Interesting Way To Transpose into the French Defense from the Owen Defense

I was looking for a way to respond to e4 that was unorthodox, didn't have a lot of deep theory, and was a good way to respond. I found this

This opening avoids learning the theory of any other way to respond to the french and is unorthodox but the final question is is it actually a good opening? Should I play it?

Okay, that's enough chess.com for today. 

I don't understand

You have not transposed to the French Defense.  You are still in Owen's Defense

1.e4 e6 2.d4 b6 - Owen's Defense

1.e4 b6 2.d4 e6 - Owen's Defense

1.d4 d5 2.e4 e6 - French Defense

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 - French Defense

And don't give me this "But that's what chess.com says" - more than half the openings on chess.com are mislabeled.  For example, 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 is NOT the "French Variation".  It has no name yet.  It can lead to the Alapin (3.c3), King's Indian Attack (3.d3), Taimanov (3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6), Four Knights (3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6), Pin Variation (Same as four knights except 5...Bb4), etc, but there is no "French Variation", so if chess.com says you line is a French, it is wrong.  It is still Owen's Defense unless White plays c4, then it is the English Defense.

I hope you get the point.  Switching move order does not suddenly make it a different opening.  The position you give is Owen's Defense, not the French Defense, just like how 1.d4 d5 2.e4 e6 is the French Defense.  The fact that you played 1.d4 d5 2.e4 first is irrelevant.  Once Black played 2...e6, it was no longer a Blackmar Diemer Gambit.

Owen's Defense is weak comparatively speaking to any of the "Big 4" - 1...e5, 1...e6, 1...c5, or 1...c6, the two that involve only going 1 square being followed up by 2...d5.

And...

Are the same exact thing but I didn't have to learn how to respond if black moved to 2. Nf3, Nc3, etc. That's all I'm trying to say
 

I assume you mean White.  Nothing stops White from playing Nf3 or Nc3.

1...b6 is inferior to the big 4, and White can play almost anything.  2.d4 may be best and most common, but b6 does nothing to stop White from playing 2.Nf3 or 2.Nc3.

No. Playing the Owens defense and transposing into the french formation  is better than playing a normal french because they couldn't do the following

But they can do the following:

1.e4 b6?! 2.Nf3

1.e4 b6?! 2.Nc3

1.e4 b6?! 2.d3

Plus, 1.e4 e6 2.d4 b6 or 1.e4 b6 2.d4 e6, either way, clear advantage White.

Do not play an early c4 or Nc3, the main problem with Owen's Defense.  With c4 played, d4 is weakened and the English Defense is "ok".

1.e4 b6?! 2.d4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb7 4.Bd3 and White will react based on Black's response.  Most often, p to c3, N to d2, Q to e2, castling Kingside, but there are other situations.

1. e4 b6 2. d4 e6 3. Nf3, Bd3, c3, 0-0 etc. intending to meet ...d5 with e5 would technically transpose to a French, but it's a passive Advance French. The biggest problem for Black is that the pawn on b6 takes away that square from the queen, which reduces the pressure Black can put on the center, which in turn means that they won't extract any concessions.

Although, if White doesn't play like this, Black will probably get no worse a position than they would out of mainline theory. Even still, I don't really think this "play 1...b6 to transpose to a worse French" idea is all that good. If you're looking for an "avoid theory with Black" line, I would recommend something like 1...Nf6 or 1...g6 over this stuff.

Yes, but it is not a French until d5 is played.  I have had 1.e4 b6 2.d4 e6 without d5 and then it is not a French.  I see Black playing  ...d6 with a hedgehog type of setup sometimes.  When Black does go d5 with a horribly passive French, I often, though not always, get either a raging attack on the dark squares if g6 is played and a Greek Gift Sacrifice if no g6 or h6.

It's not a French unless white has done something wrong, or Black has taken on an inferior French. The move order in the French is incredibly important, you can't just play 2. ...b6 and then it be as good as mainline French with white playing optimally. I have checked this with the lichess opening explorer though I already knew it anyway. b6 is often a great idea in the french so you can play Ba6, but that comes later, after you have finished with hurting white's centre, it has to be prepared. The French goes through tight enough contortions as it is without a useless b6 thrown in.  

As has been pointed out by uh... my esteemed colleague, after white plays early c4 then b6 actually can be a good idea. However Nc3 is perfectly good against the Owen's defence despite what engines may say.  

I quit. I’m learning the modern defense instead 

It's a LOT more sound than that Owen's Defense garbage.

I would suggest starting with Lakdawala's "Modern Defense: Move by Move" and follow that up with "The Modern Tiger".  I personally have never read the latter one, but I have the first edition from 2005, "Tiger's Modern", which was an excellent book, along with Lakdawala's.  Some of Lakdawala's books are really weak, but certain ones were really, really good.  The Modern Defense: Move by Move was one of his better ones for sure!.

The Owen is a fine defense (I use it quite successfully), but I think it is best to lead with 1. e4 e6 so that white follows with 2. d4, assuming it will be a French defense.  In the Owen Defense, d4 becomes a target which is actually pretty easy to fix in place.  For example:

And now black sets up a blockade on d5 with a solid outpost and an open file behind.  If d4 falls, white loses instantly, and even if it doesn't black retains the bishop pair, and the long a8-h1 diagonal to attack along.  This leads to sharp play, but in order for the Owen to be most effective, both e4 and d4 must be played by white.  As ThrillerFan has noted (correctly), with 1. e4 b6, white can simply develop a knight of protect the e4 pawn with 2. d3, but with 1. e4 e6, those moves can be foiled by 2. ..d5!  With 1. e4 e6, it's hard for white to play anything other than 2. d4, and as with all hypermodern defenses, it's the big pawn center that you want.  From there, simply use Nimzowitsch's principles to blockade and then destroy.

The main difference with the Owen, as opposed to better-known hypermodern defenses, is that black fights back in the center immediately, and both his bishops are mobile from the outset.  In other hypermodern defenses, black must consolidate his position before he strikes back.  This means sharper, more dynamic play, often involving lengthy exchanging sequences.

Trying to construct a repertoire vs e4 , d4 and everything else, all in one means likely no contact and limiting movement to the first three ranks in order to do it. But most openings in this category are very unforgiving of even the smallest mistakes, so while you get to avoid a theoretical clash, your position will most of of the time be critical and often hang by a thread. Personally, I'd rather study theory and try to remember the ideas behind the moves. Still, it's up to you.

OP should also be aware that the modern and pirc stand vastly better theoretically than the Owen's. It's not just the big four and then the rest. To use the Owen's you are marking yourself as someone who defies convention. Realistically I wouldn't see it as good for me to see someone play the pirc, modern, alekhine, philidor etc. against me but I would love someone to play the Owen's.

It more of a "four tier" ranking against 1.e4.

Big-4 - 1...e5, French, Caro-Kann, Sicilian

A Notch Below - Pirc, Modern, Alekhine, Scandinavian, Nimzovich

Borderline Unsound - St George (1...a6), Owen's (1...b6)

Outright Bad - The other 9 first moves by Black

You really do not want to go below the second tier, and against players over about 2300, you really do not want to go outside the big 4 except as an occasional surprise weapon.  You don't see players like So, MVL, Anand, Giri, etc popping out the Scandinavian on a regular basis.  Occasional surprise weapon?  Sure.  Usually more in dire situations, like Round 14 of the 1995 PCA Championship between Kasparov and Anand when Kasparov had a commanding 3 to 1 lead with 9 draws (7.5-5.5, first to 10.5 with Kasparov winning all 10-10 ties).

"Theoretically" is usually meant in the Classical sense, but Hypermodern theory (which would hold the Owen higher than the classical) is just as valid.

I've played the French and the Sicilian over the years, and played against the Caro-Kann plenty, I got better results with the Nimzowitsch, and am doing better still with the Owen (albeit always playing e6 before b6).

Also, there's no such thing as "borderline unsound" - it's sound or it isn't.  Unsound implies a definitive refutation, like the Damiano Defense.

The main point I want to drive home here is that there are two ways to play.  Most defenses focus on helping black to equalize, while others (and the Owen falls into this category) instead emphasize counterplay.  I know it's popular for folks, particularly at the super-GM level to avoid dynamic play, it's more important for them not to lose than it is for them to win, but this has not always been the case.  Several World Champions (Lasker, Alekhine, and Tal come to mind) have chosen dynamic complexity rather than safety of position.

This is the more basic point - you can only "play it safe" if your opponent allows it, and he doesn't have to.  Certainly not with white (the Reti, played properly, guarantees an open center), and I haven't seen anyone able to close up the middle when I play the Owen (I haven't played any masters with it, but a fair number of A-ranks and Experts).

All sound openings are playable, but you must understand their principles in order to play them effectively.  The Owen is not a good choice for someone who doesn't understand the hypermodern perspective.  For anyone who has read My System, it's perfectly playable with no particular disadvantage.  Anything is bad if you don't know what the opening is trying to achieve.  Back when I was in high school, the average player who played 1. ..e5 against me (I was a 1. e4 player back then) lasted 15 moves or less.

I recommend the Owen because it does not allow white to dictate the situation -  white is forced to compromise his position and development in some meaningful way.  Yes, he gets compensation in the form of a space advantage, but the big pawn center can be a target rather than a strength - it all depends on black's knowledge of the proper restraining moves.

Most of what you just said is totally wrong. Thrillerfan put it perfectly.