In the northwest of the country, on March 4, 1935, Jørgen Bent Larsen was born in the small Danish city of Tilsted. Because of his dangerous condition, he was confined to his house for most of his childhood. This is most likely the cause of Larsen’s first meeting with chess during that time.
In multiple tournaments, the results soon began to grow. However, Larsen didn’t realize chess would be more than just a pastime for him until he traveled to Copenhagen, the nation’s capital, at the age of seventeen to get a degree in civil engineering. He was never awarded a civil engineering degree.
However, in 1954, at the age of nineteen, he became an International Master in addition to winning his first National Chess Champion title. (He would go on to achieve the same feat five more times, in 1955, 1956, 1959, 1963, and 1964.) In addition, he didn’t win the Championship in the years when it wasn’t challenged. His impressive performance at the 1954 Olympiad, which was held in Amsterdam, Netherlands, earned him a bronze medal on the first board, which was the reason for his achievement.
Around 1963, Larsen began to use additional surprises and clever play in addition to his unique openings. It was at this period that he began to develop his unique style and became a world-class player. Armed with his new technique and opening repertoire, he tied Tal, Smyslov, and Spassky for first–fourth place in the 1964 Amsterdam Interzonal tournament.
Between cycles, Larsen’s clever sacrifices and out-of-the-ordinary opening and middle-game concepts excited the chess community. Larsen finished third in the 1966 Second Piatigorsky Cup in Santa Monica, California, behind Fischer and Spassky. He won twice against the recently crowned World Champion Petrosian in this competition!
Larsen won three Interzonal events: the 1967 Sousse Interzonal, where he was given the first-ever Chess Oscar; the 1964 Amsterdam Interzonal, where he tied for first place with two former world champions (Vasily Smyslov and Mikhail Tal) and a future champion (Boris Spassky). The only two chess players to win three Interzonals were Larsen and Mikhail Tal.
Mikhail Tal defeated Bent Larsen in the semifinals of the 1965 Candidates Tournament. Boris Spassky, the 1968 World Champion, defeated Bent Larsen again in the same tournament. However, Larsen’s crushing 0:6 loss against Bobby Fischer in the 1971 Candidates semifinals may have been the greatest blow he ever received. Before the argument, Larsen responded, “I’ll destroy Bobby Fischer (…)” when asked how the match against Fischer would go. Tal made the following observation following the game: “Larsen didn’t manage to have the advantage in even one move.”
In reality, neither the score nor Tal’s bitter remarks accurately captured the events of this crucial meeting. Larsen’s persistent efforts to win every game were the only reason for this stretchy score. Certainly, Larsen lacked common sense after the first two losses (the first game in particular needs special attention because it was an amazing battle regardless of the outcome), and especially after the third one; he was just unable to defeat Fischer “by force.” However, Larsen’s gaming was also characterized by bravery, taking chances, and even a hint of carelessness, in addition to his great confidence and self-assurance. His remarks, which he made soon after losing the match, are a great example of it.
Larsen regularly played in and won many massive free tournaments globally despite being the best player in the world. He was regarded as the greatest threat to the Soviet Union (with Fischer) and was quite active over his whole chess career. Through the analysis of the games he played, his legacy continues to this day. Larsen’s opening style is still widely used by chess players of all skill levels. Although these games are largely in bullet and blitz time limits, Hikaru Nakamura and World Champion Magnus Carlsen have won numerous games beginning with one of Larsen’s favorite openings (the Nimzo-Larsen attack with 1.b3). Larsen is the greatest player to have ever come from a Scandinavian nation, except Carlsen.
In his book, My Great Predecessors, former world champion Garry Kasparov notes the dearth of “Larsens” in the modern chess community. Larsen was a chess genius who, to put it mildly, played with daring. One of the few modern grandmasters who regularly played the Bird opening (1.f4), Alekhine defense (1. e4 Nf6), and the less common Caro-Kann with 4…Nf6 followed by 5… gxf6 (1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4), he was known for taking advantage of unusual openings. Even the Scandinavian defense (1.e4 d5) and 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6+ gxf6) enabled him to win against the only former world champion Anatoly Karpov. Larsen and his studies are also responsible for the still-popular Queen’s Gambit Declined Semi-Slav Meran defense. However, he made an important contribution to the theory behind the 1.b3 move, which is now known as a Larsen Opening in his honor.
Larsen relocated to Buenos Aires in the 1970s with his Argentinean wife. On September 9, 2010, at the age of 75, he passed away.
“In my opinion, individuals such as Bent Larsen belong to the chess community; without them, things would be dull and grey. Take a look at the grandmasters of today; where is the vibrant color scheme Larsen provided? Even with the huge barriers to competition that artists on the same level as Larsen faced, they consistently distanced themselves from the poor players by engaging in real chess play and constantly improving it (Garry Kasparov). “