Bent Larsen Games: Study Larsen Games Move by Move

Bent Larsen (1935–2010) was a Danish grandmaster, chess writer, and one of the leading challengers to Soviet dominance during the 1960s and 1970s. Born in Thisted, Denmark, he became a grandmaster in 1956, won the Danish Championship six times, and qualified for four Candidates cycles. Larsen also finished first or joint first in three Interzonal tournaments—Amsterdam 1964, Sousse 1967, and Biel 1976—and scored victories over world champions including Mikhail Botvinnik, Tigran Petrosian, Bobby Fischer, and Anatoly Karpov. His results, independent outlook, and willingness to travel widely made him one of the most recognizable tournament players of his era.

Larsen's games are particularly instructive because they force the student to compare plans, not just calculate forcing moves. He often entered positions with several reasonable continuations, then chose the move that posed the most awkward practical problem. In Guess the Move training, that makes each position a lesson in identifying imbalances: which bishop matters, where a pawn break belongs, whether space is worth a structural weakness, and when activity should take priority over material. His wins also show how an unusual opening must be supported by accurate middlegame play; surprise alone was never enough.

His repertoire reflected that philosophy. With White he was closely associated with 1.b3, now commonly called Larsen's Opening or the Nimzo–Larsen Attack, using the queenside fianchetto to influence the centre while keeping the pawn structure flexible. He also played Bird's Opening with 1.f4 and revived less fashionable systems such as the Bishop's Opening. With Black he was willing to use the Dutch, Alekhine, Scandinavian, Philidor, and sharp Sicilian structures when they offered active counterplay. These choices did not avoid theory simply for novelty's sake; they aimed to reach asymmetrical positions in which both players had to make independent decisions. When studying the games below, look for how Larsen creates an imbalance early, improves the least active piece, and then turns unfamiliarity into concrete pressure.