Translated in google, and slighty edited the worst errors.
Danish Chess Union
Bent Larsen is dead
10th September 2010
Thomas Hauge Vestergård
Friday dinner inlet message from Buenos Aires that Bent Larsen has died Thursday evening the 9th September after a few weeks of illness.
Danish Chess Union has issued the following press release:
Grandmaster Bent Larsen is dead
Press release
Denmark's greatest chess player ever, Bent Larsen, died the ninth September 2010 in Buenos Aires after a short illness 75 years old.
Bent Larsen was born on the 4th March 1935 in Tilsted by Thisted, and graduated from Aalborg Cathedral School as a 17-year-old after having skipped two grades. After engineering studies in Copenhagen and the military service, Bent Larsen devoting himself exclusively to chess, which was his livelihood for the rest of his life.
Bent Larsen was National champion six times, a figure that could have been much higher if not the international career, he had chosen instead of engineering studies, had prevented him from attending. In 1956 Larsen achieved grandmaster title by scoring 77% in the Danish first chessboard? at the Olympics in Moscow. Over the next 45 years Bent Larsen won numerous international competitions and for many years it was generally agreed that Bent Larsen was the world's best tournament player.
In 1967 he received the first chess Oscar, who until 2005 was distributed by international chess experts of the Year's Best performance. In the period 1969 - 1972 Bent Larsen was repeatedly number three in the world.
The real World Cup Larsen never won, but three times he played semi-final of the candidate tournament, where a challenger to the current world champion must be found. All three times lost Larsen either to a past or future world champion.
Danish Chess Union President Lars-Henrik Bech Hansen said:
Bent Larsen was in a class and a model for an entire generation of chess masters around the world. While he was on top, he won tournaments in front of the world elite, including seven world champions, and he was at his time the only western challenger against Soviet chess domination. His importance to chess in Denmark as a chess player and inspiration is unsurpassed, and his achievements and parties will forever be carved into Danish and international chess history.
On the occasion of Bent Larsen's 75th birthday published the Danish Chess Union, a special issue of Chess magazine, which at 64 pages came round the world class player . The magazine can be downloaded here: http://www.dsu.dk/skakblad/sb2010/larsen.pdf (3.7 Mb)
2010 was in Danish chess circles chosen as a year when Larsen was celebrated as much as possible. In Larsen's birthday was Danish Chess union rooms filled to bursting point to hear lectures on Larsen's career, and to congratulate Bent Larsen over the phone to Argentina.
Several tournaments have been held to honor Larsen, the last played in Denmark with the current best danish player, GM Peter Heine Nielsen, a display of matches over three days against the Russian star player Peter Svidler. One of the days they played ten blitz with the first move b3, also known as Larsen-opening.
Bent Larsen was active chess writer to the very end, including with fixed articles for Chess magazine?. In addition, Bent Larsen be remembered for an extensive chess authorship.
Danish Chess Union
www.dsu.dk
Originally posted by ketchuploverI have heard stories about Larsen's health during the 6-0 match that Fischer won. I decided to check chessgames.com for their overall score.
Hard to believe Fischer shut him out. He must've been on a whole other level.
Unfortunately, it is just as lopsided (11 Wins Fischer/2 Wins Larsen/1 Draw).
Larsen was a master of making positions really imbalanced and provacative. He could turn into opening into a tactical slugfest. He also had a knack for really unorthodox positions. He was able to unsettle and beat many super strong players this way (including Petrosian).
Fischer on the other hand was a supreme technician. He usually played logical clear cut ideas (but with much hidden venom).
Larsen also liked to spring things on players (sort of for shock value). Fischer on the other hand prepared for everything. He had his little set of openings, but he knew them inside out.
I think the combination of Fischer's clear cut precision, and the unability of Larsen to unsettle or surprise him was what really led to his downfall in their games.
I haven't looked at them in a while, but I do remember the Winawer where Larsen was grinded down quite nicely from the Candidates.
Chess is full of great shining lights. Unfortunately, the brightness of pure genius (Fischer/Kasparov) seems to dim their lights just a tad.
Larsen in his own respect was one of the great ones, just not the best.
The 6-0 v Larsen is very misleading.
Fischer played some brilliant chess to take a 3-0 lead.
Then Larsen had Fischer on the ropes in the 4th game but let it slip,
in the 5th game he spurned a comfortable draw by turning down a chance
to take the game into an opposite coloured Bishops ending.
Larsen being Larsen tried to win it.
He had a stonewall perpetual in the 6th game but that was no good.
It was the first to 6 or the highest score after 10 games.
If he had taken the perpetual he would have instantly lost the match 5½ - ½.
So he is thinking he won't take the perpetual but win this game and the
next 4 and tie the match.
It is little wonder with that spirit and attitude, "going to win the next four games,"
that he was such a succesful chess player.
This was one player who could look himself in the eye when he shaved
and said he always played to win. He did not care what the record books
would say. He was true to himself all the way.
Taimanov lost 6-0 to Fischer before Larsen.
Taimanov lost his stipend (his GM fee), his job and was an outcast.
He was searched and they found a banned Solzhenitsyn book so he got
into trouble for that as well.
The joke doing the rounds was Solzhenitsyn was in deeper trouble,
when they searched him and they found a Taimanov book. 🙂
After Larsen lost 6-0 Taimanov was forgiven.
Back when I had a subscription to Chess Life (around 2000 or so), Larsen had an article where he annotated a game. It was quite excellent. If I remember correctly, you could also send in your game for annotation to Larsen for $50. There were computers like Fritz out at the time,but they had not taken off full swing yet. The good engines were in the $60 price range, and the free ones weren't that useful. I remember at the time thinking how interesting it would have been having Larsen look at my games. Unfortunately, I didn't have very many good games at the time, and the price seemed steep (I wasn't even in my 20's yet.). In hindsight, that could have been one of the most memorable things from my entire chess experience. It's a shame really.
Originally posted by greenpawn34just watched the larry christiansen bit about larsen on icc today, and at some point he mentioned that larsen agreed to less than ten short draws in his whole long career. so apparently he wasn't big on taking the draws. which alone makes him a hero of mine. that's the right spirit, die with you boots on and not like whimpering sissy! 🙂
The 6-0 v Larsen is very misleading.
Fischer played some brilliant chess to take a 3-0 lead.
Then Larsen had Fischer on the ropes in the 4th game but let it slip,
in the 5th game he spurned a comfortable draw by turning down a chance
to take the game into an opposite coloured Bishops ending.
Larsen being Larsen tried to win it.
He had a sto ...[text shortened]... arched him and they found a Taimanov book. 🙂
After Larsen lost 6-0 Taimanov was forgiven.
Originally posted by paulbuchmanfromficsI read an article by Peter Heino Nielsen about the Fischer matches. Larsen almost never complained nor made excuses when he lost, but after the Denver matches, Larsen complained about the heat (apparently there were some sort of record breaking heat wave going on), which made Larsen unable to sleep, and therefore he couldn't perform at his best.
I have heard stories about Larsen's health during the 6-0 match that Fischer won.