Skip to content
TheChessWorld.com
TheChessWorld Facebook TheChessWorld Twitter TheChessWorld Pinterest TheChessWorld YouTube
  • Start Here
  • Play
  • Learn
    • Training Techniques
    • Openings
    • Middlegame
    • Endgames
    • General Information
  • Tournaments
  • Academy
  • 21-Day Course
  • Store
    • TheChessWorld
    • TCW Academy
    • Chess-Teacher
    • Modern Chess
    • Roman Chess Lab
    • Foxy Chess
    • Grandmaster Magazine
    • ChessLecture
    • ICC
    • Rules Chess Strategies
    • Others
  • Contact
TheChessWorld.com
Close

Owen’s Defense: 10 Reasons to Play It

FM Zaur Tekeyev
FM Zaur Tekeyev
05.28.2021
Category: Openings
Tags: bishop, central pawns, Christian Bauer, Dmitry Andreikin, English Defense, FM Zaur Tekeyev, Hikaru Nakamura, magnus carlsen, openings, Owen’s Defense, The Queen’s Indian Defense

Owen’s Defense starts with the moves 1.e4 b6 or 1.e4 e6 2.d4 b6 when Black is going to fianchetto the light-squared bishop. This is a bit slow and allows White to occupy the center but Black is hoping to attack it later with pieces and pawns. This system is not going to equalize any quickly, but people usually don’t play it to make a draw. This is the way to unbalance the game and outplay the opponent in the less-known positions.

The same setup can be played against the other White’s first moves as well; in that case, it would be called the English Defense. These openings can transpose one into the other, so in this article, we will call these openings Owen’s Defense to keep it simple.

Owen's Defense

Keep reading if you are looking for a universal opening: here are 10 reasons why you should play it.

 1.  Owen’s Defense Allows Playing for a Win

This opening often leads to asymmetrical pawn structures and creates some strategic imbalances that create chances to play for a win.

There are also no simple lines that lead to a perpetual check or allow drying the position out. That makes it a good opening choice in a must-win situation.

2.  Surprise weapon

It is not a very common opening so most likely your opponents will not be ready to meet it. This will take them out of their comfort zone and increase their chances to go wrong. It should work especially well against those players who just memorized main openings but haven’t got positional or strategic understanding.

3.  Owen’s Defense is Memory Friendly

It is not an opening where you have to learn everything by heart. Here understanding and experience will play a more important role. Learn typical plans and ideas and use them to outplay your opponents.

4.  Play the Same Setup against Everything with Owen’s Defense

You can play 1…b6 basically against everything. Only 1.g3 looks preventing it but it is rare and doesn’t cause much trouble anyways.

Against closed openings, this defense works even better than against 1.e4, although it is mostly a matter of taste.

5.  Owen’s Defense Allows Active Piece Play

In this opening, Black fights for the control of the key e4-square as hard as possible.

They put pressure on White’s center by the bishop from b7, the knight from f6; sometimes the dark-squared bishop pins the c3-knight from b4. Such an active piece play often creates tactical possibilities.

6.  A lot of pawn breaks

Black can also break White’s center with pawns: …c7-c5, …d7-d5, or even …f7-f5 pushes are at Black’s disposal. This is a great feature because it means that you will always be able to find what to do in this opening.

7.  Owen’s Defense Allows Seizing the initiative if White Overextends

This is a common scenario in chess when one side allows taking the center and the second side decides to occupy it with all the central pawns.

If White puts more than two pawns in the center against our opening (which is tempting!), we get a lot of ideas on how to punish them quickly.

8.  Owen’s Defense is Similar to Other Openings

The experience and knowledge of Owen’s Defense will help you in a lot of openings.

The Queen’s Indian Defense, the English Opening, the French Defense, the Larsen’s Opening are only some of them.

9.  Owen’s Defense Played by Many Grandmasters

Usually, grandmasters play more mainstream openings but they use the Owen’s Defense from time to time.

The most notable recent example is when Magnus Carlsen employed it to defeat another top grandmaster Pavel Eljanov. It was also many times played by Hikaru Nakamura, Dmitry Andreikin, Christian Bauer, and others.

10.  In Owen’s Defense there is Room for Creativity

With 1…b6 you leave the trodden paths quite early. There are many advantages of this: lots of fresh ideas yet to be found, no fear of losing to your opponent’s good memory, and just a joy of playing pure human chess!

Ready to include 1…b6 into your repertoire?

IM Bryan Solano Cuya is here to give away his brand-new Play 1…b6! — a 4.5+ hour video-based training where the first segment focuses on the analyses of different lines in this opening and the second segment covers real-life games in 10 modules.

https://thechessworld.com/store/product/play-1-b6-with-im-bryan-solano-cuya/

Find this post useful? Share it?
Become a Chess Player You've Meant to Be!
TCW Academy is the fast, fun & convenient way to become a MUCH better chess player.
Join Academy Today!

Related Posts

  • Owen’s Defense: Complete GuideOwen’s Defense: Complete Guide
  • Unleashing the Rossolimo Attack with FM Zaur Tekeyev [TCW Academy]Unleashing the Rossolimo Attack with FM Zaur Tekeyev [TCW Academy]
  • Petroff Defense: Complete GuidePetroff Defense: Complete Guide
Related Products
0 0 votes
Article Rating
Login
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Join the FREE Road to 2200 Masterclass (and learn how to Attack Like a Chess Master)
We value your privacy
Supercharge Your Chess in 21 Days!
Join Academy Today!
TheChessWorld.com
http://pogonina.com/
Company
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • F.A.Q.
  • Partnership
  • Blog
  • Grandmasters
  • Jobs
Chess Resources
  • TCW Academy
  • The Store
  • 21 Day Course
  • Play Computer
Top Resources
  • Opening Lab
  • Mastermind
  • Chess Mastery Series
  • Academy
100% Secure Purchase
Money Back PayPal SSL Comodo
Customer Support +1 (410) 656-9104
Email Us [email protected]
Contact Us
Facebook Twitter Mail Pinterest Youtube
Copyright 2007-2023 • TheChessWorld.com • All Rights Reserved
Cookie Policy | Acceptable Use Policy | Privacy Policy | Terms and Conditions
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of all the cookies.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT
wpDiscuz