Owen Defense: Unicorn Variation
1. e4 f6 2. d4 b6 3. c4 Bb7
The Owen Defense: Unicorn Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B00, reached after 1. e4 f6 2. d4 b6 3. c4 Bb7. 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 2 times by this move order. White won 100%, 0% were drawn and Black won 0%. The most popular continuation is 4. Nc3 (100% of games).
Engine evaluation: +1.09 (Stockfish, depth 29; best line 4. Nc3 e5 5. d5 a5 6. a3 Bc5)
- ECO
- B00
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
rn1qkbnr/pbppp1pp/1p3p2/8/2PPP3/8/PP3PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 1 4- PGN
1. e4 f6 2. d4 b6 3. c4 Bb7
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 1 | |
| 2000+ | 1 | |
| All | 2 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. Nc3 | 2 (100%) |
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Car67 (2086) – Laugardalsholl1 (2062) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- Leopala (1799) – SebDiez (1727) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Barnes Defense 1. e4 f6
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.