Play Chess Against Bent Larsen

Bent Larsen (1935-2010), Denmark's greatest player, a fighting original who beat Fischer twice, sits across the board. Set the strength, clock, color and starting position, then press Start game.

Play Larsen now

Portrait of Jørgen Bent Larsen — Jørgen Bent Larsen, 1935-2010.

Black · Bent Larsen10:00

Choose the settings, then press Start game.

White · You10:00

Bent Larsenhistorical player

Preparing the board.

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Set up your game against Bent Larsen

Bent Larsen stays selected. Choose the playing strength, clock, color and starting position.

OpponentBent LarsenStrength1500Clock10+5You playWhite

Opponent

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Bent Larsen1935-2010

Playing strength

Legend playing strength100-point steps

1500

1500Larsen, 1500 Elo target2600

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All chess legends

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About Bent Larsen

Bent Larsen (1935-2010) carried Scandinavian chess on his own for a generation. From outside the Soviet system and largely self-taught, he won the Sousse Interzonal of 1967 and reached three Candidates semifinals, collecting dozens of first prizes in open tournaments along the way. He was one of the very few players of his time with multiple wins over Bobby Fischer, beating him at Santa Monica 1966 and again at the 1970 Interzonal. His favorite first move, 1.b3, still carries his name.

Sousse Interzonal winnerTook first at the 1967 Interzonal after Fischer's mid-event withdrawal

Three Candidates semifinalsReached the last four of the Candidates in 1965, 1968 and 1971

Beat Fischer twiceWon games against Fischer at Santa Monica 1966 and the Palma Interzonal 1970

First Chess OscarVoted the world's best player of 1967 by international chess journalists

1935
Born in Jutland
Born on 4 March 1935 in Tilsted, Denmark. A sickly boy, he devoured chess books and developed his own unorthodox taste.
1954
Danish champion
Won the first of six Danish championships at nineteen.
1956
Grandmaster in Moscow
Earned the grandmaster title and took the gold medal on board one at the Moscow Olympiad.
1965
Candidates semifinalist
Beat Borislav Ivkov in the quarterfinal before losing to Mikhail Tal in the semifinal.
1967
Sousse and the Oscar
Won the Sousse Interzonal after Fischer withdrew, then received the first Chess Oscar as player of the year.
1968
Beaten by Spassky
Won his quarterfinal against Lajos Portisch, then lost the semifinal in Malmo to Boris Spassky, the next world champion.
1970
Board one for the World
On current form he took top board for the Rest of the World, ahead of Fischer, against Spassky in Belgrade. Later that year he beat Fischer at the Palma Interzonal.
1971
The Denver shutout
Lost the Candidates semifinal 0-6 to Fischer, the heaviest defeat of his life, on Fischer's road to the crown.
2010
Death in Buenos Aires
Died on 9 September 2010 in Buenos Aires, his home for many years. He remains the measuring stick for Scandinavian chess before Carlsen.