Owen Defense: Matovinsky Gambit
1. e4 b6 2. d4 Bb7 3. Bd3 f5 4. exf5 Bxg2 5. Qh5+ g6
The Owen Defense: Matovinsky Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO B00, reached after 1. e4 b6 2. d4 Bb7 3. Bd3 f5 4. exf5 Bxg2 5. Qh5+ g6. It is a line of the Owen Defense. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 43 times by this move order. White won 63%, 2% were drawn and Black won 35%. The most popular continuation is 6. fxg6 (100% of games).
Engine evaluation: +2.75 (Stockfish, depth 36; best line 6. fxg6 Bg7 7. gxh7+ Kf8 8. Nf3 Nf6)
- ECO
- B00
- Moves
- 10 plies
- FEN
rn1qkbnr/p1ppp2p/1p4p1/5P1Q/3P4/3B4/PPP2PbP/RNB1K1NR w KQkq - 0 6- PGN
1. e4 b6 2. d4 Bb7 3. Bd3 f5 4. exf5 Bxg2 5. Qh5+ g6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 5 | |
| 1500-1999 | 22 | |
| 2000+ | 16 | |
| All | 43 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6. fxg6 | 43 (100%) |
Master games
20 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 45%, draw 5%, Black 50%). The strongest:
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2839) – GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2771) 0-1 · chess.com SpeedChess 2023 · 2023-09-15
- IM Matias Perez Gormaz (2399) – FM Juan Alberto Gomez Aguirre (2340) 0-1 · Abu Dhabi Masters Online · 2024-08-21
- FM Sahib Singh (2445) – Nicholas Ladan (2211) 1-0 · Titled Tue 9th Jul Early · 2024-07-09
- FM Alexander King (2263) – FM Lorenzo Perea Fruet (2389) 0-1 · Titled Tue 17th Sep Early · 2024-09-17
- GM David Gavrilescu (2524) – Avi Harrison Kaplan (2085) 1-0 · Titled Tue 12th Mar Late · 2024-03-12
Search all games of the Owen Defense: Matovinsky Gambit and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- FM SuperMishutka (2407) – Sami1963 (2306) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 2s
- Castro78 (2357) – Sami1963 (2309) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 2s
- ShilyevM1 (2317) – Sami1963 (2316) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Owen Defense 1. e4 b6
More Owen Defense lines (all)
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.