B00

Owen Defense: Guatemala Defense

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Statistics from Lichess

215,680 games: White 55.4% / Draw 4.7% / Black 39.9%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	114,895115K
	46,90147K
	21,93522K
	14,72215K
	4,5944,594
	4,2884,288
	2,7142,714
	1,8661,866

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 1, 2026

Engine evaluation

+1.80 White is clearly better

Best play: 3. Bxa6 Nxa6 4. Qe2 Qc8 5. Nf3 g6 6. e5 Bg7 7. Nc3 c6

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

By rating

Rating changes little here: Black scores 43% under 1400, 41% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	125K
1400–1799	195K
1800–2199	109K
2200 and up	3,459
Masters, over the board	2

Master games

Peetoom, F. – Morin, S. ½–½, 2001
Eberth, Z. – Bodi, T. ½–½, 1993

Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 27, 2026

Overview

Owen Defense: Guatemala Defense (ECO B00, Semi-Open Games) is a variation of the Owen Defense, reached after 1. e4 b6 2. d4 Ba6 (2 moves).

In 215,680 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 55.4%, Black 39.9% and 4.7% were drawn. White's most played move here is 3. Bxa6, in 53% of those games.

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Description

How to play against the Owen Defense: Guatemala Defense

3. Bd3 scores best for White: 59.0%, with White winning 56.7% and Black 38.8% of 22K games. The most played, 3. Bxa6, scores 58.9% in 115K games, and 3. Nc3 scores lowest: 56.0%. Stockfish's first choice is 3. Bxa6.

Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings

Popularity by year

The Owen Defense: Guatemala Defense has lost ground since 2016: 0.0078% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.015%.

0.015%0.0078%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.015%	5,254
2017	0.013%	7,340
2018	0.012%	9,151
2019	0.0094%	11,779
2020	0.0079%	23,010
2021	0.0081%	31,666
2022	0.0074%	27,663
2023	0.0076%	28,502
2024	0.0077%	27,756
2025	0.0078%	27,233
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.008%	8,775

Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Owen Defense: Guatemala Defense (B00)”. Lichess data as of 1 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/owen-defense-guatemala-defense