 would transpose to the English Defence) c5 5.c3 (see diagram), after which MCO-15 gives clear advantage to White after either:ĥ…Nf6 6.Nbd2 Nc6 7.a3! d5 8.e5 Nfd7 9.b4 Be7 10.0-0 0-0 11.Re1 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. This makes it attractive to some players, since their opponents will often be ill-prepared for it and hence forced to think for themselves. The theory of Owen's Defence is less developed than that of other openings. 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. In more recent times Owen's Defence has been played with some regularity by grandmasters Pavel Blatny, Artashes Minasian, Nona Gaprindashvili, Tony Miles, Edvīns Ķeņģis, and Normunds Miezis, and by International Masters Bauer, Bricard and Filipovic. 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. 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 and one loss. ![]() 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, after whom the opening is named. ![]() The 17th-century writings of Gioachino Greco contain three games featuring 1.e4 b6 2.d4 Bb7. ![]()
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