Is Owen's Defence good answer to 1.e4 (1...b6)

I usually play Nimzo/QID to 1.d4, and Owen's defence sort of feels similar so I am thinking of learning it vs e4. I have been playing Sicilian/KID since I started (answer to e4/d4), but I didn't like kingside fianchetto. What are your thoughts on Owen's defence?

EDIT: I also play English as white. Not sure if it falls under the same category as NID/QID, or if its because they dont involve as much opening theory so its easier for a beginner like myself

the owen's is a bad opening for beginners, IMHO

Anyway, if you insist on playing it, here is what you must NOT do

(I was white)

how do you continue after the natural 12...Kg8 ?

12...Kg8 what do you have, Roeczak?

It is a good opening, but it is rather positional, so it is not good for beginners. Watch Igor Smirnov's 2 videos about it, then you can decide easily.

Back in 1977-78 I tried to work up a repertoire using 1.b3 and 1....b6.

The Nimzo-Indian worked out fine (more or less) but b6 is just too slow against 1.e4. White gets the whole center and Black gets delayed King-side development and no space.

12... Kg8! wins for black (it was only a 5 0 blitz, after all)

However, according to crafty, the natural 10.0-0-0 gives black +0.91

Well it doesn't lose by force but surely not your best try.
IM Silman views this opening as inferior and said that after 1.e4 b6 2.d4 Bb7 3.Nd2 white gets a nice game 

It's totally playable... but you're needlessly setting yourself up for a lot of practical difficulties.  If you're good enough to solve them and regularly get a even game good for you... but I don't know why you'd choose torture yourself.

Often white can get a good kingside attack (post #2 just gives one example).  If you survive the middlegame your endgame is usually an uphill battle too.

No

definitely no

Yeah, that's what I experienced all those years ago. It just wasn't worth the headaches.

i spent many many months going through the top 8 opening books and discovered what i consider the best black opening defensive system. What makes this black opening great first it is simplier to learn, proven over decades at the highest levels of chess and is basically a good response to any white first move.

The Owen defense is not bad, but it is a poor opening for Black. This is because it is a strategic flank type response that concedes the centre to White. As a strategic opening Black allows White to consolidate a strong central presense and then hits back. But without a ton of chess experience i just feel from my reading at 99% of Black players would not know when the time is right to start ripping the White centre apart; thus it is a poor Black opening; since Black is already disadvantaged in a game why give White extra advantages ???

If you play chess for fun then play whatever u like inc the Owen Defense but why complicate your chess life by playing wierd stuff when so many other stronger Black openings are available ???

Remember this opening (Owens Defense) has been popularised by some of the best chess players who ever lived. In reality the Owens Defense enjoys its status as an Opening simply because these chess "gods" could win with it consisiently not because it is a good opening. I beleive these chess 'gods' could have won with 1... h7 even because they were so more advanced than their peers.

If you think you are as good as Nimzowitsch or Larsen then play the Owen's Def, but reality says less than one in a million players can even understand it on the level of these chess 'gods'; Remember the time u spend playing poor or bad openings just takes you away from learnign solid chess, With so many good Black openings why play something silly...

I tried it once OTB against an FM, it was a rapid 15mins+15secs game

At the end i had 2mins left and he had 18 mins on his clock, yes that's how bad it was, since then I never play such irregular openings