Members · Prefs · Laboratory · Collections · Openings · Endgames · Sacrifices · History · Search Kibitzing · Kibitzer's Café · Chessforums · Tournament Index · Players · Kibitzing

Bent Larsen

BENT LARSEN (born Mar-04-1935, died Sep-09-2010, 75 years old) Denmark [what is this?] Jørgen Bent Larsen was born March 4, 1935 in Denmark. At age 19 he became an International Master, and two years later a grandmaster. He won the Danish Championship six times. He and world champion Mikhail Tal are the only players ever to win three Interzonals. Larsen tied for first with Smyslov, Tal, and Boris Spassky at the Amsterdam Interzonal (1964). He advanced to the Candidates' semifinals, where he lost to Tal. He again won the Sousse Interzonal (1967). This time he lost to Spassky in the Candidates' semifinals. For his tournament achievements during 1967, including first-place finishes in Havana (1967), Winnipeg (1967) (tied with Klaus Darga, just ahead of Spassky and Keres), Sousse Interzonal (1967) and Palma de Mallorca (1967), Larsen received the first Chess Oscar. He also won Monte Carlo (1968), Palma de Mallorca (1969), Lugano (1970), and the Canadian Open (1970). At USSR vs. Rest of the World (1970), he played top board for the World (ahead of Fischer), scoring 2.5 out of 4, including 1.5 out of 3 against World Champion Spassky. Larsen tied for second at the Palma de Mallorca Interzonal (1970), 3.5 points behind Robert James Fischer, and handed Fischer his only loss. In 1971, he made the Candidates' semifinals for the third consecutive time, facing Fischer, who had just whitewashed Mark Taimanov 6-0. To everyone's astonishment, Fischer repeated the feat against Larsen. After that defeat, Larsen's position in the world rankings gradually declined, but he remained a formidable tournament player. He won Teesside (1972) and Hastings (1972/73). He won the Biel Interzonal (1976) (his third Interzonal win!), but lost the Portisch - Larsen Candidates Quarterfinal (1977) by three points. He won Geneva (1977), Buenos Aires (Clarin) (1979) (by an astonishing three-point margin), and Buenos Aires (Clarin) (1980). He finished second to Garry Kasparov at the Niksic (1983) supertournament. He won Reykjavik (1985) and tied for first at the Nimzowitsch Memorial (1985). He again tied for first at Hastings (1986/87), his last major tournament win. In 1993 he won a match against Deep Blue (Computer) 2.5-1.5. Larsen lived his last years in Buenos Aires with his wife, Laura, until his death in 2010. The opening move 1. b3, which he played with great success, is named Larsen's Opening. The version with 1.Nf3 and 2.b3 is called the Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack after Aron Nimzowitsch and him. ChessBase eulogy: http://chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp... Wikipedia article: Bent Larsen Last updated: 2025-03-31 01:34:49

Try our new games table.

page 1 of 106; games 1-25 of 2,632  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. Larsen vs E Lauridsen 1-0 24 1948 Holstebro - Herning match C35 King's Gambit Accepted, Cunningham 2. Larsen vs L Laursen 1-0 52 1950 Holstebro CC spring tournament C36 King's Gambit Accepted, Abbazia Defense 3. V Engel Christensen vs Larsen   0-1 61 1951 Danish Championship Class 1 Group D E20 Nimzo-Indian 4. Larsen vs B Nyren 0-1 18 1951 World Junior Championship B70 Sicilian, Dragon Variation 5. S Asker vs Larsen   0-1 22 1951 World Junior Championship C12 French, McCutcheon 6. Larsen vs E Selzer   1-0 33 1951 World Junior Championship B28 Sicilian, O'Kelly Variation 7. M Barker vs Larsen 1-0 38 1951 World Junior Championship C02 French, Advance 8. Larsen vs R C Cruz   ½-½ 43 1951 World Junior Championship B54 Sicilian 9. J Walsh vs Larsen   0-1 32 1951 World Junior Championship C12 French, McCutcheon 10. Larsen vs Ivkov   0-1 32 1951 World Junior Championship B59 Sicilian, Boleslavsky Variation, 7.Nb3 11. F Olafsson vs Larsen   1-0 49 1951 World Junior Championship D51 Queen's Gambit Declined 12. Larsen vs L Joyner 1-0 32 1951 World Junior Championship C30 King's Gambit Declined 13. B Coosemans vs Larsen   0-1 24 1951 World Junior Championship E14 Queen's Indian 14. Larsen vs A Eikrem   1-0 27 1951 World Junior Championship B92 Sicilian, Najdorf, Opocensky Variation 15. Larsen vs K Blom 1-0 25 1951 Aalborg - Aarhus match C34 King's Gambit Accepted 16. Larsen vs A Hammartang   1-0 37 1951 Nordic Juniors, Trondheim 1951/52 A20 English 17. Larsen vs G Lindgard   1-0 41 1952 Nordic Juniors, Trondheim 1951/52 A20 English 18. Larsen vs P Ofstad 1-0 17 1952 Nordic Juniors, Trondheim 1951/52 A20 English 19. E Pedersen vs Larsen   0-1 40 1952 Larsen - Pedersen E48 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3 O-O 5.Bd3 d5 20. Larsen vs E Pedersen   0-1 59 1952 Larsen - Pedersen A13 English 21. E Pedersen vs Larsen 1-0 58 1952 Larsen - Pedersen C64 Ruy Lopez, Classical 22. Larsen vs E Pedersen   ½-½ 46 1952 Larsen - Pedersen B54 Sicilian 23. Larsen vs P Ravn 1-0 35 1952 Danish Championship Masters C35 King's Gambit Accepted, Cunningham 24. T Store vs Larsen   0-1 24 1952 Norway - Denmark E00 Queen's Pawn Game 25. Larsen vs E Madsen ½-½ 47 1952 Norway - Denmark B56 Sicilian  page 1 of 106; games 1-25 of 2,632

REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | Larsen wins | Larsen loses

< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 2 OF 35 ·  Later Kibitzing> Apr-14-04    Resignation Trap: Here are Larsen's last five games from the 1964 Amsterdam Interzonal: Bronstein vs Larsen, 1964 Larsen vs Tal, 1964 Leonid Stein vs Larsen, 1964 Larsen vs Spassky, 1964 Smyslov vs Larsen, 1964 Apr-15-04    ForeverYoung: In Larry Parr's book about Viktors Pupols, Yasser Seiriwan called Larsen his most stimulating opponent. (1982) May-09-04    ruylopez900: Poor Larsen, it seems he never fully recovered from is 6-0 mauling t the hands of Fischer, then again...could anyone really? May-09-04    WMD: Interviewed for New In Chess, the view that his career never fully recovered from the whitewash to Fischer was put to him. "No, I don't see that. After losing the match in 1971 I win Hastings and I win Teeside. Immediately." Asked whether he had analysed what went wrong with the match, Larsen complained about having to play on Fischer's home ground in the United States and the heat in Colorado. "They had the hottest summer in that place in 35 years. And very, very dry. This is not for me. I cannot sleep. It is absolutely impossible. After Round 2 I asked to see the doctor. The bad thing is that the doctor is part of the organization. He just thought I am someone who always runs around with high blood pressure and doesn't believe that I am not...I have to just put down my foot and leave or I have to play on. I didn't put down my foot." May-09-04    ruylopez900: <WMD> Interesting perspective, I've never heard his side, I guess I have to reevaluate my opinion of him. May-09-04    iron maiden: Yes, it would be probably impossible psychologically to make it anywhere near your old heights after such a defeat. Still, Larsen stayed in the top ten or fifteen for quite some time after that, and remained a strong Grandmaster. May-09-04    PizzatheHut: Larsen's comments regarding his loss to Fischer sound like nothing more than excuses to me. First of all, "home ground" doesn't seem to be that big of a deal in chess. It's one thing in a sport like baseball or football where the crowd's cheering can get your adrenaline rushing. It's another thing in chess where the audience must be quiet. Quiet people in Europe sound the same as quiet people in the United States. Also, the weather might cause some sleep loss, but take sleeping pills and get over it. Even if the weather did affect him, you think that he would be able to get at least one draw in six games. May-09-04    iron maiden: Of course, Larsen's excuses are lame, especially since he agreed to play the match in America because he said he enjoyed the country and was highly popular there. But what would you do if your lifelong bid to become world champion had suddenly been squashed just like that? May-09-04    PizzatheHut: I agree <iron maiden>, especially considering that he had previously spent a great deal of time in the United States. Also, it's not like the United States is the only country with hot weather. I guess he would rather make excuses than admit he was outplayed. May-09-04    Benjamin Lau: What is the average temperature where Larsen normally lived? What was the temperature of the place he stayed in Arizona? I would like an objective assessment of this. I too think that Fischer would have easily flattened Larsen in either case however. May-09-04    Everett: Larsen not only gives excuses, but also believes he was outplayed (can't find the quotes yet). Further, as WMD notes, he was strong afterwards for some time. Larsen was a better tournament than match player. His somewhat unorthodox openings cannot be prepared for adequately in tournaments due to the number of players. Fischer had time to prepare, and outplayed Larsen from even positions in nearly every game. Lastly, Larsen's style simply doesn't match up well against Fischer. Larsen's a self-made man, living (and dying, especially against the best) by his penchant to complicate in double-edged positions. Fischer's clear, aggressive and positionally sound bent proved the right antidote for this style. May-10-04    iron maiden: <What was the temperature of the place he stayed in Arizona?> Wasn't the Candidates Match played in Denver? May-10-04    Benjamin Lau: I don't know where the Candidates Match was played, I thought that someone earlier had said it was played in Arizona; apparently I must have been imagining it. May-10-04    WMD: Denver is in Colorado. May-10-04    square dance: <wmd> <denver is in colorado.> where do get your information? i would like to see independant verification of these "facts" before you go around making careless statements such as "denver is in colorado." ;-) May-10-04    Benjamin Lau: WMD: Obviously Denver is in Colorado. I didn't say it wasn't. I said that I thought someone said that Candidates Match was in Arizona. But apparently not. I used the "find next" function just now and could not find Arizona mentioned at all on this page; apparently I just imagined seeing it. May-10-04    ruylopez900: I believe Everett's post is quite revealing as a possible reason why Larsen could get so crushed in this match, but still play well in tourneys. (BTW if I were back in 1971 I would be rooting for Larsen all the way! =D) May-10-04    PizzatheHut: In the book "Pal Benko: My Life, Games, and Compositions", Benko tells about how in 1957 Benko, Ron Gross, and Bent Larsen drove from Dallas, TX to Compton, CA and stayed in Compton for a month. I find it very difficult to believe that Colorado seemed hot after Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and living in southern California. And to call Colorado dry after being in a desert is quite a stretch as well. All of this put together makes his reasons for losing nothing more than excuses, in my mind at least. May-10-04    iron maiden: Yes, there are several more valid reasons for Larsen getting shut out. As <Everett> said, he was stronger in tournaments than in match play because his style did not match up well with the best of the best. Plus, after Fischer won the first two or three games, it put Larsen at a psychological disadvantage for the rest of the match, especially when he considered what Bobby had just finished doing to Taimanov. Larsen was a gambler, and when gamblers win they win big, and when they lose... May-10-04    Calli: Nice guy, Larsen. Played him in a simul years ago. May-10-04    Resignation Trap: The weather in Denver can be very hot and dry. On July 17, 1971 Denver reached an all-time high for that date: 101F/38C. The Fischer-Larsen match was played that month. So there is some weight to Larsen's complaint about the weather. May-10-04    Benjamin Lau: RT: Thanks for the research. How hot was it where Larsen normally lived (wherever that may have been)? May-10-04    square dance: i know that i cant sleep if it is too hot at night. i toss and turn and will also wake up frequently if it is especially dry as well. there may be something to what larsen has to say. i dont think this changes the fact that fishcer was going to win convincingly no matter how much sleep larsen got. maybe not 6-0, but then again you never know. May-10-04    Everett: The Nimzowitch pair, Petrosian/Larsen Paradox continues Larsen, good tourneys, lousy matches Petrosian, lousy tourneys, good matches Do you think Fischer had a swamp cooler, humidifier or somesuch in Denver? Maybe his preparation went beyond the chessboard... Benjamin Lau, as far as I know, Larsen has ever been a citizen and denizen of Denmark; cool, wet lowlands May-10-04    Everett: Whoops, earlier post says he's living in Argentina. Thank you PVS, and Sorenbohr for your info in previous posts. Jump to page #   (enter # from 1 to 35) search thread:    < Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 2 OF 35 ·  Later Kibitzing>

NOTE: Create an account today to post replies and access other powerful features which are available only to registered users. Becoming a member is free, anonymous, and takes less than 1 minute! If you already have a username, then simply login login under your username now to join the discussion.

Please observe our posting guidelines: No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language. No spamming, advertising, duplicate, or gibberish posts. No vitriolic or systematic personal attacks against other members. Nothing in violation of United States law. No cyberstalking or malicious posting of negative or private information (doxing/doxxing) of members. No trolling. The use of "sock puppet" accounts to circumvent disciplinary action taken by moderators, create a false impression of consensus or support, or stage conversations, is prohibited. Do not degrade Chessgames or any of it's staff/volunteers. Please try to maintain a semblance of civility at all times. See something that violates our rules? Blow the whistle and inform a moderator. NOTE: Please keep all discussion on-topic. This forum is for this specific player only. To discuss chess or this site in general, visit the Kibitzer's Café.

Messages posted by Chessgames members do not necessarily represent the views of Chessgames.com, its employees, or sponsors. All moderator actions taken are ultimately at the sole discretion of the administration.

Copyright 2001-2025, Chessgames Services LLC