John Owen (chess player)

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John Owen (right) versus Amos Burn

John Owen (born July 1, 1827 in Marchington , † November 24, 1901 in Twickenham ) was a British chess player and clergyman.

Owen, a vicar by profession , was one of the strongest chess players in Great Britain in the second half of the 19th century . He finished third in Birmingham in 1858, ahead of players such as Howard Staunton , Pierre St. Amant and Henry Bird . In 1862 he shared third place with George Alcock MacDonnell in London (before Wilhelm Steinitz ).

Owen played numerous competitions with the greats of his time. In 1858 he was defeated by the American Paul Morphy in London, who was on tour in Europe, with 1: 6 (+0 = 2 −5). What was remarkable about this competition was that Morphy Owen gave an instruction from the pawn and train. In 1860 Owen played a tie against Ignaz Kolisch in Manchester, 4: 4 (+4 = 0-4). In 1875 he was defeated by Amos Burn in London with 7.5: 12.5 (+6 = 3 −11), but took revenge in Liverpool in 1888 and defeated him 5: 3 (+5 = 0 −3). In 1878 Owen was defeated in Chislehurst by the world-class player Johannes Hermann Zukertort with 1.5: 9.5 (+0 = 3 −8).

A chess opening , the Owen Defense, is named after Owen .

His best historical rating was 2583, making him number 9 in the world rankings in July 1877.

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