Bent Larsen, a passionate chess player
In the spring of 1970 an unusual and remarkable event took place in Belgrade: ten of the best players of the Soviet Union played against ten of the best players from the "Rest of the World". Four games were played on each board, and in the end the Soviet Union won by a very narrow margin of 20.5-19.5.
The event was particularly exciting because Bobby Fischer, who had vanished from the tournament scene for more than a year and a half, wanted to play again. But on board 1 for the "Rest of the World". The Danish grandmaster Bent Larsen, however, protested against this. With good reason. After all, he had far more successes to show than Fischer and was considered to be one of the best tournament players in the world. Larsen had won the Interzonal Tournament in Amsterdam in 1964 and three years later he also won the Interzonal Tournament in Sousse. Moreover, he also won tournaments in Havana 1967, Winnipeg 1967, Palma 1967 and Monaco 1968.

Bobby Fischer 1970 | Photo: Norbert Rauch
Fischer relented, which came as a surprise to many, who knew the American's whims and uncompromising nature. But both Fischer and Larsen won their matches: Fischer beat Tigran Petrosian 3-1 and Larsen won on board one against the reigning world champion Boris Spassky and his substitute Leonid Stein 2.5-1.5. Larsen's mini-match against Spassky ended in a 1.5-1.5 draw, but with a win against Stein in game four, Larsen finally got the upper hand.
However, Larsen suffered a drastic defeat against Spassky in the second game, which he later called the worst of his career. After a spectacular rook sacrifice by Spassky, Larsen lost with White in just 17 moves.
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1.b3 e5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.c4 Nf6 4.Nf3 e4 5.Nd4 Bc5 6.Nxc6 dxc6 7.e3 Bf5 8.Qc2 Qe7 9.Be2 0-0-0 10.f4 Ng4 11.g3 h5 12.h3 h4 13.hxg4 hxg3 14.Rg1 Rh1 15.Rxh1 g2 16.Rf1 Qh4+ 17.Kd1 gxf1Q+ 0–1
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Larsen,B | 2650 | Spassky,B | 2670 | 0–1 | 1970 | | Match/Team URS-World 20,5-19,5 | 2.1 |
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Many players might have paused after such a disaster or at least tried not to take any risks in the next game, in order not to lose twice in a row, but Larsen was unimpressed and played for a win from the beginning in the third game against Spassky with Black - successfully. At some point, Spassky could no longer find the right answers to the problems Larsen was posing and suffered his first defeat as reigning world champion.
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.Nc3 Bb7 5.Bg5 Be7 6.e3 0-0 6...Ne4 7.Bd3 c5 8.0-0 Nc6? 8...cxd4 9.exd4 d5 8...h6 9.Bh4 Nc6 8...d5 9.Qe2 Nc6 10.Rad1 cxd4 11.exd4 Nb4 12.Bb1 dxc4 13.Ne5 Nbd5 14.Rfe1 Rc8 15.Qf3 Nxc3 16.Qxc3 Nd5 17.Qh3 f5 18.Bc1 Bg5 19.Qg3 Bxc1 20.Rxc1 Rf6 21.Qh4 b5 22.a4 a6 23.axb5 axb5 24.Bc2 Nb4 25.Re3 Nxc2 26.Rxc2 Rh6 27.Qxd8+ Rxd8 28.Rd2 Rh4 29.g4 fxg4 30.Ra3 Rh5 31.Re3 Rf5 32.Nxg4 Ra8 33.Kf1 Rf4 34.h3 Ra1+ 35.Ke2 h5 36.Ne5 Bg2 37.f3 Bxh3 38.Rc3 9.d5 Nb4 9...exd5 10.cxd5 Nxd5 11.Bxh7+± 10.d6 Bxd6 11.Bxh7+ 11.Bxf6 gxf6 11...Qxf6?? 12.Be4+- 12.Bxh7+ Kxh7 13.Qxd6± 11...Kxh7 12.Qxd6 Bxf3 13.gxf3 Ne8! 14.Qe7! 14.Qg3 f6∞ 14.Qxf8 Qxg5+ 15.Kh1 Qh5 16.Rg1 Qxf3+ 17.Rg2 g6∞ 14.Bxd8 Nxd6 15.Be7 Nxc4 16.Bxf8 Rxf8 14...Qxe7 15.Bxe7 Rg8 15...Rh8 16.Rfd1 Nc6 17.Rxd7 Ne5 18.Rb7 Nxc4 19.Ne4! Na5 19...Nxb2 20.Bxc5 20.Ng5+ Kg6 21.Kh1 20.Rd7 Nc6 21.f4 Rc8 22.Rc1 22.Rad1 Rc7 23.Bh4 22...a5 22...Rc7 23.Rxc7 Nxc7 24.Bxc5 22...Nxe7 23.Rxe7 Rc7 24.Rxc7 Nxc7 25.b4 23.a3 Kg6?! 23...Nxe7 24.Rxe7 Rc7 24.Kg2 Rh8 24...Nxe7 25.Kf3 25.Rg1 Nxe7 26.Kf3+ Kh6 27.Rxe7 Rc7 28.Rxc7 Nxc7 29.Nd6 Rf8 30.Nc4 Rb8 31.Rd1 25...Rxh2 26.Ng5 26.Bf8 Kh7 27.Rxf7 Kg8 28.Ng5 Nd8! 26...e5! 27.Rg1 exf4 28.Bd6! Nxd6 29.Rxd6+ f6 30.Ne6+ Kf5 30...Kh7 31.Nxf4 31.Nxg7+ Ke5 32.Re6+ 32.Rgd1? Nd4+! 32...Kd5 33.Rd1+ Kc4 34.Nf5 Kb3 31...Ne5+ 32.Ke2 Re8! 32...g5?? 33.Nd5± 32...Nc4!= 33.Rd5+ Ke4 34.Rxg7 Nxe3 34...Re8 35.Re7+ 33.Rxb6 33.Ne6! Rxe6 33...Nc4 34.Nxg7+ Ke5 35.Nxe8 Nxd6 34.e4+ Kxe4 35.Rxe6 33...Nc4 34.Rb3 g5 35.Nd5 Re5 36.Rd1 36.Rc1 Nd6 36...g4 37.Kf1?? 37.Nb6 Nxb6= 37...a4! 38.Nxc4 38.Nxa4 g3 39.Kf3 39.Rf1 Nd6 40.Nc3 Kg4 39...g2 40.Rbd3 Re4 38...axb3 39.Nxe5 fxe5-+ 37...Rh1+ 38.Ke2 Rxd1 0–1 - Start an analysis engine:
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Spassky,B | 2670 | Larsen,B | 2650 | 0–1 | 1970 | E12 | Match/Team URS-World 20,5-19,5 | 3.1 |
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Boris Spassky (left) vs Bent Larsen | Photo: Archive
A game that is typical of Larsen's optimism, his fighting spirit and his dynamic and creative style, with which he forced his opponents to solve problems from the very beginning.
Half a year later, at the Interzonal Tournament in Palma de Mallorca in November 1970, Larsen and Fischer continued their debate about who really was the best player in the West. Fischer dominantly won the Interzonal tournament with a score of 18.5 out of 23 and thus finished 3.5 points ahead of Larsen, Efim Geller and Robert Hübner, who shared second to fourth place. But in the direct duel against Larsen, Fischer lost and was outplayed by the Dane.
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Bb3 Be7 8.Be3 0-0 9.Qe2 a6 10.0-0-0 Qc7 11.g4 Nd7 12.h4 Nc5 13.g5 b5 14.f3 Bd7 15.Qg2 b4 16.Nce2 Nxb3+ 17.axb3 a5 18.g6 fxg6 19.h5 Nxd4 20.Nxd4 g5 21.Bxg5 Bxg5+ 22.Qxg5 h6 23.Qg4 Rf7 24.Rhg1 a4 25.bxa4 e5 26.Ne6 Qc4 27.b3 Qxe6 28.Qxe6 Bxe6 29.Rxd6 Re8 30.Rb6 Rxf3 31.Rxb4 Rc8 32.Kb2 Rf2 33.Rc1 Bf7 34.a5 Ra8 35.Rb5 Bxh5 36.Rxe5 Be2 37.Rc5 h5 38.e5 Bf3 39.Kc3 h4 40.Kd3 Re2 41.Rf1 Rd8+ 42.Kc3 Be4 43.Kb4 Rb8+ 44.Ka3 h3 45.e6 Bxc2 46.b4 Re3+ 47.Kb2 Bd3 48.Ra1 Ba6 49.Rc6 Rxb4+ 50.Kc2 Bb7 51.Rc3 Re2+ 52.Kd1 Rg2 0–1 - Start an analysis engine:
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Fischer,R | - | Larsen,B | - | 0–1 | 1970 | B89 | Interzonal-08 | 9 |
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However, in the semi-finals of the 1971 Candidates Matches in Denver, Larsen was less lucky against Fischer. Larsen always played for a win, but in this match against Fischer he lost six games in a row and suffered a devastating 0-6 defeat. Larsen's optimism and fighting spirit had turned against him.
One year later, Fischer became World Champion and had thus clearly answered the question who was the best player in the West and in the world. Nonetheless, Larsen scored a number of important successes after his crushing loss against Fischer. He won in Teesside 1972 ahead of Ljubojevic and Portisch, in Hastings 1972/73 ahead of Uhlmann and Hartston, in Manila 1973 ahead of Ljubojevic and Kavalek, in New York 1974 ahead of Browne, and in Orense 1975 ahead of Ljubojevic and Anderssen. In 1976 he won another Interzonal Tournament, in Biel, but then lost to the Hungarian Lajos Portisch in the Candidates Matches. After that, Larsen's dreams of becoming World Champion were practically over, but he was still a dangerous opponent for everyone, as Anatoly Karpov came to realize, for example at the "Tournament of the Stars" in Montreal in 1979.
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1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Bd2 5.Nf3 5...Bg4 5...c6 6.Be2 Bxe2 7.Ncxe2N Qb6 8.Nf3 Nbd7 9.0-0 e6 10.c4! Be7 10...Qxb2 11.Nc3 11.b4!? 0-0 12.a4 c6 12...Bxb4? 13.a5+- 12...a6 13.Qb3 Ne4 14.c5 Qc6 15.b5 axb5 16.axb5 Qd5 17.Qxd5 exd5 18.Bf4 13.Qc2 Qc7 14.Rfe1 b6 14...e5?! 15.Ng3 15.a5 Rfb8= 16.a6? 16.Reb1 e5?! 17.dxe5 Ng4 18.e6 16...b5! 17.c5 Nd5 18.Nc1 Re8 19.Nd3 Rad8 20.g3 Bf6 21.Re4 Nf8 22.h4?! Rd7 23.Kg2 Red8?! 24.g4?! Re8 25.g5 Bd8 26.Nfe5 Rde7 27.Bf4 Qc8 28.Bg3 f6 29.Nf3 Rf7 30.Qd2 fxg5!? 30...Ng6!? 31.h5 31.Rae1 fxg5 31...Qxa6 31...Nge7 31.Nxg5 31.hxg5 Rf5?! 31...Ng6!? 32.Nfe5 Rf5! 32...Nxe5 33.Bxe5 32.Nde5 Bc7 33.Nh4!∞ 31...Rf5 32.Ra3 Ng6 33.Nf3 Ref8 34.Nfe5 Nxe5 35.Rxe5 35.Nxe5 Bc7 36.Nf3 Bf4 35...Rf3 36.Ra1?! 36.Qe2 R3f6 36...Nxb4 37.Nxb4! Rxa3 38.Rxe6 37.Re4 Bc7 38.Bxc7 Qxc7 39.Rxe6? Rxf2+! 40.Qxf2 Rxf2+ 41.Kxf2 Qh2+-+ 36...Bxh4 37.Qe2 37.Bxh4 Rxd3 38.Qxd3? Nf4+-+ 37.Rxd5 exd5! 38.Bxh4 Qg4+ 39.Bg3 Qe4-+ 37...Bxg3 38.fxg3 Qd7 39.Qxf3 Rxf3 40.Kxf3 Nxb4 41.Rd1 41.Nxb4 Qxd4 41...Qxd4 41...Nxa6!? 42.Re4 Qd5 43.Nf2 Qh5+-+ 43...Qxc5-+ 44.Kg2 44.g4 Qxc5 44...Nd5 45.Rxe6 h6! 46.Rd3 46.Rde1 Kh7 47.R1e5 Qf7 48.Rxc6? Ne3+ 49.Rxe3? Qd5+-+ 46...Kh7 47.Rf3 b4 48.g4 48.Rxc6 Ne3+ 49.Rxe3 Qd5+-+ 48...Qg5 49.Kg3 Qc1 50.Nh3 50.Rxc6 Qg1+ 51.Kh3 b3-+ 50...Qc4 51.g5 h5 52.Re8 h4+ 53.Kg2 b3 54.Rb8 Qe2+ 55.Nf2 Ne3+ 0–1
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Karpov,A | 2705 | Larsen,B | 2620 | 0–1 | 1979 | B01 | Montreal International | 12 |
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In 1979 Larsen also won the 1st Clarin Tournament in Buenos Aires with a 3 point lead over Spassky, Najdorf, Miles and Andersson. Larsen also won the 2nd Clarin Tournament, which took place in 1980. This time he won ahead of Timman, Ljubojevic and Karpov.
However, with increasing age and decreasing playing strength, Larsen could no longer keep pace with the world leaders. However, he remained a popular author and was a welcome guest at simultaneous performances, as Peter Heine Nielsen, Dan H. Andersen and Thorbjörn Rosenlund describe in their memories of Larsen:
"Bent Larsen has always worked alone, but from the very beginning he has been willing to share. For many years he gave lectures and played innumerable simuls at the chess camps of Danish School Chess. His charisma and his energy are such that he has been able to fascinate and captivate all audiences, from school children to radio listeners or to high level managers. Garry Kasparov tried to persuade him to run for FIDE president. Two political parties have offered him safe constituencies to run for the Danish Parliament.
But Bent Larsen wanted to play chess, and write. His chess writing is among the best, combining analysis with humour and psychological understanding of the fight, [...] The first chess book that Magnus Carlsen read was Bent Larsen's Find Planen ('Find the plan')." (Peter Heine Nielsen, Dan H. Andersen, Thorbjörn Rosenlund, "The Will to Win", in Bent Larsen: Bent Larsen’s Best Games: Fighting Chess with the Great Dane, New in Chess 2014, p. 19-20).
Larsen's successes are all the more astonishing, when one considers that, apart from his time as a beginner, he had no coach and, unlike many of his Soviet rivals, was never systematically supported.

Bent Larsen | Photo: Harry Pot/ Nationaal Archief NL
Larsen was born on 4 March 1935 in Tilsted, a place near the small town of Thisted in northwest Jutlang. How and when he learned chess is described by Larsen in his book Bent Larsen's Best Games:
"In January 1942, just after we moved to the city of Holstebro, I suffered some childhood illnesses and learnt how to play chess. I recovered from chickenpox and mumps and there were no after-effects, but with chess things were a little different." ("Beginnings", in Bent Larsen: Bent Larsen’s Best Games: Fighting Chess with the Great Dane, New in Chess 2014, p. 25)
After graduating from high school, Larsen studied civil engineering, but never finished his studies. Instead he decided to pursue a career as a chess professional. Before that he had to join the military, "between autumn 1961 and autumn 1963 ... an experience about which I have few good things to say." (Bent Larsen's Best Games, p. 75)
After his military service, when he had time to devote himself entirely to chess, Larsen quickly became one of the best players in the world and impressed again and again with his original style and uncompromising fighting chess.
In 1982, Larsen moved from Denmark to Buenos Aires in Argentina to live with his wife Laura Benediz Benedini, a lawyer, whom he had met in Argentina in 1980.
Larsen stayed in Argentina until the end of his life. He died in Buenos Aires on September 9, 2010. Today is the 10th anniversary of his death.

Larsen's grave | Photo: Peter Heine Nielsen auf Facebook
Larsen had many friends and admirers. One of them is Yasser Seirawan, who dedicated his book Chess Duels to Larsen.
"Of all the masters I've ever known, I admire Bent the most. It is not just the strength of his character, his extraordinary mid, his gift for languages, his wonderful sense of humor, and his absolute fighting determination for victory at the board. It is that he has all of these qualities and much, much else besides: he is a man of character, of principle and most importantly, he is truly a kind, warm person as well.." (Yasser Seirawan, Chess Duels, Everyman Chess 2010, p. 46).
Translation from German: Arthur Paul
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