Bent Larsen

[Ian Kingston]

Chessvibes has just reported the death of Bent Larsen, aged 75.

[Paul McKeown]

Very sad news. A great player who will be remembered as long as chess is still played.

[Arshad Ali]

A strong player with his own idiosyncratic style who was unfortunate in that during his peak he was eclipsed by Fischer.

[Jonathan Rogers]

...and by Spassky and at times, Tal. Or sometimes Korchnoi, etc. In his later years he was, according to Kasparov, asked what had stopped him from becoming world champion, and he replied "only that at the time [any particular time?] there were five or six players stronger than me".

I thought he was fantastic. Style-wise, and certainly opening-wise, he was the only world class player with whom I have really identified. I loved his annotations too, lightweight though they may have been in the eyes of Kasparov.

I have a number of his very recent articles, since he was a regular contributor to KAISSIBER (which I have always received), but dammit, I don't read German!

[Keith Arkell]

Sad news indeed. In the early 1970's Larsen gave a talk at Middlesbrough chess club on a Friday evening. It was informative and and I'll never forget one line of humour. Demonstrating an important game he referred to his opponents plan of getting a knight to a particular square. Larsen said 'He had a dream but it was really a nightmare for him'

On the Sunday he played in excess of 60 local players, I cannot remember the exact figure. A fantastic weekend. Another one of the true chess legends gone.

Poignant,and at the same time ironic for me Ernie. I had the priviledge of playing Larsen twice,both times 2 decades ago in a GM tourney in London. I played the Steinitz defence of the Caro both times(the games can be accessed on ''Chessgames.com'') and as you can see,in the first of these,the Great Dane strove to get his Knight to c5,only to find that it was marooned - cut off from the scene of action. I always felt that he had a huge bias in favour of Knights over Bishops,though with his fantastic talent,he was usually able to justify his bias.
If I had played him before he had hit his 50s I think I would have felt his real force.
An origional,creative and entertaining player,and a sad loss to chess

[Kevin Thurlow]

Really sad news. I played him in a simul in 1980 and he was cheerily talking to people as he went round, "Ah so you were afraid of Qc1 and Qb2." "Did you see this move?" "Miles studied this on buses in Czechoslovakia - the buses are very slow."

I was frantically taking notes. He was a great guy, so friendly to everyone before, during and afterwards and a genuine enthusiast. He was the same at Hastings, and such an entertaining player.

A final quote, "If your opponent makes a winning combination, it is unfair. If you do it, it is justice."

[Stewart Reuben]

BENT, for a period, was the most successful tournament player in the world. He was a wonderful dinner companion and very erudite.
We were discussing the succession of kings and queens of England in Hastings and getting nowhere. Bent was dining at the next table, so we turned and asked him whether he knew. As it happened he didn't, but we quite expected him to be more knowledgeable about English history than us.
He caused me to give up wearing a tie. He, David Levy and I were having dinner in Reykjavik in 1972. I was wearing a particularly lurid tie. David turned to Bent and enquired, 'Bent, wouldn't you like to wear a tie like Stewart?' 'Oh no,' he replied. 'If I play Stewart his neck will be constricted and he won't play chess as well.' I though, 'So that is why I would lose to Bent Larsen,' and have almost never worn a tie since.
Stewart Reuben

[David Pardoe]

Yes, another of the great legends of chess has sadly departed....
There`s a good piece in the Daily Telegraph chess section today, with a game v Spassky.
Two comments that struck me, apart from his terrific record in Tournament play, that I think players, (particularly those `new` to chess), and the ECF/other bodies should note...
It was said that he was `self taught`, and studied certain/various chess books...!!!
It was also said that his `enthusiasm` was a great driving force....

Newbies to the game, juniors, and those thinking of joining there local chess club, who might be a little nervous about being beaten by the (so called) `experts`, should take note of these words.
....you`ll find a welcome in many clubs, and plenty of helpful advice & words of encouragement....but patiance & time are required...and plenty of practice... enjoy.

Note also, that many clubs have a wide range of players, of all ages & strengths, so you`ll find plenty of opposition with whom you can do battle....some informal club competitions can also help to get players mixing...

On another tac.... Im wondering if our Tournament/Congress organisors (or others..), should strive to encourage an initiative to run more local congresses specifically aimed at the ungraded/novice players (and maybe those graded say U90), including juniors, to help promote the take-up of chess, and to encourage these players to join local clubs. I`d like to see Congresses & clubs do more to publicise local club/league chess, and increase awareness by putting up posters at Congresses which promote local clubs. Also, for Congress organisers to perhaps make local clubs aware of players who might be potential new members.
Regarding Congresses...Im thinking maybe more in terms of one-day events, and to see if stronger links to local schools (particularly Secondary schools & colleges), can be established.
I think some good advertising of such events in local Press could encourage quite high entry levels.
It might also be good if some clubs held `open nights` for potential new members, with a `quick play` & chance to meet the current membership...some clubs might find they got quite a strong response to such initiatives.
I`ll mention also that the Manchester leagues have set up `starter league` which are specifically aimed at `entry level` & lower graded players, and these have proved very popular with our local clubs..

[Jonathan Rogers]

I see that Stewart is quoted in today's Times as calling for a 1.b3 tournament! The journalist appears to have got carried away, and suggests that many British players will be playing this in tribute over the next week or so, which I'm afraid seems unlikely.

[Stewart Reuben]

While on the phone to the reporter, I reflected that a rapidplay would probably be best as 1 b3 is so unfashionable now. Ray Keene's obituary in the Times is very good.
Stewart Reuben

[Alex McFarlane]

Ray Keene's obituary in the Times is very good.

Reports of his death are much exaggerated ..... or I won't believe it until I see it in black and white!

[Kevin Thurlow]

"I see that Stewart is quoted in today's Times as calling for a 1.b3 tournament! The journalist appears to have got carried away, and suggests that many British players will be playing this in tribute over the next week or so, which I'm afraid seems unlikely."

Well, I would have done last night, but I got black.... So that's one.

[Jonathan Rogers]

close but no cigar. If anyone does actually play it this week, record it here ....

In the 4NCL weekend of Nov 2001, just after the death of Tony Miles, his team mate Alex Wohl (Slough) played 1...a6 and 2...b5 in tribute - and beat Chris Ward.

[John Upham]

See http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bent-Lars ... 1824152710

[Simon Spivack]

The Telegraph obituary is at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituar ... arsen.html .

It includes the quote "To win, it is necessary to accept lost positions." Didn't Nimzowitsch similarly opine that it is necessary to inflict weaknesses in one's own camp, as well as the opponent's?

The article's mention of Larsen's aversion to draws reminds me of the following, it can be found in David Ionovich Bronstein's 200 Open Games, ISBN 0 7134 0410 (B.T. Batsford):

On the other hand Larsen has simply not learnt to draw. No, no matter what other chess writers might say, the Dane has not become a 'super class grandmaster'. What sets the 'super class' apart from the normal grandmaster is the ability to fashion draws: as many as are needed and in as many minutes as are given.

See page 132.