Owen's Defence
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| Moves | 1.e4 b6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| ECO | B00 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Origin | 1619 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Named after | Rev. John Owen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parent | King's Pawn Opening | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Synonym(s) | Queen's Fianchetto Defence | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Owen's Defence (also known as the Queen's Fianchetto Defence) is an uncommon chess opening defined by the moves:
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 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. Owen's Defence accordingly has a dubious reputation.
Owen's Defence is classified as code B00 by the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings.