Bent Larsen

- the Fighter

»Chess is a beautiful mistress to whom we keep coming back, no matter how many times she
rejects us«.
Bent Larsen
Eric Brondum

Bent Larsen
-the Fighter

Dansk Skakforlag - K"benhavn 1978

© Dansk Skakforlag/ Skakhuset, Kebenhavn, 1978
First published 1978
Sats og tryk: Speciai-Trykkeriet Viborg a-s
ISBN 87 87187 08 6
CONTENTS

Foreword 7
Code System 9
Biographical Informations 11
The Unexpected Move 13
1956-64 Just an Ordinary Grandmaster 19
1964-67 On Everyone's Lips 31
1967-70 The World's Best Tournament Player 47
1970-77 A Real Professional 81
Find the Winning Combination! 163
Solutions 165
Larsen's Winning Record 167
Index of Openings 169
Index of Opponents 171
 FOREWORD

One of the most dynamic and interesting players of the last twenty years is BENT LARSEN.
It is therefore strange that no one has capitalized on this, but perhaps the reason is the
relatively simple one that the best book on Larsen has already been written, and that by the
very best, namely Bent Larsen himself! (BENT LARSEN ))M y 50 SELECTED GAMES((
1 948-69)
The purpose of this book is therefore mainly to try to portray Larsen from another point of
view, but also to bring the games of collection up to date. You will find that most of the
games are from the period 1 966-77.
I have desisted from choosing such a title as ))Larsen's Best Games((, partly because it is a
subjective assessment likely to be in contradiction with the master's own opinion of what he
believes to be his best games! and partly because many of the so-called ))Best Games(( may
not yet have been played!
I want to thank Bent Larsen for good advice and Stellan Persson, the owner of the CHESS
HOUSE, for suggesting to me I write this book. I also want to thank Christian Nilsson for
reading the proofs and last but not least, I want to thank my wife, B irgit for her endless
patience during the writing of this book.
Finally, I hope the book will give you as much pleasure as it has given me compiling it.
Eric Brendum
Copenhagen, I 978
 CODE SYSTEM

;!; White stands slightly better

+ Black stands slightly better
± White has the upper hand
+ Black has the upper hand
+­ White has a decisive advantage
-+ Black has a decisive advantage
=
The game is even
t Check
tt Mate
A good move
!! An excellent move
? A mistake
?? A blunder
!? A move deserving attention
?! A dubious move

C[jt[j[j[j[j[j[j[j
gg����[j[j
��''''''
II1.1.'i¥Oii
No A novelty
K K ing
Q Queen
R Rook
B Bishop
N Knight
 BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATIONS

Bent Larsen was born March 4th, 1 935 in Tilsted, situated in north-western Jutland. In 1 942,
his family moved to another town, Holstebro, and here he learnt how to play chess . He
claims he showed no special talent at an early stage, such as e.g. Capablanca, Reshewsky or
Pomar. In 1 950 he was undoubtly the strongest player in that part of the country, and now
things moved fast. At nineteen, he won the Danish championship for the first time, (and did
so again in 1 955, 1 956, 1 959, 1 963 and 1 964). Later the same year ( 1 954) Larsen played the
top board in the Danish team at the Amsterdam Olympiad, and scoring l 3Y2 out of 1 9 = 7 1
per cent , he mad e an l M norm, confirmed at the FIDE congress the following year. 1 9 5 5 was
also the year when Larsen won the Scandinavian ch tieing for first place with Olafsson later
defeating him in a little play off (4Yl -3 Yl )
In 1 956, at the Olympiad in Moscow , Denmark went to the Final Group A, and this was
lucky, especially for Larsen, who went on to play with the strength of a grandmaster. He
made the highest score of first board p layers ( 1 4 points in 1 8 games .) and at the end of t he
Olympiad he was awarded the title: International Grandmaster.
8 years passed before Larsen took the next important step forward . The 1 9641nterzonal
(Amsterdam) was quite a sensation, Larsen tieing for first place together with the three
Russians : Smyslov, Tal and Spassky. Since this event Larsen has been considered one of the
three best non-Soviet players (Fischer and Mecking being the two others .)
Larsen is perhaps the most successful tournament player in chess history! Some results
from the years 1 967-68 tell their own story. Five consecutive first places(!) in very strong
tournaments sounds unbelievable but here they are : H AVANA, WINNIPEG, SOU SSE,
MALLORCA and MONACO. He has also won first prize of Mallorca 1 969, Busum 1 969,
Lugano 1 970, Vinkovci 1 970, Manila 1 973 and Biel 1 976, and many, many others!
Since 1 964 , Larsen has been a regular cand idate for the World ch. In 1 965, he won matches
against lvkov and Geller but lost to Tal . Again in 1 968, he defeated both Portisch and Tal
only to lose against Spassky, who went on to be the next world ch . - In 1 97 1 he beat
Uhlmann, but then lost horribly to Fischer. Finally, in the 1 976 lZ at Biel, Larsen won first
prize ahead of: Petrosjan, Portisch and Tal. In the 1 977 Cand idates' his first opponent
appeared to be Laj os Portisch of Hungary, and for the fourth time Larsen failed to qualify
for a match against the world champion.
Larsen is one of the most ingratiating grandmasters and a very popular personality. H e has
written several books, of which his »Selected Games 1 948-69« is the best known. A recent
success is a series of booklets called » Larsen's Chess-Shoot«. He also contributes columns to
several papers and magazines (Skakbladet, Schack Nytt, Chess L&R etc .) - It will be interest­
ing to watch this uncrompromising player in the years to come , after all, Larsen is perhaps
the most winning grandmaster ever!

II
 THE UNEXPECTED MOVE

Every great player introduces to chess something new, something special, previously un­
known. For one player this innovation may be in the opening stage of the game. Another
may discover and formulate strategical and theoretical laws hitherto unknown. A third may
surprise the world by his excellent results based upon his research in the field of chess
psychology . The greatness of Bent Larsen lies, in my opinion, in the fact that his chessmas­
tery covers all as pects of the game. Many an opening variation bears his name, and he has
also given the world many beautiful endgames. It should not be difficult to write a book
dealing with Larsen's excellent endgame play, paying special attention to one of his favourite
themes : TH E O P POS ITE COLO U RE D BIS H OP S . But it is in the field of chess psychology
that you will find Bent Larsen as one of the most outstanding who has ever lived. To the
wondering chess world Larsen has introduced the brand new theme : THE UNEXPECTED
MOVE, which has become an integrate part of his »style«. In h is book ��Larsen's Selected
Games«, Larsen questions the word »style<< as being too superficial. Nevertheless, a common
denominator of his play should be possible to find without too much difficulty. Larsen is an
aggressive player (»I play for a win«). H is play is based upon sound strategical ideas, but with
an element of ris k ! Unlike many of his grandmaster colleagues, he also plays for a win with
the black pieces (I think he would do so even if they were green ! !) I have devoted this chapter
to: THE UNEXPECTED MOVE, here are some examples:

The diagrammed position is from the game Larsen-Van Scheltinga, Wij k aan Zee, 1 964. Van
Scheltinga has j ust answered Larsen's �>desperate« 28. c4!? with the blunder 28. - Bxc4??
thinking white's move to be an attempt to fish in troubled waters and seeing no danger at all

13
in accepting that innocent pawn sacrifice. He is ready for the surprise! 29 . Nf4! ! The master
touch! Black, who wanted to avoid complications, is now in the middle of them ! Here, Van
Scheltinga decided to accept this further ))gift«, and it is hard ly possible to blame him for
that, since Larsen gets a nice attack anyway; but white's answer is shocking ! 29. - gxf4 30.
Kf2 ! The true point. Black has no defence against the murderous Rg l . 30. - fxe3 t 3 1 . Bxe3
f4 32. Bd2 ! (even better than 32. Rg l , when black would have the reply 32. - Bd 3 ! ) 32. ­
Kf7? The final error in a troublesome position and with only a few minutes left on the clock !
33. Qh5t Ke6 34. Qg4t Resig ns - A lovely game for the spectators , and a fine example of
how inventive Larsen is, when he has to face a difficult position.

This example is taken from the game Jimenez-Larsen, Mallorca, 1 967. Jimenez has been able
to establish an outpost on e5, and now, by means of f4 and Be3, he intends to increase his
spatial advantag e and build up a dangerous initiative on the king's side. H owever, Larsen is
in the move, and he proceeds in a way which would have pleased the g reat N imzovich, who
always spoke against play according to a set pattern. Judge for yourself, but do not call the
move ••routine ! « 1 4. - Bxe5 ! ! A very surprising exchange. Normally this bishop must stay in
order to protect the king , but here the exception seems to be well j ustified. It is hardly
possible for white to build up any sort of attacking possibilities, and more important, Larsen
gains a firm control of the center. 1 5. dxe5 d4+ Larsen already has the better of it and
eventually won . It is g ood to know the rules in chess, but better to understand and find the
few exceptions to these rules !

14
The famous game Taj manov-Larsen from Vinkovci, 1 970 - Larsen is in trouble because it
seems impossible to guard the isolated d -pawn in a satisfactory way and white only needs to
castle in order to have a perfectly safe and promising game. But still, white's king is in the
center and that is the main reason behind Larsen's following unexpected blow, probably the
most remarkable in his entire career?!! 1 4 . - g5!? It is hardly difficult to understand that
Tajmanov was horrified seeing this move, but is it good or bad?? In the Danish chess
magazine , ))Skakbladet«, no. 1 -2-4-5 , 1 97 1 , Larsen and IM Ole Jacobsen had a little ))discus­
sion« about the game in general and the above mentioned move in particular and since their
points of view are quite opposite it may be relevant to quote them here: ( Larsen) »Of course
this is a serious weakening of the king's defence, nevertheless, completely justified because it
solves black's problems with his weak d-pawn. It is also worth mentioning that in some
variations it is of significance that white's king is still in the center . )) . . . (Jacobsen) ))A bad
move in a bad position! The only merit of the move is that it transposes a weakness from the
queen's side to the king's side!« Those were the words. Now, let us have a look at the analysis ,
(L) = Larsen, (J) = Jacobsen - 1 5 . Bg3 g4 1 6 . Nd4?? Both (L) and (J) are of the same opinion
claiming this to be a bad move, but (L) only attaches one question mark to the move given
as an alternative: 1 6 . Ne5 Bf6 1 7 . Nxc6 bxc6 1 8 . 0-0 Be6 1 9 . Qc2 Bxc3 20. Qxc3 Qxc3
2 1 . Rxc3 Bd7 . . . ))With a likely draw, but white can hardly hope for more. « (L)also mentions
a Tajmanov suggestion: 1 9. Qd I c5 20. Na4 Rac8 2 1 . Rxc5! Rxc5 22. b4 Rc I ! 23. bxa5
Rxd I 24. Rxd I Rc8!, and here he claims black to be better. All this seems to be right, but
what happens if white plays the much better 20. e4!-? (J) gives the following interesting
variations : 20. - d4 2 1 . Nd5! with a winning advantage to white. 20. - dxe4 2 1 . Nxe4 Bd4
22. Bd6! Rfd8 23 . b4! Qxa3 24. bxc5 , Bg7 25. c5 again, with a probably winning advan­
tage. Finally, he also analyses : 20. - Bxc3! (Both (J) and (L) are of the same opinion about
this particular move. ) 2 1 . exd 5 Bxb2 22. dxe6 Bxc l 23 . Qxg4t Kh8 24. Rxc l

15
A very facinating position. (L) claims it to be better for black, and gives the move 24. -
Rae8! ))With advantage to black. << (J), however, questions this because of 25. BeS t f6 26.
Qf5!! ))With a winning advantage to white!« It is still an open question if Larsen, or Jacobsen,
is right, but the reader is invited to judge for himself!

This, the final example, is taken from the match: Larsen-Tal, Bled 1 965. (4th game) It is
difficult to find a player as brave as Larsen , but to play: 5. - Nd7!!? against Tal that is really
something! Tal is reported to have spent over fifty minutes pondering over his next move, but
at long last he decided not to ))fisk« the obvious 6. Nxf7!? and played the s imple 6. Bc4. A lot
of masters have given their comments to the above diagrammed position, but why not listen
to Tal himself who in his excellent book: ))Life and Games of M ikhail Tal« has the following
to say:

16
 »If this had been in a simultaneous d isplay, I would have decided that my opponent had
simply overlooked the stroke 6. Nxf7 Kxf7 7. Qh5t, when, against his will, the black king is
forced to »go for a walk«. But Larsen could not have missed this, and I began examining
the possible variations, which were, of course, pretty complicated «. Later in the article, he
continues : »Of course, the position did not require such consideration. Either my opponent's
»offer« should have been immediately declined, or else the problem should have been tackled
without prejudice, and the knight sacrified at f7 . But I rejected the sacrifice after prolonged
thought, and this was a psychological blunder« . . . - »After 6. Bc4, black has no problems«
(Larsen) - So Tal rejected the spetacular 6. Nxf7!? because he was playing for a win, but the
position after 6. - Kxf7 7. Qh5t Ke6 certainly offers him much more winning chances that
anything he got in the actual game! Still without taking any »risk((, because 8. Qg4t Kf7 (Kd6
9. c4! is too dangerous for black) would be a draw by perpetual check. Of course Tal
analysed all this , and he also memorized the game from the Enshede Zonal, 1 963 between
Kupper-Popov, in which the former tried 8. c4!?, but after 8. N 5f6 9. d 5 t Kf7 10. Qf7?!
NbS!! Popov was able to defend his position and eventually won . He also analysed white's
second possibility, the unclear 8. g3!? but in one of the innumerable variations he found a
defence for black. Unfortunately he does not give this particular variation, and Larsen's
article in the Danish chessmagazine »Skakbladet(( ( 1 964) only gives the variation: 8. - b5!
9. a4 c6 1 0. bxc6 g6! - What a pity that Tal d id not choose upon 6. Nxf7!? because if anyone
should be able to prove white's attack decisive, he would certainly be the man! - (As a result
of his fighting spirit and combinative skill Larsen's mastery of the endgame is often over­
looked . And yet, in this area Larsen is second to none and has produced a welth of brilli­
ances. You will find a lot of unexpected Larsen moves in this book, and not a few are to be
found in his endgames).

17
 1956-1964
JUST an ORDINARY GRANDMASTER

At the Olympiad in Moscow 1 956, a young fair-haired man is name on eve ryone's lips . Who
was this boy fighting among the grandmaste rs on equal terms and eve n beati ng one of them
in marvel ous style? True, at this time Bent Larsen was already an international master, but
his play on this occacion was not that of an I M ! In every game he tested his coming col­
leagues, even the great Botvinnik was in trouble, and finishing the OL with 1 4 / 1 8 = 77,8 per
cent, he was awarded the title : international grandmaster.
Now, if you think that this young star should win everything after the O lympiad , you are
quite wrong ! Returning to Denmark, Larsen continued his studies, and , as Larsen explains,
the next couple of years were a constant struggle, not only with his rivals at the chess board,
but also with hi mself being attracted both by a career as a chess professionel and a career as
an engineer. H is results in these years are very fluctuating, from a depressing 1 6th in the
Interzonal, Portoroz 1 959, to a convincing 1 -2 (together with Petrosian) in Wij k aan Zee
1 960. Moreover, problems with a former president of the DSU (Danish Chess U nion), and a
sudden break in career due to some military service were things which undoubtly stopped
Larsen's run for the summit for a longer period . In the Zonal at H alle, 1 963 Larsen finished
second after L. Portisch and from that time things began to change .
In the Dan ish (c h) 1 964, Larsen won 8 games in succession, but it was not so much this , but
the way in which he won them that compelled admiration. Larsen's repert oire in those days
contained rarities such as: I . e4 e5 2. Bc4 and I . e4 c5 2. f4 - perhaps harmless, but to
opponents booked-up with brand new theory they were a very dangerous weapon, and so
this turned out to be an excellent rehea rsal for the Interzonal later the same year.

19
 I 15... N xf6
Olympiad, Moscow, 1956 16. Bb3 Bc6
17. Nc4!
Black: Gligoric
Sicilian With the positional threat: Ne3-d 5± . Anoth­
er nasty threat is: 18. a5!±

1 7... Nxe4
18. Nxe4 dS
1. Nf3 cS 19. a5!
2. e4!?

Not a bad move indeed , but to Larsen quite

unusual! In those days the Catalan 2. g3, was
his favourite .
2... d6
3 . d4 cxd4
4. Nxd4 Nf6
5. Nc3 a6

The Najdorf variation. One of Larsen's fa­

vourite lines , but with Larsen playi ng the
black pieces!
6. Be2 eS
7. Nb3 Be7
8. 0-0 0-0
9. BgS!?

At once putting pressure on the central A very nice move forcing black to take on c4,
square d 5 . Other possibilities are: 9. a4 and thereby winning a new tempo due to the
9. Be3 threat on f7.

9••• Nb-d7 1 9 ... dxc4

10. a4 b6? 20. Qxc4 Rf8

It would have been better to ask the B. at The only move! If 20. - Bxe4 2 1 . Qxe4 b5
once with: 1 0. - h6! If then : I I . Bxf6 Nxf6 22. Qf5! with an almost won position!
1 2. Bc4, black has 1 2. - Be6 with =. White
21. axb6 Qxb6
would play: I I . Bh4, but that was a much
22. Nd6 BbS
better line to black. (See move 1 5)
23. NxbS axbS
l l . Bc4 Bb7 24. Qd5 Rxal
12. Qe2 Qc7 25. Rxa l ReS?
13. Rf-dl Rf-c8
Playing with dynamite! He should have tri­
14. Nd2 h6
ed 25. - Qc5! with chances of a draw. White
IS. Bxf6 !
would properly play: 26. Qb7! with good
chances, but now black comes out of the fry­
Not 1 5. Bh4? g 5 1 6. Bg3 Nc5 1 7 . f3 Ne6
ing-pan into the fire!
1 8. Bf2 Nf4+ (B isguier-Donner, Budapest
1 96 1 ) 26. Ra8 ! Bxf2t??

21
Obviously planned some moves ago, but But not: 40. - K xc4 4 1 . Ke4!+ -
somewhere black must have missed some­
41 . Kf4 KcS
thing ! ( Perhaps 28 . Qxf7t)? - The best de­
42 . KeS Kxc4
fence would have been: 26. - Rxa8 27.
43 . Ke4!
Qxa8t Bf8 28 . Qd 5 Qa7, of course leaving
white on top, but the win would still have Now it is black to move, but that is not so
been far away . - After 26. - Bxf2t?? black is pleasant because there are no good moves at
lost . - all!
27. KO Qf6 43 ... KcS
28. Qxf7t ! Qxf7 44. Kd3 KdS
29. Bxf7t K xf7 4S. Kc3 Ke4
30. Rxf8t Kxf8 46. Kxb3 KfS
3 1 . Kxf2 47. Kc3 Resigns

This was Larsen's only victory against the

grandmasters at the M oscow Olympiad
(d rawing all the others!) but a very fine one
indeed ! - Larsen himself claims this game to
be one of the finest he has ever played. -

2
Olympiad, Moscow 1956
Black: Botvinnik
Sicilian Defence
»Only a draw«!

1. Nf3 cS
This position is a win for white! - The possi­
2. e4( !)
bility of creating a d istant passed pawn
would sooner or later force black's king to Playing in this way Larsen avoides two of
leave his pawns , slipping in the white king. Botvinnik's favourite lines: the French, and
the Caro-Kann
31 ... Ke7
32. Ke3 Kd6 2 ... Nc6
33. Ke4 b4 3. d4 cxd4
34. c3 b 3 !? 4. Nxd4 Nf6
S. Nc3 d6
The only way to puzzle white!
6. BgS
3S. c4 g6
This is the Rauzer-variation, normally lead­
36. g4 hS
ing to very complicated positions. Other
3 7 . gxh S gxhS
possibilities are 6. Bc4 or the modest 6. Be2
38. h4 Kc6!?
39. KxeS KcS 6... e6
40. KfS ! Kd4 7. Qd2 h6? !

22
Leading to a very difficult position not un­ Leaving black with no choice at all !
favourable to white . Botvinnik has used this
1 9 ... Rhd8
line now and then, but his results with it have
20. Nxc6 Rxd7
not been promising! Undoubtedly Larsen
21 . Nxa7 Rc7
knew the game Bronstein-Botvinnik (6th
match game , M oscow, 1 95 1 ) and was ready
with some ideas of his own!
8. Bxf6 gxf6
9. Rd1

Here it is! Well-known is: 9. 0-0-0, but Lars­

en's move, and the idea behind it, are very
interesting. - Another fine game in this vari­
ation was played some months later by
Keres, who beat Botvinnik very instructively
(Moscow 1 956)
9... a6
10. Bel hS

Not allowing the white bishop to enter h5.

1 1 . 0-0 Bd7
12. Kh1 Qb6? 22. g3? !
According to Botvinnik this is a mistake. White was left with the pleasant but very
What would have been better was 1 2 . - difficult choice : Which of two good moves
Qc7, but still white would have kept the bet­ should one select? Larsen's first intention
ter prospects. was to play 22. f5! which seems to win, e.g.
13. Nb3 Be7 22. f5 Rxa7 23 . fxe6 fxe6 24. Bc4 with a
14. f4 h4 terrible attack.
1 S . Na4 Qa7 22... Rxa7
(If 1 5 . - Qc7 1 6 . Qe3±) 23. gxh4 rs
24. Rg 1 t Kh7
16. NacS dxcS!? 2S. a4
Played only after very long thinking, but 1 6 . Admitting that white has no threats of mate
- Bc8 1 7. Nd3, intending 1 8 . f5 o r 1 8 . c4 - down the g-file. Black would simply play his
c5, would leave black in a very cramped po­ bishop to h6 from where it not only protects
sition. )){!verything«, but also would be threatning
17. Qxd7t Kf8 to capture white's weak f-pawn.
18. eS!
25 ... Ra8
After this fine move black is fighting for his 26. aS Rd8
life! Realizing this, Botvinnik, after a lmost 27. Rxd8 Bxd8
one hour's thinking, decides to enter a diffi­ 28. Rd1 Bxh4
cult ending rather than being mated! 29. Rd6

1 8 ... Kg7 Larsen is still playing for a win, but . . . in vain

19. NaS! the position being too drawish.

23
 29 ... Be7 3
30. Rb6 Bd8
3 1 . 80 Re7
Wageningen, 1957
32. Rxb7 R xb7 White: Stahlberg
33. Bxb7 BxaS King's Indian Defence
34. c3 f6 !

Simplifying the position to such a degree 1 . Nf3 Nf6

that further white d reams of a win should be 2. c4 g6
impossible! 3. g3 Bg7
4. Bg2 0-0
3S. Bc8 fxeS S. 0-0 cS
36. fxeS Bc7 6. d4 Nc6
37. Bxe6 BxeS
38. BxfSt Kg7 Trying to reach a line deeply analysed by
39. Kg2 Bf4 some of the leading Yugoslavian grandmas­
ters and at that time very p opular.
Draw agreed.
With 1 4 points in 1 8 games, (77 ,8 per cent) 7. dS
Larsen got the best score among the top Of course, this is the natural continuation,
board players, even better than Botvinnik but 7. Nc3 was not bad either!
himself! At the end of the Olympiad, he was
awarded the title : International Grandmas­ 7... NaS
ter. By the way, he got the top prize too! 8. Nfd2 a6
9. Nc3

Now, all black had to d o was to play the

natural 9. - d6, when they would have
reached just another wellknown position,
but this was exactly what Larsen did not
want! so he played :

9 ... Rb8!
10. e4? !

Larsen in the finish of the Moscow race . Forcing black's reply, but at the same time
Unfortunately he is alone, since the other weakening some vital squares in the center.
members of the Danish team have lost a It would have been better to play 10. a4
round! First the four Russians: Botvinnik,
10... d6
Smyslov, Keres and Bronstein. Second , Yu­
1 1 . a4 e6!
goslavia with: Gligoric, Matanovic, lvkov
and Milic. Third is H ungary with: Szabo, At once taking advantage of the inaccuracy
Barcza, Benko and Dely. 1 0. e4?!
(K omsomolskaja Pravda) 1 2 . dxe6

Almost forced! e.g. 1 2. Qc2 exd5 1 3. cxd5

b5! + or 1 2. Re i exd5 1 3 . exd 5 Bf5 +

12... Bxe6
13. b3 N g4
14. Qc2?

24
A careless move allowing black to re-devel­ But not 25 . - Bd7? 26. e5!
op his knight thereby gaining an important
26. Rxa6 Qxa6
tempo.
27. Nxe6 fxe6
14... Nc6
15. Bb2

Of course not: 1 5. Nf3 Nd4 1 6. Qb2 Nxf3 t

1 7. Bxf3 Qf6! +
1 5 ... Nd4
1 6 . Qd 1 Ne5
1 7 . Ne2 Nec6
1 8 .Nxd4 Nxd4
19. Ra2 b5!

It was probably this position Stahlberg had

in mind playing 2 1 . a5!? Nevertheless, de­
spite the opposite coloured bishops, or rath­
er due to them, white is quite lost .

28. Bh3 Rf6

29. Qe2 Qa5
30. Kg2 Qb4
31. Qd3 c4
32. bxc4 bxc4
33. Qe3 Qb2 !
With this nice move black keeps his advan­
tage . White has serious trouble guarding his Now white is unable to meet the double
weak pawns on the queen's wing. Besides, threat: The attack against f2, and the parade
time trouble is knocking on the door! march of the passed pawn! Notice white's
bishop, a mere spectator for the rest of the
20. cxb5 axb5 game!
21. aS!?
34. Rd 1 e5
It is obvious that this pawn must be lost, but 35. Rfl Bd4
Stahlberg puts his confidence in the d rawing 36. Qel c3
chances based upon the theme: Opposite co­ 37. Bg4 c2
loured bishops.
With the »amusing<< threat: 38. - Rxf2 t
21 ... Ra8
38. Bf3 Qb3
22. B xd4 Bxd4
39. Be2 Qa3!
23. Nf3 Bc3
24. a6 Qb6 In this hopeless position white overstepped
25. Ng5 Rxa6 the time limit. 0- 1 .

25
 4 17 ... Raxc8
18. Qd3 Rfd8!?
Dallas, 1957
White: Evans A typical Larsen reaction. Black sacrifices
his queen's wing and presents white with two
Tarrasch Defence connected passed pawns , ))but before the
endgame God placed the middlegame!<<
19. Qxa6 d4
20. Ne2 Rc2
l . d4 d5
2 1 . Rad 1 Qe5!
2. c4 e6
3. Nc3 c5
4. e3

This is j ust a matter of taste, but today,

thanks to Petrosjan, 4. cxd5 is preferred. At
the time when this game was played the Tar­
rasch Defence had a bad reputation, but
twelve years later it was rehabilitated by
Spassky in his match for the World Champi­
onship against Petrosjan. So, Larsen is a
pioneer, but certainly not for the last time in
his amazing career!!
4... Nf6
5. Nf3 Nc6
6. cxd5 exd5
7. Bb5 a6
8. Bxc6t bxc6
l2. Ng3
9. 0-0 Bd6
10. dxc5 Bxc5 In the Danish chessmagazine ))Skakbladet«
l l . e4 0-0 you could read that this move was a mistake,
and that 22. Nc I would have been much
Of course not : I I . - Nxe4? 1 2 . Nxe4 dxe4
better. But this is wrong! Black would sim­
1 3 . Dxd8t Kxd 8 1 4 . Ng5±
ply play: 22. - Ng4 23. g3 Qh5 24. h4
12. Bg5 Be7 Nxf2! 25 . Rxd4 (what else?)Nh3t 26. Kh l
13. Nd4 Qd6 Rdc8 with a winning attack .
14. e5? !
22 . . . h5!
A dubious decisio n. )) Killing« black's pair of 2 3 . Rfe 1 Qd5
bishops leaves white with a lifeless game. 24. Re2 d3
More in the spirit of this variation was: 1 4 . 25. Re3 Rxf2 !
exd 5 cxd5 1 5 . Te l ;!; 26. Ne4

1 4 ... Qxe5 Not 26. Kxf2 Ng4t - +

15. Nxc6 Qxg5
26... N xe4
16. Nxe7t Kh8
27. Rexd3?
1 7 . Nxc8

Indeed not: 1 7 . Nxd 5 Rd8+

26
 5
Copenhagen, 1960
Black: Geller
Benoni Reversed

1 . g3 d5
2. Bg2 e5
3. Nf3 Nc6

In a famous game from 1 925, Alekhine in a

slightly different position played the ultra­
sharp pawn move e4, but according to Lar­
sen that idea is hardly to be recommended!
( Reti-Alekhine, Baden-Baden)
4. 0-0 Nf6
5. c4 d4
6. d3
Overlooking black's pretty reply. 27. Rdxd3
was the only move, e.g. 27. - Qg5 28 . Interesting was 6. b4!? with some kind of a
Rxd 8 t Kh7 29. Rh8t! Kxh8 30. Qa8 t Kh7 Benko Gambit Reversed, instead we have a
3 1 . Qxe4t f5 32. h4! Txg2t 3 3 . Qxg2 Benoni with a tempo more for white.
Qxe3t = ; or 27 . - Rxb2 28. Rxd 5 Rb l t 6... Bd6
29. Qfl Rxfl t 30. Kxf l Rxd 5 3 1 . Rxe4 = 7. Na3 0-0
27 ... Rfl t ! ! 7. - Bxa3 was worth consideration!
A real »blow«. White i s going t o be mated i n 8. Rb l ReS
»Morphy-style «! 9. Nc2 aS
28. Rxfl 1 0. b3

If 28. Kxfl Qf5t 29. Kg l (29. Rf3 Rxd l t Indeed not 1 0 . a3? a4+
30. Ke2 Nc3 t - +) Qc5t 30. Kh l Nf2t 3 1 . 1 0 ... h6?!
Kg ! Nh3d .c. 32. Kh l Qg l t 3 3 . Rxg l
Nf2tt, but now comes : Geller shows that he does not fear 1 2 . b4. A
more modest and p robably better continua­
28 ... QcSt tion would have been: 1 0 . - Nb4 I I . a3
Now, however, on 29 . Kh I there follows the Nxc2 1 2 . Qxc2 c5 with only a microscopi­
simple 29 . - Nf2t, and so the American cal advantage for white.
grandmaster stopped his clock, on which l l . a3 Bf5
there remained a minute and a half! - Just· 1 2 . b4 axb4? !
take a final look at that white queen, lured
away from the battlefield by t he pawn More accurate was 1 2. - Qd7 . It turns out
snatch back at move 1 9 . that the open rook file is not to black's ad­
When t he tournament had finished, Lars­ vantage.
en got an invitation to sunny California to 13. axb4 Qd7
come and rest for a while. By whom? . . . 14. b5 Nd8
Evans, o f course! 15. e3 !

27
lhc st ro n gest continuation, assuri ng white a Again 2 1 . - Bxd 3 fails to 22. Bxf6 Bxfl 23 .
l'ntain pos itional advantage. Nd5+ -
1 5 ... d xe3 22. Rc l !
16. Nxe3 Bh7
Now the threat is 23. Nd5
After 1 6 . - Bh3 1 7. d4! white would
lkst.
22 ... bxc4
haw a very dangerous initiative.
23. dxc4 Qb6
1 7 . Bb2 ! 24. Nd5 Nxd5
25. cxd5 Bf8
White's pos ition is superior, but urgent mea­
26. Bd4 Qb3
stlresare required otherwise black will con­
solidate with . . . Ne6 and . . . Nc5 26. - Qa6 27. Qxa6 bxa6 28 . ReS was
horrible.
1 7 ... c6
27. Ne5 b5

Perhaps 27. - Qb5 was better, but Geller

was already short of time. 27. � Bf5 fails to
28. g4!

1 8 . Ra l !

Very strong. I n reality this is the winning

move ! White's pressure, both in the center
and on the open rook-file, is impossible to
meet in a satisfactory way. Of course Geller
28. Nd7
was aware of all this. The fact that he now
had spend almost an hour on his last two Now it is all over.
moves ind icates that he felt uncomfortable . 28 ... Ba3
1 8 ... Rxal
Accepting white's kind invitation to the
19. Qxa l cxb5
»dance of death «.
The lesser evil. 1 9. - Bxd 3 20 . Rd l and
29. Bxg7! Bxcl
white has a winning attack or 1 9 . - Qc7 20.
30. Nf6t Kxg7
d4 e4 2 1 . Nh4 cxb5 22. c5+ -
3 1 . Nxe8d.c. Kf8
20. Nxe5 Qc7 32. Qh8t Ke7
2 1 . NO Be7 33. d6t Kd7

28
33 . - Ke6 = mate in three moves ! Better than 8. Bxf6 gxf6 9. Na3 when black
has 9. - f5 !?
34. Nf6t Kc8
8 ... Be6
34. - Ke6 loses the queen, and 34. - Kxd6
simply loses a piece to 35. Qxd S t Another interesting possibility in this posi­
tion was 8 . - b 5 !? as in the game : Olafss on­
3S. Bh3t Kb7
Larsen( ! ) Zurich , 1 959.
36. Qxd8 Qdl t
37. Kg2 Bd3 9. Nc4 Tc8 !?

The second wave of white's attack turns out Here it is . . . the surprise ! Before this game
to be irresistible. people usually played the weaker 9 . - Nd4? !
A good example of how white should play
38. 8c8t Ka8
against the dubious knight move is: Bron­
39. QaSt
stein-Pelikan Moscow, 1 956, which went: 9 .
And here, just before the mate, Gell er'sflag - Nd4?! 1 0 . Bxf6 gxf6 I I . Ne3 ReS 1 2.
fall. A very fine game, played most logically Bd 3 h5 1 3 . 0-0 h4 1 4 . Ncd 5 Bg7 1 5. c3± ­
and still one of Larsen's favourites. In this position Robatsch thought for al­
most an hour, coming up with what seems to
be a faulty plan! The surprise weapon has
proved its value .
6
10. NdS!?
Halle, 1963
White: Robatsch 1 0. Bxf6 looks better.

Sicilian Defence 10 ... BxdS

1 1 . Bxf6 gxf6
l l . exdS? !
1. e4 cS
2. Nf3 Nc6 A further inaccuracy. 1 2. Qxd5 Nb4 1 3 .
3 . d4 cxd4 Qd2 d 5 1 4 . exd 5 Qxd 5 with a roughly
4. Nxd4 Nf6 even position was called for. Now, however,
S. Nc3 e S !? black is better.

Lasker's Hunt-Variante, at that time consid­ 12... Ne7

ered dubious, but at the moment very popu­ 13. 8d3
lar. Two young Russians, Svesnikov and
Gligoric's 1 3 . b4!? is best answered with 1 3 .
Timoshenko, have brought many new ideas
- f5 !+
into this system , and in Manila, 1 976 (Inter­
zonal) Ljubojevic beat Torre with it. 13... rs
14. 0-0 Bg7
6. NdbS d6
l S . QhS
7. BgS
Looks aggressive, but is rather a storm in a
This is the most active . 7. a4 was recom­
teacup !
mended by Schlechter after his match
against Lasker, but today this is not sup­ IS... e4
posed to give black any troubles. 16. Bel 0-0
17. c3
7 •.. a6
8. Na3

29
 crete threats . For the moment such a threat
is 2 1 . - f3 !
21 . Nb3

I n this way white saves his knight only to

realize that in doing so, he puts himself into
the same situation as the Shakesperian Ri­
chard lil (»My kingd om for a horse<<). 2 1 . f3
would have been met with: 2 1 . - Bf6 , and
now white must lose a piece ! e.g. 22. Qxf4
(otherwise 22 . - Qb6t and 23. - Qe 3) 22.
- Nxd 5 23 . Qg3 Bh4 24. Qh3 Nf4-+
21... f3
22. gxf3 Bxc3
23 . Kh l Bxb2
24. Ra2 Be5
25. axb5 Rg8
17 ... f4! 26. Qh5

A strong move, but forced , too. White was He might just as well give up here, but time
threatning to play 1 8 . f4 himself, intend ing trou ble often blinds a man.
1 9. Ne3 with a fine position.
26 ... Nxd5
18. Qg5 b5 27. fxe4 Nf4
19. Nd2 f5 28. Qxf5 Qh4
20. a4 29. Bd l Ne2!

It is hardly possi ble to find anything better. »Eve rything« wins, but this is certainly the
Besides, something must be done against the most rational move in the given position.
simple threat 20 . - Nxd5. Here 20. Qxf4?
30. Qxe5t dxe5
Nxd 5 would only hasten the end !
31. Rxe2
20 ... Kh8!
At the same time he stopped the clock, be­
A typical move in this double-edged posi­ fore Larsen could play the deadly 3 1 . -
tion. White is already forced to meet con- Qh3 .

30
 »ON EVERYONE'S LIPS«
(1964-67)

This period starts with a bang. At the Interzonal, in Amsterdam 1 964, Larsen achieved a
marvelous result fin ishing first, equal with such names as: Spassky, Tal and Smyslov. For a
long time he even looked as a sole winner, but a slight sign of tiredness in the last rounds
enabled the three Russians to catch up with him. (At this moment Bent Larsen had already
qualified for the Candidates') .
Even in the West this fine result came as a big surprise, and the words from the ealier
Danish campion and IM, Jens Enevoldsen, may well be quoted here : »We knew he was good,
but not that good !« It is only natural that during the time that followed, quite a lot was
expected of Larse n. Would he prove to be able to take the World's ch. from the Russians , a
title which they had held since 1 948? (Some would perhaps say 1 937!)
The first obstacle on the road to the top was the Yugoslavian grandmaster Ivkov, a player
famous for his solid and perfect play. (In Yugoslavia they used to give him nicknames, e.g.
))The Yugoslavian Tiger<< or ))The Yugoslavian Petrosian« - of course referring to his ability
and aversion against losing games ! ) U nimpressed , and playing in his usual vigorours style,
Larsen went on to beat this dangerous opponent with the convincing score : 51;2 - 21;2.
Tal, a name that stri kes an ordinary grandmaster with horror, was his next opponent . This
former World champion, called ••The Magician from Riga«, was of course a favourite, but
again Larsen surprised the wondering chess world. It was a tough and fairly even match with
slightly better chances for the Danish GM. For a long time it looked as if Larsen would win
this match, too, but Tal was able to catch up with Larsen, and in the final game he brought a
spectacular knight sacrifice, which caught Larsen by surprise. He found the right course , but
later he went astray eventually losing the game and the match as well.
That the Russians had a good reason to fear this young star from the cold North, was
shown quite clearly in 1 966, when Larse n beat Geller 54 in the play-off for the 3rd place in
the Candidates', thus gaining the right to play in the Interzonal (Sousse) next year.

31
 7
Interzonal, Amsterdam, 1964
Black: Lengyel
Vienna

l . e4 eS
2. Bc4!?

Why not? Just like any other grandmaster,

Larsen is an expert on opening theory. But
unlike the others he prefers little-known or
forgotten variations. Here he presents Len­
gyel with a »novelty« from the days of Phi­
lidor.
2... Nf6
This position is not a draw. White's pawns
3. Nc3 Nc6
in the center are very dominating, and it is
A solid move . Probably Lengyel feared so­ extremly difficult for black to undertake
me prepared »home-work«. Besides, Oligo­ anything active.
ric in the third round got a draw with 3. -
16 ... Ne6
Nc6, so why not stick to that?
17. Nf3 f6
4. d3 Bb4 18. Be3 a6
5. Nf3 d6 19. Nh4! Bd7
6. 0-0 Bxc3 20. Nf5 Rae8
7. bxc3 NaS 2 l . h3 .an
8. Bb3 Nxb3 22. Kh2
9. axb3 0-0
Patience is the order of the day.
10. c4 Qe7!?
22 ... Nf8
Lengyel's improvement on Gligoric's 1 0. -
23. g4 N g6
b6
24. Ng3 Ne7
l l . Nfd2 Nd7 25. Rafl Be6
12. Qh5 NcS 26. Ne2 !
13.14!
With compliments to Nimzovich, who
Just in time. If allowed black would have would have loved this >>bizarre<< move. Ac­
played 1 3 . - Ne6 with some state of blo­ tually, the move played is a very fine one.
cade. White has prevented black from playing the
freeing f5 . Now, before the advance of the
13... exf4
center pawns, white picks up some small
14. Rxf4 QeS
positional advantages.
15. QxeS dxeS
1 6 . Rf2 26.. . Nc6
27. Kg3 NbS
28. Nc3 c6
29. c 5

33
Mission achieved ! 41 ... Nf6
42. Kf4 aS
29. .. Nd7
43. Ra4 Bxb3
30. Na4 Rd8
44. RxaS Ng4
3 l . h4 Rdf8
4S . Ra3 Be6
32 . Nb2!
46 . Nd3 Kg7
In order to protect the b-pawn before an ad­ 47 . NeS!
va nee in the center.
White .would very much like to exchange
32 ... ReS knights because later his king would have a
33. Ral Kf8 field day in the center.
34. Ra4 Ke8 Rc8
47...
3S. Rb4 Rc7 48. Be7 ReS
36. c3 g6? 49. Bd6 Nxe6
Th is is a mistake. Black weakens his f-pawn Otherwise 50. Ra7 would prove to be just
a nd invites white to play g5. Instead , Len­ too strong.
!·!.Ycl should have played 36. - Kd 8 ! with
!(OOd chances of a draw. SO. BxeSt Kf7
S l . KgS Bg4
37. d4 hS? ! S2. Ral Re6
Now he i s lost. 37. - Re7 was the only chan- S3. Rbl Re7
l"e. S4. Rfl t Ke8
SS. Kxg6
38. gS fxgS
39. BxgS exd4 Now it will be difficult to protect the weak
40. Rxf7 Kxf7 rook's pawn.
4l. cxd4 ss ... Kd7
White has a winning position. Black is com­ S6. Rf4 Be2
pletely tied down, and his g-pawn is worth­ S7. Bd6 Re6t
less. Adj ourned for the second time.
S8.KgS Bd3

For the tempting 58. - b5 both players

came to the same conclusion: not playable !
e.g. 59. Rf7 t Ke8 60. Rf8 t Kd7 6 1 . Kf5
Bg4t 62. Kf4 and here black lacks an an­
swer to the threat 63. d 5 ! + -
S9. BeS Be2
60 . Rf2 Bd3
6 l . Kf4

I do not want to attach an exclamation

mark to this move. It appears completely
logical. White frees his rook from the defen­
ce of his king's pawn, and in a number of
variations the pawn on h5 will be en prise.
Black's reaction is forced.

J4
 61. .. Rg6 4. exd5 exd5
62. Ke3 Bc4 5. Qf3 !?
63. Rf5 Rgl
A little surprise. Here Portisch thought
64. Rxh5 Re l t
for some 20 minutes, not feeling well in
65. Kf4 Bd3
variations such as: 5. - Ne7 6. Bd3 Nc6
66. Rh7t Ke6?
7. Ne2± or: 5. - Be6 6. Bd 3 Qf6 7.
Here black could have avoided the threat by Bf<ti
continuing 66. - Kd 8, although his posi­
5 ... Nc6
tion, without doubt, remains hopeless.
The best move seems to be 5. - Qe7 t ! when
black should have no problems, e.g. 6. Ne2
Nc6 7 . Qxd 5 Nf6+. If 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Bd 3
c5 ! is very strong.
6. Bb5 Ne7
7. Bf4 0-0 !?

Oh ! Portisch is in for a fight today. A

more modest try would have been: 7 . - Bf5
8. 0-0-0 Qd7 and .. 0-0-0 with a satisfactory
position.
8. 0-0-0 Na5? !

Again Portisch tries to create complica­

tions which turns out, however, not to be
in his favour. Better was 8. - Be6
9. Nge2 c6
67. d5t !
10. Bd3 b5
The quickest way to conclude the game. l l . h4 Nc4
12.h5 f6
67 ... cxd5
68. exd5t Kxd5 But not: 1 2. - Qa5 1 3. h6 g6 1 4. Bc7 !
69. Rd7t Resigns Qxc7 1 5 . Qf6+ -
(69. - Kc4 70. Rd4t Kc3 7 1 . Re4t Kd 2 13. g4 Qa5?
72. Bc3 t ! )
Superficially this looks as a dangerous
A strategical masterpiece!
threat, but white's clever reply was prob­
ably overlooked by Portisch !
8 14. Bxc4 dxc4
Interzonal, Amsterdam, 1964 15. a3 !
Black: Portisch This is the resource. Now, if: 1 5. -
French Defence Bxa3? 1 6. bxa3 Qxa3t 1 7. Kd2 b4 1 8.
RaJ bxc3t 1 9. Nxc3 Qb4 20. Rhb l + -

l . e4 e6 1 5... Bxc3
2. d4 d5 16. Nxc3 Qd8
3. Nc3 Bb4 1 7. Rhe l a5?!

35
He cannot give up the dream. It would Another losing line was 29. - bxc3 30 .
have been better to play 1 7 . - Nd5 d6+-
although the endgame after say: 1 8 . Nxd 5
30. Qc6t Qd7
Qxd 5 1 9 . Qxd 5 cxd5 would prove to be
31 . Bd6 Rfl
very difficult.
32. Bxe7 bxc3
18. Qg3 ! Ra7
32. - Rxe7 3 3 . Rxe 7t Kxe7 34. Qf6t Ke8
In answer to 1 8 . b4 Larsen had m- 35. Re l t + -
tended 1 9 . Bd6 !
33. Bb4t Resigns
19. h6 g6
20. Bd 6 Re8
2t. Qf4 Kn

9
Interzonal, Amsterdam, 1964
Black: Spassky
Bird's Opening

l . f4

A rare guest in this kind of competitions, but

from Larsen you might expect almost every­
thing ! Larsen had already qualified for the
Cand idates', but due to the somewhat funny
rule saying that there may not be more than
three participants from each country, Spas­
sky could not feel quite safe. The positions
in the top were : Spassky and Smyslov 1 6
An extremely unpleasant positiOn for Tal, Stein and Larsen 1 5 Y2 Bronstein 1 5 etc.
Portisch . 2 1 . - Nd 5 would have allowed 1 .. . d5
the »brilliant<< 22. Nxd 5 cxd 5 23. Qxf6 ! 2. Nf3 Nf6
3. e3 g6
22 .Be 5 rs
4.b4!?
23 .Bb8 Rb7
2 4.Qe 5! Interesting. It is obvious that the queen's bi­
shop aims for b2, and in order to secure its
Also »not bad « was 24. Ne4+ -
��future « 4. b4 seems to be a natural move.
2 4... Rg8 Instead, 4 . b3 would have welcomed black
2 5.g 5 b4 to play 4. - c5 followed by a possible . . . Nc6
26 .Qf6 t Ke8 and . . . d4
27 .Qxc6 t Kn
4... Bg7
If 27. - Qd7 then 28 . Rxe7t decides at 5.Bb2 0-0
once. 6 .Be2 Bg 4!

28 .Qf6 t Ke8 Spassky wants to play e5 . The value of the

29 .d 5 R f8 two bishops is in this position only academic !

36
 7 . 0-0 c6 22 ... Qxa4
8. a4 Nbd7 23. Bxg7 Kxg7
9. Na3 Bxf3 24. Nd4 Rec8
10. Bxf3 ReS 25. h3 Nf6
ll . d4 26. Rfcl Qd7
27. g4 !
Otherwise black would play e5 with a fine
game. This •>quiet(( move is the point of white's play.
Now Spassky's position is difficult, but in the
II ... Ne4?
following he dis plays great ingenuity in how
Hovever strange it may seem, this natural to handle such positions !
move does not seem to be quite correct .
27 .•• Kn
White's problem would have been much
more complicated after the simple: I I . - Of course 27. - fxg4 would be met with 28 .
Nb6, intending the knight manoeuvre Nc8- Ne6t
Nd 6-Ne4 with complete equality.
28. g5 Ne8
12. Bxe4 dxe4
13. Nc4 Nb6

If 1 3 . - c5 1 4 . bxc5 Nxc5 1 5 . f5 !±

14. Na5 Nd5

IS. Qel Qd7
16. c4 Nf6
17. b5 Qc7

In order to answer 1 8 . bxc6 with b6

18. Rb l !

The first subtlety. Now, if black plays 1 8 . ­

axb5 1 9 . axb5 b6 20. Nc6 a6 2 1 . d 5 axb5,
white has the interpolating move 22 . Be5 !
followed by 23. Rxb5±
18... Ng4
29. Qa2 !?
19. bxc6 b6
20. Qe2 f5!? Very tempting but perhaps not the best? 29 .
h4! was a serious •.candidate<< (Expression
A d ifficult decision. Spassky later regretted
borrowed from Kotov's book: ••How to
this move, but probably he was afraid of: 20.
think like a grandmaster(() if then 29. - Nd6
- Nf6 2 1 . d 5 !? bxa5 22. Be5 Dd8 23 . Tb7
30. h5 would be the unpleasant answer, but
with an unclear game! I think a Petrosian
perhaps Spassky would have played the in­
would have played 20. - h5 in this position.
ventive 29. - h5! after which the outcome
2 1 . Nb3 Qxc6 remains highly unclear?
22. d5!?
29 ... Nd6
This is true Larsen, but to be fair it should be 30. h4 Qe8
said that white also has another possibility: 3 1 . Ne6 Qh8
22. Rat;!; 32. h5 h6!

37
This fine move which Larsen must have
underestimated is the only way out of the
mess ! e.g. 32. - gxh5 33. Qe2 Kg6 34.
Kf2 ! and all of a sudden Spassky would find
himself placed in the middle of a hurricane!
33. Rb2!

One blow after another. Black is invited to

play : 3 3 . - Nxc4? 34. Rxc4 Rxc4 35.
Qxc4 Qxb2, which would lose after 36. d6 ! !
33... gxhS
34. Rh2 hxgS
35. Nxg5t Ke8
36. c5 !?

In for a Penny, in for a Pound ! This is ex­

actly what Larsen says here, but 36. Rg2 !?
was also very interesting.

36 ... RxcS This was the sealed move. During the analy­
37. Rxc5 bxcS sis Larsen could not find a sure win, nor
38. Qa4t Kf8 could Spassky find a sure d raw! Polugajev­
39. Rg2 Re8? ! sky, (Smyslov's second . ) claimed that : 42. ­
Rb8 was an easy draw and probably he was
In mutual time scramble Spassky commits right, but it is always difficult to admit a
a slight inaccuracy. The natural move was move being an ••error<c (In this case Spas­
39. - Rb8, but even 39. - a5 was worth sky's 40th move . )
consideration.
43. Ne6t Kf7
40. Qd7 Qh6 44. N g5t
The threat was a nice smothered mate : 4 1 . Of course not: 44 . Nd8t Rxd 8!+
Qe6 .. .42. Qf7t ! . .. 43 . Ne6t t but again, 40.
- Rb8 , was a possibility. 44... Kf 8
45. Kh2 h4? !
4l . Qxa7 Qh!l
Spassky, (or perhaps his second, Bondarev­
This time 42 . Qa I was threatning. sky ! ) is playing with fire now. There was no
42. Qd7 Qh6 need for this move; besides, 45. - c4 looks
obvious .
46. Ne6t Kf7
47. Ng5t Kf8
48. Kh3 c4
49. Ne6t Kf7
SO. N gSt Kf8
S l . Rgl !

An excellent move, forcing the black pawn

to the 6th rank, but to an unprotected
square !

38
 5 1 .. . c3 A very solid system, but hardly one to be ex­
52. Qe6 ! pected from Larsen. On the other hand ,
entering a fashionable variation such as 3 . -
What is this?? . . . Two pawns down and still
e6, leading to the M odern Benoni (and to
Larsen offers the exchange of queens !
some very deeply analysed positions ! ) is de­
52 ... Qxe6 finitely not Larsen either!
He must do this. 52. - Qh8?? allows the 4. Nc3 d6
»brilliant<< 53. Qf7t, and 52. - Qg7? would 5. e4 g6!?
lose a piece to 5 3 . Qe5 !
Now we know him again. The text is a most
53 . dxe6 Kg7 aggressive move normally leading to very
complicated positions. 5. - Be7 is a more
Clearly the only move.
modest reply.
54. Nxe4t Kh6
6 . Bd3? !
55. Nxc3
It has been known for years that this is not
This is the position that white has been aim­
the best place for the bishop ! 6. Be2 followed
ing for. Material is even, but the initiative is
by a later. .. Bg5 would have been a better
clearly in white's hands, and . . . Spassky is
way to challenge black's odd King's Indian.
short of time!
55 ... Ne4?? 6 ••• Bg7
7. Nge2 Nbd7
Panic ! Even with only seconds left on the
clock this is a remarkable misjudgement of One might also examine the sharp 7.
the position leading to immediate disaster . Nh5!?
Instead , 55. - Rd8 ! ! (Discovered by Larsen
8. h3 a6!
only several years later.) seems to keep the
draw in hand if only by a hair's breadth ! Played with a deep understanding of the po­
56. N xe4 fxe4 sition. Flohr was ready to answer the >>rou­
57. Kxh4 Ra8 tine move« 8 . - 0-0? with 9. g4!± which also
58. f5 Ra2 would be the answer to 8 . - Nh5? Now,
59. Rg8 an however, if white proceeds with 9. g4 he
60. Rf8 Resigns would be met with 9. - h 5 ! when black's
problems belongs to the past. Finally, a white
A gigantic struggle between two of the most plan involving castling long could easily be
uncompromising players in the world . met with the strong pawn sacrifice . . . b 5 !

9. Be3 Nh5!
10 Black very resourcefully seizes on the slightest
Copenhagen, 1966 chance of complicating the game. Here, by
means of a slight material investment, he is
White: Flohr
guaranteed a lot of active piece-play along
Benoni the black squares in white's camp.
10. Qd2 0-0
l . d4 Nf6
l l . g4
2. c4 c5
3. d5 e 5 !? Accepting the challenge. Black intends to

39
play . . . f5 bes ides, I I . 0-0-0?! invites black to now 23 . Nxd6 loses to 23. - Rxe2t ! Another
play the promising I I . - b 5 ! ? possibility was 2 1 . 0-0, but after: 2 1 . - Be5
22. Qf3 Nh4 -+ the Queen would be »off­
1 1 .. . Nf4
side« for the rest of the game.
1 2 . N xf4 exf4
13. Bxf4 Ne5 21 ... Rexe4
14. Be2 b5! 22. Nxe4 Rxe4
23. 0-0?
Still keeping white busy.
A natural move, but nevertheless a decisive
15. cxb5 axb5
error. He should have played 23 . Bd 3 with
1 6 . Nxb5 Ra4!
some chances of survival. True, Larsen could
i\nd now the rook comes rushing in through continue with : 23 . - QaS t 24. Kfl Nf4!
t he back door ! 25. Bxe4 Ba6t 26. Kg l Ne2t winning
white's queen, but the win would still be far
1 7 . Nc3 Rd4
away!
1 8 . Qe3 ReS
19. Qg3? 23 ... Rb4
24. Bd3 Be5
This natural move is a mistake, but perhaps
1-loh r simply overlooked black's reply? 1 9 . g5 Now the assessment is a - + !
would have been better, but even then
25. Qf3 Nh4
lllack's position remains very promising.
26. Qdl Qf6
19 ... g5!

i\n excellent idea frequently used both in the

Benoni as well as in the Sicilian Defence.

20. Be3 Ng6!

27. a3

White only needs to play his bishop to e4 for

))all<< his difficulties to be behind him, but
now there comes the concluding combina­
tion.
21 . Bb5 !?
27 ... Nf3t
What e lse'' To capture the rook would be fa­ 28. Kg2 Bxg4!
t a l , e.g. 2 1 . Bxd4 cxd4 22. NbS Rxe4 and 29. axb4 Nh4t

4()
 30. Kg1 Bxd 1 riation he won brilliant games against both
3 1 . Rfxd 1 cxb4 Portisch and Gligoric thus turning this for­
32. Be4 Bxb2 gotten variation to its most popular use
against the Lopez.
Now, I think, white could resign. Black has
everything he wants - a dangerous passed 4 ... Nf6
pawn, a strong queen against two disconnec­ 5. 0-0 Nxe4
ted rooks and finally threats against the white
king. Perhaps a surprise, but Larsen had j ust fi­
nished a booklet on the Open Variation so
33. Ra8t Kg7 why not try it out on Fischer?
34. Rb8 Bc3
35. Rxb4 !? 6. d4 b5
7. Bb3 d5
This clever move is the only chance of con­ 8. dxe5 Be6
tinuing the resistance, but . . . it turns out that 9. c3 Bc5!?
black's position is too strong.
35 ... Nf3t Typical Larsen ! The move actually played
36. Bxf3 is very risky, but one has to know all the hid­
den points in this double-edged position to
Clearly the only move. prove that. A difficult task even for a
36 ... Qxf3 Fischer!
37. Rd3 Be5 10. Nbd2
38. Rg4 h6
39. Rd2 Qxh3 Another very popular move is 1 0. Qe 2
40. Rg2 (6 10... 0-0
Resigns l l . Bc2 Bf5 !?
Black's passed pawn will do the rest . And only now comes the real surprise ana­
lysed in great detail in Larsen's booklet . Both
I I . - Nxf2!? (Once one of the great Botvin­
nik's favourites) and I I .- Nxd2!? are inte­
resting alternatives.
II
Santa Monica, 1966 12. Nb3 Bg4!?
13. Nxc5 Nxc5
White: Fischer
Ruy Lopez About this position Larsen has the following
t o say : »Black has given up the pair of bi­
shops in order to gain other advantages: The
l . e4 e5
attack against the white king's pawn , the
2. Nf3 Nc6
bishop manoeuvre, Bh5-g6 and finally the
3. Bb5 a6
possibility d5-d4. Keres finds the variation
4. Ba4
inte resting . Euwe thinks it is dubious, and
Some months later Fischer went to the Pachman claims I I . - BfS to be a mistake!«
Olympiad in Cuba. Probably he had reflec­
ted quite a deal upon this game, because 14. Re1 ReS
fighting the Lopez he came up with a little 15. Be3 Ne6
surprise . Using the »harmless« Exchange Va- 16. Qd3 g6!?

41
Again he shows his fighting spirit. The solid
move was of course 1 6. - Nf8
17. Bh6 Ne7
18. Nd4 Bf5
19. Nxf5

More accurate was 1 9 . Qd2 ! Now complica­

tions arise, which each player considered to
be in his own favour!
19... Nxf5
20. Bd2 Qh4!

After this move it can be boldly asserted

that Larsen has successfully overcome his
opening d ifficulties.
2 1 . Qfl !?

One of Fischer's ))deep ones«! He could not

of course play 2 1 . Qxd 5? Rad 8 22. Qc6 27. Re3? !
Ne7-+, but 2 1 . Qf3 ! ? was a possibility. H ow­
ever, after 2 1 . - Ng5 22. Qf4 Qxf4 23 . He cannot give up the dream of victory. The
Bxf4 Ne6 24 . Bd 2 c5 the position would be move played is not a ••serious mistake« as
fairly even. Therefore, 2 1 . Qf l !? is an inge­ many annotators seem to think, but the plan
nious try to continue the ))declaration of behind it is faulty ! 27 . f3 !? safe-guarding the
war« launched by his aggressive : 1 9. Nxf5 second rank, should have lead to a draw .
Notice the little trap: 27. Rad l ? Rxe 5 !
21 ... Nc5
22. g3 Qc4 27 ... Qd2
23. Qg2 28. b3

Refusing the drawish: 23. b3 The correct decision. Fischer saw that the
intended : 28. Bf6 Qxb2 29 . Rd I Qxa2 30.
23 ... Nd3 Qh3 Qc2 3 1 . Rfl , failed to, 3 1 . - g5 ! ! and
24. Bxd3 Qxd3 if: 28. f3 then 28 . - Qxg2t would leave him
25. Bg5 c6 with some difficulties in the ensueing endga­
26. g4 Ng7 me.
28 ... b4!?

This move turns out to be very effective,

but 28. - a 5 ! ? would probably have been
equally good .
29. Qh3??

This loses by force. Still, it was not too late

to play 29 . f3 , with good drawing chances .

29... bxc3
30 . Qh6 Ne6
Resigns

42
Fischer must have overlooked that the ))bril­ He does not know Larsen's games ! ! In the
liant(( 3 1 . Bf6 d4 32. Qxh7t would have met Amsterdam Interzonal, 1 964, the game Po­
a rather prosaic refutation in 32. - Kxh7 rath-Larsen continued : 1 4 . - NcS ! 1 5 . f3
33. Rh3 t Qh6 aS= . . . Of course Petrosjan considered 1 4 . ­
NcS , but he rejected it because of the answer
I S . Qc2, threatning both: 1 6. BxcS dxcS 1 7 .
Nf6t, a s well as : 1 6 . b4 - According to Lar­
12 sen this seems to be a mistake in analysis since
Santa Monica, 1966 the ))threat<< 1 6 . BxcS turns out to be a mere
Black: Petrosjan illusion after 1 6. - dxcS 1 7. Nf6t Bxf6
1 8 . Rxd 8 Raxd8, when black would only be
Sicilian Defence too happy without his queen ! Consequently,
14. - NcS ! would have been the right course,
l. e4 cS and if I S . Qc2 then I S . - aS !
2. Nf3 Nc6 I S . f4!
3 . d4 cxd4
4. Nxd4 g6 Opening his offensive in earnest, now that his
pieces have attained their optimum squares.
Funny ! Larsen used to have black in this posi­
tion. Now, in a way, he is forced to play I S ... Nc7
against himself! 1 6 . (5 Na6

S. Be3 Bg7 Head ing for the ideal square, e S .

6. c4 Nf6 1 7 . Bg4? !
7. Nc3 Ng4
8. Qxg4 Nxd4 In the heat of the battle, Larsen fails to find
9. Qdl Ne6 1 7 . b4!±
I O . Qd2!? 1 7. . . NcS
This double-edged move leads to interesting 18. fxg6 hxg6
complications . In fact it is a pawn sacrifice 1 9 . Qf2 Rf8
because white must answer 1 0. - QaS!? with 20. e5!!
I I . Re i Bxc3 1 2 . Rxc 3 ! (Qxc3=) when 1 2 . No credit for other moves ! The variation: 20.
- Qxa2 would have guaranteed black a lot BxcS dxcS 2 1 . Nf6t Bxf6 22. Rxd 8
of problems . Still, a pawn is a pawn, and I Raxd 8+ does not promise white anything,
doubt if Larsen wo uld have played the same and : 20. BxcS dxcS 2 1 . Qxc5 Bxd5 22.
against e.g. Korchnoi ! Rxd S Qb6 ! would only be a draw.
10 ... d6
20 . . . BxeS
I I . Be2 Bd7
2 1 . Qh4 BxdS
1 2 . 0-0 0-0
22. Rxd5 Ne6??
13. Radl !?
A rare case of blindness. Petrosjan fails to
Finally departing from one of Petrosjan's
foresee white's 25th move. If he had , he
elder games , ( Keres- Petrosjan Candidates'
would undoubtly have considered (and
1 9S9) in which Keres played the iess ambi­
played ! ) the much better: 22. - e6! with
tious 1 3 . Rac l;!;
some drawing chances in the occuring end­
13_. Bc6 game . (The �>wild ((: 23. BgS? ! Qb6 24 . RxeS
14. Nd5 Re8? dxeS 2S . Be3 would of course be worth con-

43
sideration, but it is hardly possible that Lar­ Equally hopeless for black was 27 . - Kh7
sen would have played it, since there is a 28. Rh4t Bh6 29. Bxh6 Rf5 30. Rxf5 gxf5
better line!) 23. Qxd 8 Rfxd 8 24. Rxe5 dxe5 3 1 . Bf7 ! + -
25. Bxc5±
28. Rxf7 Kh8
23. Rf3! 29. RgS!
An inspired method of increasing the pres­ This new wave of the attack is clearly irresisti­
sure against the black king. ble.
23 ... Bf6? 29... bS
30. Rg3 Resigns
This is the final slip. The only chance was to
play 23. - f5 24 . Rh3 Kf7, but even then
I doubt if black would have been able to save
his undelicate position. 13
24. Qh6 Bg7
Santa Monica, 1966
White : Petrosjan
King's Indian

l . c4 Nf6
2. Nc3 g6
3. g3 Bg7
4. Bg2 0-0
S. d4 d6

Just as in the Flohr-game ( 1 0), Larsen em­

barks upon a variati on which calls for ener­
gy and exact play.
6. e3 !?

A solid line, no doubt about that. But on the

other hand a rather harmless one, leaving
black with a variety of active plans.
2S. Qxg6 ! !
6... c6
1-:v e r y grandmaster has t o sacrifice h i s queen
7. Nge2 aS!?
o nce in a lifetime, but to sacrifice it against
t he world champion is indeed something The begi nning of a strong manoeuvre, the
spec i a l ! Larsen must have enj oyed playing point of which lies in his 1 5th move.
t h i s bea utiful move to which there is absolute
8. b3 Na6
no defence .
9 . 0-0 eS
25 ... Nf4 I O . Bb2 ReS
I I . a3
out that 25. - Nc7 would have lost
I t t u rns
at once beca use of the answer: 26. Qxg7 t ! Already Petrosjan has problems, e.g. I I . e4 !
a nd mate in two . exd4= , and I I . d5 e4!+
26. Rxf4 fxg6 II ... Rb8
27. Be6t Rf7 12. h3 hS

44
This is true Larsen. Several years ago Polu­ Ta king up a little ))flirt« with white's king.
gajevsky wrote about the fact that Bent From now on, .. h4 is a constant threat.
Larsen was far from indifferent to advan­
22. Rc2 Rec8
cing his rook's pawns, and he might well be
23. Rfc l Rxc2
right, since this theme seems to occur again
24 . Rxc2 h4
and again in Larsen's games. In his book:
25. Nfl hxg3t
))Selected Games<<. Larsen gives the follow­
26. fxg3
ing typical explanation: ))One charming
characteristic of many flank attacks I could
mention is that they do not very often lead to
simplification«!

13. Qc2 Be6

14. Kh2 Qc 7
1 5 . Racl b5!

After this fine and logical move black takes

over the initiative.

16. cxb5

A difficult decision and perhaps not the

right one? 1 6 . d5 cxd 5 1 7. Nxd 5 Nxd5 1 8 .
cxd S Qxc2 1 9. Rxc2 Bd 7 with only a mini­
mum advantage to black would probably
have been a better white course.
26 ... b4!
16 ... c:xb5
1 7 . Qd l Qe7 An excellent move, clearing up an important
1 8 . Nbl diagonal (a6-fl ). According to Larsen, black
is now in a winning position.
Played in order to prevent the annoying 1 8 .
- b4 27. a4 Rc8
28. Rxc8t Bxc8
18... Bd7 29. h4
19. Nd2 e4!
The lesser evil. Bad would be 29 . Qb5? g5
Cramping white's game still furt her. 30. Ne2 Qc7, and black dominates the posi­
20. Nf4 tion.

Petrosjan, who is considered to be some­ 29... Nc7

thing of a specialist on the subject: exchange 30. Bh3 Bxh3
sacrifice, wisely refrains from 20 . d5?! Nc5 Now, however, 30. Ba6? would leave
2 1 . Rxc5 d xc5 22. Bxf6 Qxf6 23. Nxe4 white with some chances on the king's side,
Qb6 ! with a very fine game for black. so naturally Larsen welcomes this exchange.
20 . . . d5 Besides, white's remaining bishop is modest­
ly speaking very bad !
Quite unusual i n t h e King's Indian, it is now
3 1 . Nxh3 Bf8
black who has a s patial advantage.
32. Kg2 Qc6
21 . Qe2 Qd6 33. Qdl Bd6

45
Move by move Larsen increases the activity 43. Ndl N g4
of his pieces. 44. Kgl f6 !

34. Nf2 Ne6 A convincing plan. It seems logical to open

35. Bcl Ng7 up more lines , and in some variations it may
36. Bd2 Nf5 prove useful to have an entry into the white
37. Kh3 Qc8 camp via the rook's file .
38. Kg2
45. Kg2 g5
It would have been too dangerous to play 38. 46. Nf2 Ngh6
g4 Nh6 39. Be I, because of 39. Nh7 with the 47. hxg5
murderous threat .. .f5-+
Otherwise his king would be too exposed .
38... Kg7
47. .. fxg5
39. Nhl Nh6
48. Ndl Kg6
40. Be l Qa6!
49. Nh2 g4
Black has achieved his goal: All his pieces 50. Qc2 Bd6
are beautifully placed , and the white army is 5 l . Nfl Ng8
totally paralysed !
Soon he will be ready for the decisive mano­
41 . Nf2 euvre . . . Qa8-Qh8, but in the meantime pa­
tience is the order of the day.
52. Nh2 Nf6
53. Nfl Kh5
54. Nh2 Kg5
55. Nfl Nh5
56. 81'2 Nf6

White can do nothing but wait, and Larsen,

being very sleepy, only wants to pass the
second time control . - Funny, but it is very
seldom you see Larsen using this so-called
))waiting tactic(( in contradistinction to e.g.
Petrosjan and Karp ov both using it very of­
ten.
57. Bel Nh5
58. Bf2 Qa8!
41 ... Nf5 And suddenly he is not sleepy at all !
The sealed move. There could be little doubt 59. Bel Qh8
that black was in a winning position. Larsen
White's position is lost. There followed:
analysed the adjourned game until seven o'
clock in the morning ( ! ) being well aware of 60. Qc6 Bxg3
all the p oints in the position. By the way, 6 1 . Bxg3 Nhxg3
black's last move was not only strong, it also Resigns
contained a real threat, e.g. 42. Qc2?? Qxfl t !
An outstandi ng performance by Larsen, and
and i t i s all over.
certainly one of his most beautiful games
42. Qd2 Bb8 ever played !

46
 THE WORLD'S BEST TOURNAMENT PLAYER
(1967-70)

For Larsen the year 1 967 took an unusual course. The first 6 months were by no means
sensational, but then at the end of the summer something happened . Larsen went to Cuba in
order to play in the traditional Havana-tournament, not knowing that this was the start of
the most impressing series of victories ever achieved !
»Veni-Vidi-V ici« are the words used about the Roman emperor Caesar, and quite the same
could be said about Larsen winning four strong grandmaster-tournaments in a row. Even in
1 968, he continued his winning stream, finishing first in Monaco ahead of such notabilities as
the two former World champions: Botvinnik and Smyslov. Of course this could not go on for
ever, but the fiasco was moderate! In Mallorca, Larsen and Spassky tied for second place,
scoring 1 3 / 1 7, a fine result indeed, but Korchnoi (Victor the »terrible«) scored 1 4 ! !
The year 1 969 is typical of Larsen's play in the following years. Some outstanding perfor­
mances are followed by some unexplainable set-backs and vice versa. He set off with a
convincing first in Busum. Then came a comfortable match win against the I M H . Westerin­
en, and a very pleasant win against Tal in the play-off for the third place in t he Candidates'.
This, j ust like his match with Geller, secured Larsen a free place in the next Interzonal
( Mallorca), but a catastrophe lured around the corner. San Juan, a beautiful town to play in,
full of cultural riches from the past, and at the same time equipped with all modern faci lities,
should be just the place to create good chess, but for Larsen this was certainly not the case !
Four lost games, and a shared 6-7 place together with Donner was the meagre result, but
perhaps the reason for this failure was that he had j ust finished his book (»Selected G ames«)
and therefore lac ked training a little ! In the annual Mallorca-tournament later the same year,
Larsen was on top again and triumphed ahead of Petrosian and K orchnoi . Larsen got a
double revenge here, winning both the tournament and the K orchnoi-game as well.

47
Grandmaster Bent Larsen , winner of the Interzonal, Sousse 1 967.
Left, Victor Korchnoi.
 14 But now we say good-bye to that book of
Havana, 1 967 Tajmanov's ! It only deals with 1 3 . - Nd7,
when 14. a4 gives white the better play. The
White: Tajmanov move actually played is Larsen's attempt to
Nimzo-Indian Defence save this crucial line .
1 4 . Rb 1 Bd7? !

l . d4 Nf6 Probably wrong. I n the game Gligoric-Lar­

2. c4 e6 sen, Sousse, 1 967, Larsen played the much
3. Nc3 better 1 4 . - Rd 8 ! with a fairly even game.

As you probably know, Tajmanov has writ­ 1 S . c4 Ba4

ten a book on the Nimzo-lndian. Naturally, 16. c6!
he welcomes every oppertunity to play his
A very fine idea. Now black is forced to part
favourite system even against the Nimzo­
with his strong bishop, since the variation
specialist, Larsen. On the other hand, Lars­
1 6. - bxc5 1 7 . Rb4 Bb3 1 8 . Bd2 Iooks too
en, playing the white pieces, usually avoids
dangerous , and 1 6 . - Nxc6 1 7. Rxb7 Rfd8
the Nimzo-lndian, playing e.g. 3. Nf3
does not give black real compensation for
3•.. Bb4 the sacrificed pawn.
4. e3 0-0
16... Bxc6
S . Bd3 cS
1 7 . Bd2 Bxf3
6 . Nf3 dS
1 8 . gxf3
7. 0-0 Nc6
8 . a3 dxc4!? Also worth consideration is 1 8. Bxa5

Trying to get away from the headlines in that 1 8. . . Nc6

book ! 1 9 . Bc3 Rab8
20. Rfd 1
9 . Bxc4

9. axb4? ! cxd4 1 0 . Bxc4 dxc3 does not

promise white anything real, so the text
seems obvious only not the time consumed
over it ! (Tajmanov played it after some 1 5
minutes o f thought. )
9 ... BaS

Of course he could still get safely back to the

main line with 9. - Bxc3, but Larsen want­
ed to test some ideas of his own.

10. Qd3 a6
l l . dxcS

Still >>theory«. Another possible move was

I I . Rd I !?
1 1 ... Qxd3
20 ... Rfc8!
1 2 . B xd3 Bxc3
1 3 . bxc3 NaS!? But not the ))Unconscious<< 20. - Rfd8? after

49
which e.g. 2 1 . f4, intending the manoeuvre : 32 ... Nce7
Be2-Bf3 or perhaps: Bc2-a4 leaves black al­ 33. Ba5!
most without counterplay. Now, however,
With amazing rapidity Tajmanov finds the
black is ready to face the fight against
only way out of the mess. This move was
white's strong bishops, because white must
accompanied with the offer of a draw but
be careful with that weak c-pawn.
Larsen, extremely interested in Taj manov's
21. f4 Kf8 >>fight« against the clock, turned it down.
22. Kg2 Ke7
33 ... b6
23. rs es
34. Bxd7 bxaS
Black is still fighting for equality. To capture 35. Ba4 Ng6t
on f5 would be bad , because it would only 36. KfS TeSt
increase the activity of white's dangerous 37. Kf6 Ne5!?
bishops. 38. Bb3??

24. Bc2 Rc7 With only seconds left , Taj manov finally
25. Kf3 Rd8 commits a blunder. 38. Bd I would have
26. Rxd8 Kxd8 guaranteed the draw.
27. Ba4 Nd7!
38 . . . Ke8
Attaching an exclamation mark to this obvi­
With this sly move, Larsen spins a mating
ously forced move may look strange. Ne­
net around Tajmanov's king.
vertheless, in view of the following line the
justification seems to be okay ! Now white 39. Kg7?
can win a pawn , but probably not the game
Now he even seeks to the center of the spid­
with : 28. Bxc6!? Rxc6 29. Rxb7 Kc8 ! 30.
er's web ! White could have put up a more
Ra7 g6 ! (This clever rej oiner is the real point
stubborn resistance by 39. Rd I
in Larsen's fine defence, and should guaran­
tee the draw without too much difficulty.) 39 ... Ng4!
Taj manov thought for about half an hour
Against this there is absolutely no defence.
over his next move. It was d ifficult to decide
which was stronge r - The above mentioned 40. Rd l RgSt
line, or the openly aggressive move in the 41 . Kh8 Nf6
game, but playing for a win he answered . . . 42 . Ba4t Ke7
Resigns
28. h4 !? g6
29. fxg6 h xg6
':30. hS gxhS
3 1 . Rhl e4t ! 15
Larsen decides to play for a win. 3 1 . - Nf6 Interzonal, Sousse, 1 967
32. Bxc6 Rxc6 3 3 . Bxe5 Ke7 is of course a Black: Sarapu
draw, but with only eight minutes left on
Taj manov's clock Larsen wants more !
Tarrasch Defence
3 2 . Kf4
1 . Nf3 dS
Indeed not 32. Kxe4? NeSt when black wins 2. g3 cS
a piece, but also 32. Ke2? would be bad be­ 3. Bg2 Nc6
cause of 32. - Nce5! + 4. 0-0 Nf6

50
The sharp 4. - e 5 !? would probably be un­ This move is based on a dubious plan, and
wise against Larse n, who loves to play a should have been replaced with the dynamic
black system, but with a move extra ! (In this 22. - Nd6
case the main variat ion of the K ing's-lndian)
23. Be5 Qe2
5. e4 e6
>>with a possible draw<<, Sarapu might have
6. exd5 exd5
thought ! Alas, the exchange of queens does
Another possi bility was 6. - Nxd 5 , but it is not really change anything. White still has a
obvious that black wants to play the Tar­ very promising game .
rasch, and it is difficult to blame him for
24. Qxe2 Rxe2
that !
25. Rfl ReeS
7. d4 Be7 26. Rxe2 Rxe2
S. Ne3 0-0
9. Be3 !?

Not better than 9. Bg5 , but that move would

hardly be a surprise, since it had already
occured once in this tournament. ( I . round
Geller-Sara pu)
9... Ng4
10. Bf4 Be6
1 1 . dxe5 Bxe5
12. Qe2 h6

In view of the threat 1 3 . Ng5, this is practi­

cally forced.

13. Rad 1 ReS

14. Qb1 Qb6
15. e3 RfdS
27. 80 !
And not 1 5 . - g5?, when 1 6. Bxg5 ! hxg5
Simple and strong. The series of exchanges
1 7 . Nxg5 presents white with a decisive at­
has not reduced white's advantage , and he
tack against the naked black king.
now threatens to trap black's sole actively
16. h3 Nf6 placed piece by means of: Bc3 and Bd 3 .
17. Na4 Qa5
27 ... Nd7
1S. Nxe5 Qxe5
19. Ne5 Ne4 Now, if 28. Bc 3 , black has the strong answer
20. Nxe6 Qxe6 28. - Nc5 !
21 . g4!
2S. Bd3 ReS
White has a clear advantage . He has control 29. Bd4 b6
over e5�4 and now f5 also. The black bish­ 30. Kfl f6
op is bad ly hemmed in, and so the endgame 3 1 . Be3 Kf7
favours white. 32. h4!

2 1 ... ReS Patiently Larsen moves forward , strengtn­

22. f3 Nf6? ! ing his gri p by every single move . Black, not

51
enjoying being pushed back to the edge of
the board , therefore decides to do something
active rather than being strangled !

32 ... NeS!?
33. Bbl Re4

Threatning . . . Nxf3

34. Rh l ReS

Black was in serious time trouble. For his

remaining moves he had less than two min­
utes.

35. g5 RhS
36. f4 Ng4t?

A strange move to play when in grave time

pressure. 36. - Nc6 was the obvious retreat.

37. KO r5
In this pos1t10n Larsen calculated some
3S. Bd4 h5
twenty( ! ) moves ahead which is possible be­
Closing off the king's wing, but what about cause all black's moves are practically
his »stupid« knight? forced .
39. Rcl ReS 4S ... Kf7
40. RxeS BxeS 49. a 5 bxaS
41. Bd3 g6 50. bxa5 a6
42. Bb5 Bb7 51. Ba4 Ke7
52. BeSt Kf7
This was the sealed move. When the game
53. Bd7 Kg7
was resumed nobody doubted that Larsen
54. BeS !
would win . Nevertheless , the win is very in­
structive. The first subtlety. Black is in a state of »Zug­
zwang« which only leaves him with one single
43 . a4 Ke7
move !
44. b4 Kf7
45. Kg2? ! 54 ... BaS
55. Bd4t Kh7
A simple waste of time. ( See white's 49th
56. Bf7 Bb7
move)
57. Be6 Be6
45... Ke7 SS. BeS Bb5
46. Kg3 Kf7 59. Bb7 Be4
47 . Be2 Ke6 60. Be6 KgS
4S . Bd l ! 61 . BeS Kh7
62. Bf7!

The second concluding subtlety. The black

bishop is forced to give up the protection of
the d-pawn, e.g. 62. - Ba2 63. e4! fxe4 64.
f5 ! !+ - , is of course out of consideration !

52
 62 ... Bd3 16
63. Bxd5 Be4
Interzonal, Sousse, 1967
Here the game was adjourned for the second White: Gipslis
time . The rest is so-called technique !
Alekhine's Defence
64. Bc4 Bb7
65. Be6 Be4
l . e4 Nf6
66. Bc8 Bd3
2. e5 NdS
67. Bb7 Kg8
3. d4 d6
Again the only mov�. Black's bishop is in 4. c4 Nb6
))ZugzwangK It cannot give up the protec­ 5. exd6
tion .of the a-pawn, and it cannot allow white
It would have been interesting to see what
to advance the e-pawn, so, it must stay !
Larsen had prepared against the sharp 5 .
68. Bd5t Kf8 f4!?
.

69. BeSt Kg7 5 ... exd6

70. Kf3 Nh2t
71. Kf2 Be4 Perhaps giving white the impression (false ! )
72. Bc4 Bb7 that black i s a man o f peace. 5. - cxd6, i s of
73. Bb4 Kh7 course playable, but risky. ( Permanent
74. Bc3 Ng4t white pawn maj ority on the queen's wing. )
75. Ke2 Nh2 6. Nc3 Be7
76. e4! 7. Be3 0-0
The decisive break through. Now it was time 8. Be2 Nc6
to resign, but black is obstinate ! 9. Nf3 Bg4
IO. b3 Bf6
76 ... Bxe4
Smyslov's 1 0 . - f5 !? is perhaps worth con­
76. - fxe4 77. f5 is equally hopeless. sideration?
77. B xa6 Nf3 1 1 . 0-0 dS
78. Bc8 Nxh4 12. cS Nc8
79. a6 Ng2 13. b4?
80. Be5 h4
81. Bb7 h3 Normally this 11push<< is excellent, starting
82. B xe4 fxe4 some queen-side activity which often leads
83. a7 Resigns to the creation of a passed pawn. But here,
with a 3-3 constellation, the move is a harm­
A beautiful endgame performance by Bent less gesture. 1 3 . h3± was the correct answer.
Larsen.
13... Nce7
14. b5 NaS
1 5 . h3 Bxf3
16. Bxf3 c6

Now Larsen has a perfectly satisfactory po­

sition.

1 7. Qd3 Nc4
18. Bf4?

53
To change horses in midstream is rarely his f-pawn in order to play Re I , but he must
good , but here it would have been wise, and have overlooked Larsen's clever 26th move .
with 1 8 . Rb l he could have maintained the Correct was 26 . Bb3+
balance . Now, however, white goes downhill
25 ... Qg5!
quickly !
Forcing white to play f4, which he had tried
18... Ng6
to avoid so terribly. This is an excellent ex­
19. Bh2 Bg5!
ample of what you might call: Pratical psy­
Black has now built up his position to give a chology at the chessboard .
clear advantage . H is control of the dark
26. Kh2? !
sq uares and his more actively placed pieces
give him a strong initiative.

20 . bxc6 bxc6
2 1 . Bd l !?

Better late than never. It is interesting that

the Russian grand master was not satisfied
with this move afterwards. Larsen, however,
in »Chess in the Soviet Union«, reveals
another opinion saying that the move is ex­
cellent and logical, since on f3 the bishop
would only be a target for a black knight.
21 ... Bf4
22. Bc2?

But what is this? Did Gipslis fail to see that it

was abso lutely essential to get rid of the visi­
tor at c4, or did he simply fear a »ghost«? e.g.
22. Bb3 ! Nd2 23. Bxf4? (here the ghost be­ 26 . .• Nb2!
comes real !) Nxf4 24. Qxd2 Qg5 !-+ In­ M ission completed. White is forced to give
stead , 23. Rfd I ! would practically have up the protection of the d-pawn.
forced black to play 23. - Bxh2 t 24 . Kxh2
Nxb3 25. axb3 Qb8t 26. g3 Qxb3 27 . 27. Qf3 Qd2
Rdb I Qc4 with a likely draw after the obvi­ 28. Bxg6 hxg6
ous 28. Qxc4 dxc4 29. Rb4 - however, 22. 29. Nd l Nc4
- Bxh 2 t ! 23. Kh2 Na5 shows that white Of course ! The knight is far too active to
does not succeed in fully equalizing. part with just in order to win a pawn.
22 ... Bxh2t 30. Qc3 Rab8
23. Kxh2 Qf6 31. Ret Re4
24. g3 32. Rc2 Qxd4
A bitter necessity 33. Qxd4 Rxd4
34. Rei aS!
24 ... Rfe8
25. Kg2? Why complicate the issue when you are in a
winning position? 34. - Rb5 !? is such a
It is easy to understand the reason to this f>COmplicater«, snatching a second pawn,
further inaccuracy. White wants to protect but giving white some chances of survival,

54
e.g. 34. - Rb 5 !? 35. ReSt Kh7 36. Ne3 8. dxe5 Qh4
Rxc5 37. Re7, and white is still alive . 9. Nf3

35. Kg2 a4 9. Bb5 t was worth consideration.

36. Nc3 a3
9. . . Qxe4t
37. Na4 g5
10. Qxe4 Bxe4
38. Re7 Rb4
l l . Bc4 Nc6!
39. Nb6 Rb2
1 2 . 0-0
40. Rc3 Rxa2
It turns out that on 1 2. Bxf7t Kxf7 1 3 .
»Everything(( wins , but the move played is
Ng5t Kg6 1 4 . N xe4 Nxe5, black would
the shortest way to the victory.
have a nice game.
4 1 . Nxc4 dxc4
12 ... 0-0-0!
42. Rc7 Rdd2
43. Rf3 c3
Resigns

The attractive finish would be 44. Rfxf7

Rxf2t 45 . Rxf2 Rxf2t 46. Kxf2 c2-+ or,
44. Rcxf7 c2-+

17
Palma de Mallorca, 1967
White: Gligoric
Queen's Indian Defence

l . d4 Nf6
2 . c4 b6!?
In this position Gligoric thought for almost
Normally Larsen plays the Nimzo-lndian,
an hour ! He had intended the blow 1 3 . Bg5
but here as a surprise weapon he presents
but now he saw the amusing rej oiner 1 3 . -
Gligoric with an almost forgotten variation.
Bd 3 ! ! when white had nothing but weak
3. Nc3 Bb7 pawns on the queen's wing.
4. Qc2 d5
13. Rei
5 . cxd5 Nxd5
6 . e4? ! It is hard to find a better move for white. 1 3 .
Bxf7? Bxf3 1 4 . gxf3 Nxe5 is horrible, and
It has been known for years that this is an
1 3 . Ng5? ! allows 1 3 . - Nxe5+
inaccuracy. White should play 6. Nf3 and
only then . . . e4;!; 13 ... Bd5
14. Ba6t Kb8
6... N xc3
1 5 . Bg5 Be7
7. bxc3 e5!
1 6 . Bxe7 Nxe7
This is the trick . Only seven moves with the 17. Nd4 Rhe8
black pieces in a Queen's Indian, and still, 18. f4 g6
the position is equalized ! 19. Bb5? !

55
This looks dubious. White should have sim­ 39. Ke1 Ng2t
ply played 1 9 . a4! , whereupon, after the ex­ 40. Kd1 Nxf4
change of the weak a-pawn, an almost even
The time scramble has come to an end and
position would have been reached.
Gligoric, realizing that he was three pawns
19... c6 down, resigned with a tiny smile.
20. Bfl h5
21. g3 c5
22. Nb3

Also not quite sufficient was 22. Nb5 Nf5 18

23. Bh3 Bc6+
Palma de Mallorca, 1967
22... h4 Black: lvkov
23. c4 Be6
24. Rad 1 h xg3 English
25. hxg3 Bg4

A good move emphasizing his control of the l . c4 c5

important d-file. Black has a very clear - if 2. Nc3 Nc6
not winning - advantage. 3 . Nf3 Nf6
4. g3 g6
26. Rxd8 Rxd8
27. Kf2 Nf5 How long can this go on?
28. Be2? 5. Bg2 Bg7
True, white has a difficult position, but to 6 . 0-0 0-0
add insult to injury, time trouble is knocking 7. a3 a6? !
on Gligoric's door! In such a situation it is This was the moment when symmetry
only too easy to blame a master for a feeble should be avoided . 7. - d5 looks natural.
move, but in a skittle game Gligoric would
hardly have missed what seems to be his last 8. Rb1 Rb8
chance 28. e6! 9. b4 cxb4
1 0 . axb4 b5
28 ... Bxe2 1 1 . cxb5 axb5
29. Rxe2 Rd3 12. d4 d5
30. g4 Nh6 13. Bf4!?
3 1 . g5 N g4t
32. Kel Ne3 Now black is forced to think for ))himself«.
To continue symmetry with 1 3 . -, Bf5 is of
Now it is only a question of ))time « ! course possible , but then 1 4. Ra l Ra8 1 5 .
33. Nd2 Nc2t Rxa8 Qxa8 1 6. Qb3 brings white a clear
34. Kfl Kc7 advantage, on the other hand it is impossible
35. Rf2 RaJ to find a comp letely satisfactory square for
36 . e6 !? the poor rook, therefore. . .

A last gasp for air, but white was lost any­ 13 ... Rb6
way. 14. Qb3 e6

36 ... fxe6 Solid, but rather passive. Now both the bish­
37. Rh2 Rxa2 op and the rook look a little 11stupid«. Why
38. Rh6 Ne3t not the more dynamic 1 4. - Bb7± ?

56
 1 5 . Rfcl Bb7 NfS , but in that case he would have had a
16. e3 h6 position totally robbed of counter play.
Hardly a course to be recommended against
All this is part of the plan adopted by lvkov
the inventive Dane.
playing 1 3 . - Rb6. An interesting alterna­
tive is 1 6 . - Nh5!? 1 7 . Bg5 f6 1 8 . Bh4 g5
1 9. g4 gxh4 20. gxh5 Qe8 ! with an unclear
game, but Ivkov does not like such double­
edged positions !
1 7. Be5 Kh7
1 8. Bfl Nxe5
19. Nxe5 Ne4
20. Qd 1

This is the s ignal for activity on the king's

side . Besides, it also guards against the
threat. - Nd2
20... Nd6
21. Nd3 h5?

An old friend ! In Larsen's games the flank

attack is often the subject of a debate, but
here it only weakens the king's position.
Moreover, the open rook file is definitely 29. Bxg6t !
not in black's favour!
A nice reply winning a pawn. Black can
22. Nc5 h4 hardly afford to accept this bold sacrifice
23. Bd3 ! since after 29 . - fxg6 30. Nxg6 Qf7 3 1 .
An ideal demonstration of the superiority of Nxh8 Bxh8 32. Kg2! white's attack would
a centralized bishop against an offside ditto ! be decisive .

29... Kg8
23 ... hxg3
30. dxe5 Nxe5
24. hxg3 Rh8
25. Ra 1 Bc6 31 . Qc8t Bf8
26. Qg4! A good answer to 3 1 . - Qf8 is 32. Qc7 !
A superb attacki ng move. White threatens 32. Bh5 d4
not only 27 . Nxe6 ! but also the quiet 27 . 33. e4 Qg5? !
Ra7 !
A tactical error missing white's next move.
26 ... Qe7
As Larsen pointed out immediately after the
27. Ne2
game the tempting 33. Rxh5 would have
The storm clouds are gathering over black's been refuted quite convincingly by the fol­
king position. lowing beautiful line 34. Nxh5 Bxe4 3 5 .
Nxe4 Nf3 t 3 6 . K g 2 Qxe4 37. Qa8 ! ! ( a real
27 ... Nc4!?
Larsen-blow) Black should have played 3 3 .
28. Nf4 e5!?
- Qf6, but even then white would have kept
Probably the best chance. Black could have excellent winning chances with 34. Ra7 !
put up a more passive defence with say 27 . - Now comes a little surprise.

57
 Rather a surprismg decision as 2. - Nf6 so
as to follow-up with a long book line seems
natural against one of the most inventive
players in the world !
3. d4!?

Accepting the challenge.

3 ... exd4

Another interesting possibility is 3 . - d6!?

(In fact Larsen himself has recommended
this ))system« for many years . I . d4 d6 2. c4
e5!? is Larsen in 1 97 7 ! )

4. Qxd4 Nf6

Also possible is 4. - Qf6 !?

5. Nc3 Nc6
34. Nce6 ! 6. Qe3t Be7?

This fascinating move decides the game, but But this is wrong. Gheorghiu seems to be
still it was not too late to throw the win away very nervous about his right to castle, (5.
34. Bxf7 t? Nxf7 3 5 . Nce6 Qh6! - + Bg5?! Bg7 6. Qe3 t Kf8 ! =) otherwise he
certainly would have played 6. - Qe7 !
34... fxe6
After 7. Nb5 Qxe3 8 . Bxe3 Kd8 the chances
35. Qxe6t Kh7
are about equal. Now, however, black must
36. Ra7t Bg7
go over completely to defence.
37. ReS!

This finishes it, and normally black would 7. Nd5 ! Nxd5

resign here. H owever, being in time trouble
A sad decision but 7 . - 0-0 8 . Nxe7t leaves
lvkov decides to be shown.
black terribly weak on the black squares
37 ... Be8 around his king.
38. Rxe5 Qxf4
8. cxd5 NbS
39. Rxg7t Kxg7
40. Qe7t Qf7 If 8. - Nb4, white has the strong answer 9.
41. RgSt Resigns Qc3
9. d6!

A neat move played in order to disrupt his

19 opponent's development.
Monaco, 1968
9... cxd6
Black : Gheorghiu 10. Nh3 0-0
English 1 1 . Qh6 Nc6

))Sacrificing« his black-squared bishop, but

l . c4 e5 I I . - f6 1 2 . Nf4 Nc6 1 3. Bg2± gives white
2. g3 g6!? a dangerous attack.

58
 1 2 . Ng5 Bxg5 mistake . As an improvement he gave the
13. Bxg5 f6 move 24 . - Rc6!
14. Bd2 b6
25. Rd5 !
15. Bg2 Bb7
White decides to strike whilst the iron is hot .
With 1 5 . - Ba6 he could have forced Larsen
to carry on in gambit style, e.g. 1 6 . Bc3 ReS 25... Qxe2
1 7. 0-0 ! Bxe2 1 8 . Bd 5 t Kh8 1 9 . Rfe l with 26. h5 Rc2
the murderous threat 20. Bf3 ! or even 20. 27. Rfl Qe4
Bc4 ! Also 1 7 . - Rxe2 1 8 . Rfd I ! gives white 28. Rxa5 a6
more than enough compensation for his sac­
rificed pawns , so Gheorghiu was right, 1 5 . White to move . How does he proceed?
- Ba6? ! would have been j ust too greedy.

1 6 . 0-0 Na5

It is understandable that black wants to get

rid of white's strong white-squared bishop,
but the price he must pay is high . . . a totally
demolished queen's wing!

17. B xa5 Bxg2

18. Kxg2 bxa5
19. Rad l

True, some minor pieces have been ex­

changed, but black's pawn structure is aw­
ful. besides, Gheorghiu h�d spent most of
his time (a usual habit !) on the opening, so
by now he was already short of time.
19... Qe7 29. Ra4 !
20. Rd2 Rab8
This quiet move underlines the fact that
2 1 . Rfdl Qe4t
black's pieces are too awkward ly placed to
Played in order to prevent white from occu­ help in the defence.
pying the square f4 .
29... Qe8
22. Kgl Rb6 30. Rg4 Qf8
23 . h4! 31. Qe3 !

Of course not 23. Rxd6?? Rxd6 24. Rxd6 ))Accidenta lly« a rook is en prise ! The rest is
Qb I t with a draw by perpetual check. The easy.
move played is a Larsen special! It combines
31... Rbc6
pressure in the center and on the queen's
32. hxg6 hxg6
wing with real threats on the king's wing;
33. Rxg6t Kf7
quite a deal for one single move !
34. Rg4
23 ... Qe5
At this moment the Rumanian grandmaster
24. b3 Rc8? !
had only seconds left for his remaining
Afterwards Gheorghiu claimed this to be a moves.

59
 34... R2cS blown into pieces in one dashing shot ! Ne­
3S. Qd3 ReS vertheless, for pure tactical reasons the
36. f4 ReS move played is a mistake. White should have
37. QdSt played 9. b 3 , intending .. Bb2 and .. Nbd2
with a comfortable game.
A matter of taste. 37. Qh7t is also quite
good ! 9-. dxeS
10. RxeS c4!
37 ... Ke7
38. Rel t Resigns Damjanovic is invited to win a piece ! If now
I I . Bg5 , the answer would be I I . - cxd 3 !
After 38. - Kd 8 39. RxeSt 40. Rg8 wins
1 2. Bxf6 Qxf6 1 3 . Rxh5 Qxb2 1 4. Nd2
the queen.
dxc2, and black has a fine game. Here some­
thing funny took place. Damjanovic who
was standing a little away enj oying a cup of
coffee suddenly discovered that it was his
20 turn to move. H e rushed to the table, and
before he sat down he simply snatched the
Monaco, 1 968
bishop with his rook j ust as if he would say:
White: Damjanovic ��There I got you (( !
Sicilian Defence I I . RxhS? !

Why not the ))normal(( I I . d4+ ?

1. e4 cS
2. Nf3 d6 I I ... NxhS
3 . Bb St 12. NeS Nf6
13. Nxc4 Be7
This is one of Larsen's favourite lines against 1 4. Nbd2 0-0
the Sicilian, but here he plays the black I S . Nb3 NdS
pieces!
A position is reached in which black's ad­
3 ... Nc6
vantage is indisputable. Still, the win is far
4. �0 Bg4
from easy and can only be obtained with
S. h3 BhS!?
great difficu lty and outmost care ! In this
He does not trust Bronstein ! In the game phase of the game Larsen is second to none,
Larsen-Bronstein Moscow, 1 959, the latter and the rest is extremely instructive.
played 5. - Bxf3, but without particulary 16. Bd2 Bb4
success. 17. Bxb4 Nxb4
6. Rei e6 18. a3 NdS
7. Bxc6t 19. Qd2 Nb6
20. NbaS Qc7
For lovers of the bishop pair 7 . a4 or 7. Nc3 21. Rei Rad8
are worth consideration. 22. b4 RdS!
7 bxc6
The rook is well posted here. Instead, 22. ­
.••

8. d3 Nf6
c5?! would have been an inaccuracy because
9. eS? !
of 23. b5+
Positionally speaking this looks good since 23. Ne3 Rd7
black's pride, the beautiful S icilian center, is 24. Ng4 cS!

60
Well timed. Now white cannot reply 25. Qg5 True, a dying man can eat anything, but
as 25. - Nd5 26 . c4 f6 27 . Qd2 Nf4 ! is in even he knows his own limitations ! H ere
black's favour . Damjanovic devides to trust Larsen, and as
we shall see not without justification. After
25. bS c4
33. Nxa 7? ! Qc5 34. Nec6 Qc I t 3 5 . Kh2
26. Nc6 cxd3
Qc2 it would hardly be possible to guard
Nice to get rid of this weak pawn. against black's numerous threats.
27. cxd3 Qd6 33 . . . axb6
34. Rc4 Ra8
Suddenly it is white who has a weak pawn.
35. a4 f6
28. NgeS Rc7 36. NO Kf7
29. QaS NdS 37. g3 Rd7
30. Re4 QcS! 38. Kfi eS!

Almost all the white men are busy on the Now Larsen is ready for the decisive mano­
queen's side so a direct attack against the euvre : Nc7 .. Ne6 .. Nc5, with an easy win, but­
naked king seems natural. . . . Damjanovic is in grave time pressure !

31. Rc4 Qb6 39. Ke2?

32. Ra4
Hastens the end . Perhaps white thought that
he could trap Larsen's bold knight?
39 ... Rxa4!
40. Rxa4 Nc3t
41 . Kd2 Nxa4
42. NfxeSt fxeS
43 . NxeSt Ke6
44. Nxd7 Kxd7
Resigns

Actually Damjanovic did seal a m ove, but

later analysis showed that it was impossible
to trap the brave knight. After 45. d4 it
jumps to b2, and out into freedom again.

21
32 . . . Rb7 ! !
Colorado, 1 968
This i s the whole point. I t forces Damjanov­ White : Browne
ic, already in time trouble, to make a diffi­
Dutch Defence
cult choice . Should he capture the pawn and
thus let all his pieces be lured away from the
protection of his king, or should he ex­ 1. c4 rs
change queens thus satisfying himself with a 2. g3 Nf6
probably lost endgame? 3. Bg2 eS? !

33. Qxb6 This move i s considered t o b e o f dubious

61
value, but perhaps it is a good choice against 1 7 ... Be6
a young »booked-up« player like Browne ! 18. Nd3 Qf7
19. R e i h 6 !?
4. d4 exd4
S. Qxd4 Nc6
6. Qdl

He is not tempted to leave the book with 6.

Qe3 t ! ?

6... Bb4t
7. Nd2

Objectively this must be regarded as less ac­

curate than 1 0. Bd 2 which continues the
fight for the imp ortant central square d 5 .
Then, b y means of: N c 3 . . Nh3 . . Nf4 and
Nd5, he could have kept a firm grip of that
vital square.

7... 0-0
8. Nf3

Again, 8. Nh3 looks better. It is difficult to decide which of the two good
moves: 1 9 . h6 !? or 1 9. - g5!? one should
8... aS
prefer, but Larsen, true to his »style<<, of
9. a3 BcS course chose the most difficult to calculate
10. Nb3 Bb6 in actual play ! In this troublesome position
I I . 0-0 Browne spent ten minutes , leaving him with
But not I I . c5? ! Ba7 1 2. Be3 d 6+ only thirty minutes for the remaining
moves! (Time control at move fifty).
I I ... d6
20. cS Bb3
12. Nbd4 NeS
21. Qb l NxcS
13. Qc2 Nxf3t
22. NxcS BxcS
14. Nxf3 a4!
23. Bxb7 Rb8
White has an isolated c-pawn and a big hole 24. Bf3 BdS
on b3. Again Bent Larsen's unusual play in 2S. BxdS QxdS
the opening has proved to be a success . Now white is hard put to it to find a reason­
able move due to the pressure exerted by
IS. Bf4 Ne4
black's roo k.
16. Rad l Qf6
26 . Qc2 Rb3
Browne now has a very difficult game . B lack
27. Bd2
cannot only play for attack on the king's
side, but can also put pressure on the c­ If he wants to save his weak b-pawn this has
pawn. to be done, but now his king looks rather
exposed .
1 7 . Nel
27... hS!
If Nd2? black wins with 1 7 . - Nxf2 ! 1 8.
Rxf2 g5-+ The most energetic reply.

62
 28. Rc3 h4 43 . Ke2 d5
29. Red I Qe6 44. Rg7 g5
30. e3? 45. g4 c4

Weak, as the white squares in his camp now Suddenly white's h-pawn is in danger. No
remain terribly weak. He had to try 30. matter how he plays, Browne is lost .
Qd 3+
46. Rd4 Rd6
30. .. h3 47 . f3 exf3t
3 1 . Rfe l Qe4! 48. Kxf3 ReS
49. Rxe5 Kxe5
Forcing white to accept a very unfavourable
50. Rd2
ending.
Browne asks to be shown.
32. Qxe4 fxe4
33. Rei Rf5 50... Rd3
34. Red I Rb6 51 . Rc2 Rdl
35. Rc2 Kf7 52. Rn Rgl !
36. Rcd2 g6 Resigns
37. Rd5?
Nothing can be done against the murderous
In time trouble Browne commits the decisive threat 5 3 . - Rg2
error. One can understand that white was
eager to exchange a pair of rooks, but this is
exactly wha t Larsen had been waiting for !
Browne should have kept cool with 37. Re i
or Rc2 satisfying himself with an undelicate
position, but still alive ! 22
Rxd 5
Olympiad, Lugano, 1 968
37...
38. Rxd5 ReS! White: Reshevsky
It turns out that white must lose a pawn.
Nimzo-lndian Defence

39. Rh8 Rxa3 I. d4 Nf6

2. c4 e6
Perhaps Browne overloo ked the sim ple
3. Nc3 Rb4
back-row mate : 40 . bxa3?? Tb I t when he
4. e3
played 37. Rd 5?
»On revient touj ours a ses premieres
40 . Rd2 Rb4
amours« (Old love dies hard). The Rubin­
4 1 . Rc2 c5
stein Variation has been on Reshevsky's rep­
Did you think that Larsen missed something ertoire since he as child prodigy gave simul­
here? .. Of course not! On 4 1 . - a3 comes 42. taneous displays in a number of European
Kfl ! and white wo uld still be able to put up a countries . The great Rubinstein once visited
fight. Lodz ( Poland) and here he played a game
against the famous boy. Afterwards he stat­
42. KO Ke6
ed : »This young man will be World Champi­
Got it? The answer to 42. - a3 would have on some day <e That was in 1 9 1 7 ! and here,
been 43 . Ke2 ! but for heaven's sake not 43 . some fifty years later, ��sammy<< is still on
bxa3?? Rb I t and mate in two ! top, playing first board for the Ame ricans.

63
 4••• 0-0 2 1 . Nxd2 Bd7
S. Bd3 cS 22. b4 cxb3 e.p.
6. Nf3 dS 23. Nxb3 Nxb3
7. 0-0 dxc4 24. Bxb3 Qe7!?

A matter of taste. 7. - Nc6 is of course Normally one would expect the »thematic«
equally good . 24. - f5 , but Larsen enj oys to play unex­
pected moves! Another reason is that such
8. Bxc4 Nc6 quiet moves are much more difficult to deal
9. a3 BaS with than the brutal 24. - f5 !? especially for
1 0 . Qd3 a6 a man in growing time trouble !
1 1 . Rd1 !?
25. Rac l ? !
The crucial line I I . dxc5, is dealt with in
A standard developing move. From Resh­
game 1 4 . (Tajmanov-Larsen, Havana, 1 967)
evsky one expects a deeper penetration into
1 1 ... bS the essence of the position and 25. Nb4 ! was
12. Ba2 c4 called for, after 25. - Rfc8 26. Nc6 Qf6
13. Qe2 Qe8! 27. Rac l white has a fair position.

Until now just a banale repetition of the first 25 ... Rfc8

match game Portisch-Larsen, 1 968 . The 26. Nb4??
point is a strong pawn's sacrifice which Lars­ This is a blunder revealing yet another point
en discovered in Dundee, 1 967, when he an­ of black's last move .
alysed his game against Gligoric. Black in­
tends to answer 1 4 . e4!? with 1 4 . - e5 1 5 .
d 5 Nd4! 1 6. Nxd4 exd4 1 7 . Rxd4 Bb6 1 8 .
Rd2 Ng4 ! and black has a strong initiative.
( Larsen).
14. h3!?

Portisch played the modest 1 4 . Bd2!?

14 ... eS

The first move which Larsen had to play

without solid knowledge based upon his an­
alysis before the game !
1S. dS Nd8
16. e4 Nb7
17. Bb1 Nd7
18. Bc2 Nd6 26 ... Bxh3 !
Without too much difficulty black has ob­ Surely Reshevsky should have seen that this
tained a solid positi on, and the game must old theme was »On« again? Not 27. gxh3??
be considered fairly even; but as 'usual Resh­ Rxc I 28 : Rxc I Qg5t and if 27. Rxc8t black
evsky had spent a lot of time on his first has the simple 27. - Bxc8-+
moves.
27. Qe3 Bd 7
19. Na2 NcS 28. Nc6 Qf6
20. Bd2 Bxd2 29. f3 hS!?

64
Again and again this theme occurs in Lars­ 23
en's games . Black must attack on the king's
Palma de Mallorca, 1968
side, otherwise it might be difficult to win
the game because of white's firm grip on the Black : Gheorghiu
square c6. The fact that Reshevsky was in Queen's Gambit
servere time pressure of course also played
an important role in Larsen's calculations.
l . Nf3 Nf6
30. Rc3 h4 2. c4 c5
31 . Rdcl g5 3. Nc3 e6
32. Na7 Rxc3 4. e3 Nc6
33. Rxc3 NeS! 5. d4 d5
6. cxd5 exd5
The most accurate . Black guards against the
7. Be2 cxd4
threat 34. Rc7, and now plans to improve his
S. N xd4 Bd6!?
piece position generally.
Better than 8 . - Bc5 9. Nxc6 bxc6 10. 0-0
34. Nc6 ReS
0-0 I I . b:J±. The move played stems from
35. Rc2 Kg7
Gligoric, who in a previous round, managed
36 . Qc3 Rc7
to keep a draw with it. H is opponent? . . .
37. Kh 1 ? !
Bent Larsen !
That awful time trouble ! H owever, he did
9 . 0-0 0-0
see 37. Qxe5?? Rxc6 !-+
10. Nf3 a6
37 ... Kh7
Played in order to prevent the standard
3S. Qe3 g4!
manoeuvre NbS . . . Nd4
This was what Larsen had been waiting for.
l l . b3 Bg4
Now it becomes clear that the white king is
12. Bb2 ReS
badly placed on h I .
1 3 . h3!?
39. fxg4 Qn t
In the above mentioned game Larsen played
40. Kh2
the less accurate 1 3 . Rc I which enabled Gli­
Of course not 40. Qg l Qd 3-+ goric to equalize after the fine 1 3 . - ReS
14. h3 Bh5 1 5 . Nh4 Bg6 !
40... Nf6
13... Bh5
With decisive effect.
1 4 . Nh4 Bxgl
41 . Nxe5 Rxcl
Here too 1 4 . - Bg6 is a line wort h consider­
42 . Bxc2 Qa t ! !
ation.
The elegant final touch. White must lose a
1 5 . Nxe2 Be5
piece, e.g. 43. Qf4 Qxe 5 !
16. Qb1 !?
4 3 . Resigns
An ambitious idea but the sort of unusual
move that Larsen specialises on. 1 6 . Bxe5
Nxe5 1 7 . Nf5i is not 11bad« either!

65
 25. Rc3 Rec8
26. Nf4 !

Doubtless the most energetic. The natural

reply 26 . Rac l Ne6 27. Rxc7 Rxc7 28 .
Nxe6 Rxc l t 29. Nxc l fxe6 30. Nd 3 Nc6 !
gives black some hope of survival.
26... Nd7
27, Rxc7 Rxc7
28. Rd1 g6
29. g4 h6?!

This is wrong, but in a difficult position with

only little time to spare such moves come
very easily. lt was certainly better to play 29 .
- b5 with excellent chances of . . . adj ourn­
ing the game !

16 ... Ne4? 30. Kf2 Ne5

3 1 . h4 Rc8
After this mistake the picture changes rapid­
32. h5 Kg7
ly. Clearly , on 1 6 . - Bxb2 1 7 . Qxb2 Ne5
33. Ke2 g5?
1 8 . Nf5 ! is strong, but 1 6. - d4!? was a very
interesting move: 1 7 . Nxd4 (Not 1 7. Rd l ? Short of time, Gheorghiu evidently over­
Nd7 !+) 1 7 . - Nxd4 1 8 . exd4 Bxd4 19. looked white's next move. H owever, black's
Rd l Bxf2t ! 20 . Kxf2 Ne4t 2 1 . Qxe4 Rxe4 position is already beyond the moment of
22. Rxd8 t Rxd8 23. Nf3 a5 ! seems to be death.
white's best try, but black's actively placed Nxd5
34. Nxd5
rooks should guarantee him a draw by care­ 35. Nf5t Kh7
ful play. Black could also try 1 7. Nxd4 Bxd4
36. Rxd5 Rc2t?
1 8 . exd4 Nxd4 1 9. Rd l Ne2t 20. Kfl (20 . 37. Kd 1 Resigns
Kh l ? ! Qb6 !) Qc7 2 1 . Nf3 Ne4!? with inte­
resting complications.
17. Nf3 Bxb2
18. Qxb2 Qf6
24
19. Qxf6 N xf6
20. Rfd 1 Helsinki, 1969
Black: Westerinen
I t i s time to sum u p . Black has a n isolated
pawn, but what is worse: he lacks the usual 6th Match Game
active piece-play which normally compen­ King's Indian Defence
sates such a weakness. In a higher sense we
may regard Gheorghiu's position as lost.
l . Nf3 Nf6
20 ... Rac8 2. c4 g6
21 . Rd2 Ne7 3. Nc3 Bg7
22. Nfd4 Ne4 4. e4 d6
23 . Rd3 Rc7 5. d4 0-0
24. f3 Nc5 6. Bg5!?

66
The book says 6. Be2, but Larsen prefers to
go his own way. By the way, the innocent
looking bishop move is not quite harmless,
and it forces black to fresh thinking from the
very start. Other Larsen moves in this posi­
tion are : 6. h3 !? and 6. Be3 !?
6 ... cS

Perhaps a better reaction to 6. Bg5 would

have been 6. - h6!? asking the bishop at
once. If then 7. Bh4; g5 followed by . . . Nh5
and, perhaps . . . c5 is the usual method to ob­
tain dynamic counter-play, but white could
also try the inventive 7. Be3 !?
7. dS Na6

The system employed in this game by Wes­

terinen is not particularly popular. If white
succeeds in completing his development, I4. Rb i !
then the black pieces will be very cramped . A splendid move which shows deep under­
Counter-play must be created quickly, and standing of positions of this type. Black has
for that purpose the usual continuations 7 . ­ an isolated a-pawn, but at the moment it is
c6 or 7. - h6, are more active . difficult to attack. If it was possible to lure it
8 . h3 to a5 things would be quite different. There
Nc7
9. Bd3 a6 it would be very easy to attac k and almost
Bd7? impossible to defend . On the other hand
IO. a4
black cannot allow a white b4, intending
A serious positional mistake. Westerinen is . . . bxc5 , which would leave Larsen too do­
like a fish in water in complicated and dou­ minating in the center. Also, white is ready
ble-edged positions, but sometimes, like to go on (all part in the b4-plan. ) with
here, his positional sense fails him. Obvious­ the well-known k night - manoeuvre:
ly he should have played 7. - b6, or even Ne l . . .Nd 3±. True to his »style« Westerinen
strike in the center at once with 7. - e6 !? decides to play actively rather than to sit and
l l . aS wait with a passive move such as 1 4. - e6.

Of course ! I 4 ... eS!?

IS. Nei
11 •.. Rb8
I2. 0-0
Of course not 1 5 . dxe6 e.p. which only
bS
I3. axb6 e.p.
would have helped black's stranded knight
Rxb6
back into the game.
IS... Qe7
I 6 . Bc2 h6
I 7. Be3 Nh7
IS. Nd3? !

Like Fischer and Karpov Larsen knows a lot

of midd legame positions and plays them

67
with lightning speed , but here he simply
plays too fast allowing his inventive oppo­
nent to be »violent(( on the king's wing ! The
natural move is 1 8 . Qd 2 ! , but perhaps Lars­
en worried about the razor-sharp 1 8 . - f5 !?­
? H owever, after 1 9 . exf5 gxf5 20 . Bxh6
Westerinen would have very little to show
for his pawn.

ts... rs
19. f4 exf4
20. Nxf4 Qe8!

Exploiting the fact that white's bishop on e3

is ��hanging((. Now the game takes a violent
course, and it is not easy to foresee whose
attack would prove to be the most danger­
ous .
2l . Qd2 gS 2S ... QhS?
22. Nd3 f4
23. Bf2 f3 Did he not see 25. - Bxh3 t ! -? Of course he
24. eS! did ! Westerinen thought that the sacrifice
would only lead to a draw, and being down
The point of Larsen's previous play. The I : 5 in the match, he needed a win desperate­
idea is analogous to Bent Larsen's treatment ly. After 25. - Bxh3 t ! 26. Kxh3 Qh5t 27 .
of his attack in the famous game against Kg2 Qf3 t 28 . Kg l Qg4t Westerinen
Petrosjan, Santa Monica, 1 966. In that thought the game to be a d raw by perpetual
game (number 1 2 . in this book.) he came up check since 29 . Kh2? would lose to 29 . Rf3 ! ,
with the incredible 20. e5 ! ! and eventually but he seems t o have forgotten that there
won with a brilliant queen's sacrifice. Ac­ was a third possibility: 29. Bg3 ! ! Qxg3t 30.
cording to the master himself, such »unex­ Qg2, with excellent chances of a win. In this
pected <<, brilliant, etc. etc. moves are often line, even the exchange of queens would
found through elimination and we may as­ hardly save black's disorganized position.
sume that he also used that method in this
game. 26. Qe3!

24 ... fxg2 Indeed not the tempting 26. e6? Nxe6! 27.
2S. Kxg2 dxe6 Bxc3 28 . bxc3 Bc6t 29. Kh2 Rxb l
30. Bxb l g4 3 1 . h4 g3f ! ! , and black has a
decisive attack.
26 ... d xeS
27. NxcS Bc8
28. Qd3 BfS
29. NSe4 Rg6
30. BcS !

After this move material losses are inevi­

table, e.g. 30. - Rf7 3 1 . Rxf5 ! Rxf5 32.
Ng3+ -

68
 30 . . . g4 Otherwise black would lose his queen. (40.
- Kg7 4 1 . Rf7t Kh8 42. Rh 7 t ! or 42.
A desperate try for a last �>swind le«.
Rf8 t Kg7 43 . Rg8t ! )
3 1 . Bxf8 gxh3d.c.
41 . Nd5t Nxd5
32. Kh l Nxf8
42. cxd5 Resigns
33. Qf3
A fascinating passage of play with Larsen
With a beautiful finish in mind , but already
seeing one move too far every time.
there were many winning continuations.
33 ... Bg4
34. Qf7t Kh8 25
Eersel, 1969
4th Match Game
White : Tal
Sicilian Defence

l . e4 c5
2. Nf3 d6
3. d4 cxd4
4. Nxd4 Nf6
5. Nc3 Nc6

As soon as a variation becomes p opular

Larsen abandons it ! 5. - a6, the Najdorf
Variation , one of Larsen's earlier favourites,
is here rejected for the benefit of the �>solid«
5 . - Nc6.
6. Bg5 e6
35. Qxf8t !
7. Qd2 Be7
The unexpected final touch; Larsen, as usu­ 8. o-o-o o-o
al, sees one move further. H owever, honest­ 9. Nb3 !?
ly speaking 3 5 . R f2 and . . . Rbf l seems equal­
Hardly a surprise, si nce this move has oc­
ly good , but, of course, less amusi ng.
cured in several of Tal's games . The book
35.... Bxf8 recommends 9. f4 !?
36 . Rxf8t Kg7
9 ... a6!?
It is easy to see that this is the only move.
Larsen: �>The books recommend 9 . - Qb6,
37. Rbfl but I find the following very interesting«.
Tal: •>Nowadays 9. - Qb6 is considered to
The killer. White threatens mate in one, and
be the strongest move«.
if 37. - Rg5 , 3 8 . Ng3 ! traps the queen.
10. Bxf6 gxf6 !?
37. .. Be6
38. dxe6 Rgl t Tal only gives : 1 0. - Bxf6 I I . Qxd6 .. �>with
39. Rxg l t Kxf8 i nsufficient compensation for his material
40. Rfl t Ke7 deficit«.

69
 l l . Be2 Kh8 22. Ng6t?
1 2 . Bh5
Tal spent some 17 minutes on this move
Black is not allowed to play . . . Rg8 for no­ leaving him only 1 2 minutes for the rest!
thing. Nevertheless the move actually played is an
error which gives Larsen much the better of
1 2 ... Bd7
it. Tal should have played 22. Bxe6! with
13. f4 b5
about equal chances, e.g. 22. - Rc2 23 .
14. Kb1 Qb6
Qd4 Rxc I t 24 . Kxc I Qc6t 25 . Qc3 bxa2
15. f5 Rac8!?
26. Bxa2 Qa6 27. Qa3 Qc6t is a draw by
Another interesting possibility was 1 5 . - repetition, since white hardly can afford to
a5!? with a very unclear position. (Here one play 28. Kb l Ra8 ! with a very dangerous
could easily consume a lot of time in order to attack. But would Larsen have been satisfied
find the »best<< move ! ) with a draw? I think s o ! After all, he would
have been one point up, and . . . play the white
1 6 . Rhfl a5
pieces in the next game ! H owever, if not, he
1 7 . Ne2 b4
could have tried the tricky 22. - Bxe6!? (So
18. Nf4 a4
that white cannot capture with the bishop as
1 9. Ncl Ne5!?
above.) e.g. 23. Nxe6 Rc2 24. Qh6?! (24.
The position is extremely complicated, and Qd4 !) Rxb2t ! ! 25 . Ka I , (25. Kxb2 bxa2d.c.
both Larsen and Tal had used considerable 26. Kc2 al (N)t ! wins for black.) and now
time calculating endless attacking possibili­ the quiet 25. - Rg8 ! ! decides the game at
ties, but from now things get worse move by once. Tal never misses such »brilliant« lines,
move. so perhaps that was the reason to the mis­
take 22. Ng6t?-? Finally, returning to the
20. Bxf7! b3!
diagrammed position, white could not play
2 1 . cxb3 axb3 !
22. Nxb3? Rxf7 23. fxe6 Bc6 24 . exf7
Much better than 2 1 . - Nxf7 22. fxe6 Bc6 Bxe4t 25. Ka t Qxb3 ! ! nor could he play 22.
23. exf7 Bxe4t with complicated play not fxe6? Rc2 23. Qd4 Rxc I t ! 24. Kxc l bxa2!
unfavourable to white ! (Again this terr�ble motif.) 25. Kd2 (Even
»worse« is 25. Kc2 ReSt) Nc4t 26. Ke2
Qxd I t 27 . Rxd I Nxb6, and black has won
a piece .
22... N xg6
23. fxg6 Kg7!

Safety first. The variation given above is still

tempting, but after 23. - Rc2 !? 24 . Qh6
Rxb2t 25. Ka t Rb l t 26. Kxb l bxa2d .c.
27. Kc2, black would be the first to be mat­
ed .

24. Nxb3 h xg6

25. Bxg6 K xg6

Black's advantage is of course a winning

one, but in mutual time pressure a mistake is
not far away.

70
 26. RfJ Bc6 He could also try 4. - c5 5. a3 BaS , but
27. Qf4 Kn Larsen does not fear the »loss« of his black­
28. Nd4 Rh8 squared bishop.
29. Rb3 Qa6
S . a3 Bxc3
30. RaJ Qb7
6. Qxc3 b6
J l . RbJ
7. e3 Bb7
That terrible clock. Here Tal stopped to 8. Be2 d6
write down his moves on the score sheet. 9 . b4!?

31 ... Bxe4t Very ambitious play here from Polugaj evs­

32. Ka t QdS! ky. Perhaps a built up such as 9. d3 . . . 0-0 and
only then . . . b4 is worth consideration.
With the nastry t hreat: Bc2, and, of course,
e5. 9... Ne4!
10. Qc2 NgS
JJ . Qfl Ra8
l l . Bb2 Nd7
Renewing the threat. Now both players had 1 2 . Qdl
only seconds left for their remaining moves.
Here white could create some very interest­
34. a3 Bxg2 ing problems with 1 2. 0-0 ! Nxf3 t 1 3 . gxf3;!;,
35. Qf2 Rxh2 but obviously Polugajevsky wanted a nice
quiet game without double pawns and . . .
The rest is silence !
without all sorts o f sharp Larsen practice !
36. RbS Qe4
12... eS
37. Rei Rhl
1 3 . d4 Qf6
38. Rxhl Bxhl
1 4 . dxeS
39. Ne2 ReS
40. NcJ QdJ Naturally white tries to keep the position
41 . RhS Be4 open for his two bishops. After 14. d 5 Nxf3t
42. Qel Bg6 1 5 . Bxf3 Qg6 the game is fairly even.
43. Rh2
14 ... NxeS
However, being informed that they had al­ IS. NxeS dxeS
ready passed the 40th move, Tal r esigned 1 6 . f3 Rad8
thus allowing the score to be 3: I in Larsen's
Whatever his opponent has d one, Larsen is
favour.
like a fish in water and already playing for a
win !

26 1 7 . Qcl
Busum, 1 969 But not 1 7. Qc2? Nxf3t ! 18. gxf3 Bxf3 1 9 .
White : Polugajevsky Bxf3 Qxf3 with a very dangerous initiative.
English 1 7 ... Rfe8
1 8 . 0-0 Qg6??

1 . c4 Nf6 It is impossible to explain why Larsen ref­

2 . Nc3 e6 rains from his beloved h5 in favour of this
3. Nf3 Bb4 blunder which should have cost him a pawn
4. Qc2 0-0 without the slightest compensation.

71
 1 9 . Khl?? and correctly judged further ahead than his
opponent. White cannot play 24. f4 as black
A rare case of mutual blindness . 19. h4! wins
wins with 24. - Nxf4! 25. exf4 h3 26. Bfl
a pawn in broad daylight ! e.g. 1 9 . - Nh3t?
e3!-+
20. Kh2 Nf4 2 1 . exf4 exf4 22. Rd l + -
24. Qxh4 Rd2
1 9 ... hS
20. Rd l?? With the little trap 25. Rd I? exf3-+
Noticeably upset, and with less than 30 min­ 2S. Qxh3 Rxb2
utes left, Polugajevsky commits a blunder 26. Rdl Qf6
which costs him the game. 20. Qe I was the 27. Rei exf3
given move.
Simple yet strong. The attempt to finish
20... h4 ffbrilliantly« with 27. - Rxe2? 28 . Rxe2
2 1 . Rxd8 Rxd8 exf3 would have been bad because of 29 .
22. h3 Re I ! with real chances of a draw.
Unfortunately he cannot play 22. Bxe5 h3 28. Bxf3 Bxf3
23. Bg3 hxg2t 24. Kxg2 Qh5- + 29. gxf3

Indeed not 29. Qxf3?? Qh4t. W hite's posi­

tion is horrible. H is king cries for constant
care and in the meantime black will snatch a
pawn or two . Then he will exchange queens
thus transposing into an easily won rook
endgame .
29... g6
30. e4 Rfl
3 l . eS

A desperate gasp for counter-play.

3 1 . .. Qxf3t
32. Qxf3 Rxf3
33. e6 Kf8!

The rest is simple.

22 ... Nxh 3 !
34. Rdl fxe6
The bold knight is immune because of 23. 35. Rd7 Rn
gxh3 Qg3 24 . Qfl Rd2!-+ 36. Rd8t Ke7
37. Ra8 Rf4
23 . Qel !
38. cS bxcS
An ingenious try. Now, if black plays 23 . ­ 39. Rxa7 cxb4
Ng5 24. Qxh4 Rd2 ))with a win<<, white has 40 . Rxc7t Kd6
the clever rejoinder 25. Rd I ! with a nice 41 . Ra7 Rrt t
back-row mate in reserve. 42 . Kg2 Rat
43 . Ra6t KdS
23 ... e4!
44. a4 b3
It now becomes evident that Larsen has seen Resigns

72
Not a faultless game indeed , but one in swered with 8 . - Qd4 as above, or perhaps
which you could almost feel the nervous ten­ with 8. - c6- +?
sion of this very important meeting. The
8. a3 Bd7
game decided who should take first prize,
9. Nb5
and again we see Larsen winning ahead of
two Russians (A Zaitsev being the other!) Very risky play, but otherwise black would
have won a pawn for nothing.

9 . .. Qe8
10. Nfd4
27
Almost forced . 1 0. Nxc7 Bxa4 I I . Nxe8
Busum, 1 969 Be7 ! 1 2. Nxf6t Bxf6 is equal in material,
White: Bobotsov but with a totally dead queen's wing white
English would hard ly be able to continue the
struggle for a long time in this variation.

l . c4 Nf6 10 . . . e5!
2. Nc3 e6
Also good was: 1 0 . - c6 I I . Nc7 Nxc7 1 2 .
3. N f3 Bb4 Qxb4 b5=i=, but this is better.
4. g3
l i . Bxb7 e5xd4
Just a simple matter of taste. For 4. Qc2 , see 12. Bxa6
game 26.
Loses at once, but there was no defence, e.g.
4... 0-0 1 2. axb4 Bxb5 1 3 . Qa5 Nb8! 1 4 . Bxa8 c6
5. Bg2 dS 1 5 . Qxa7 Qxe2- + Presumably both players
6. 0-0? saw up to here and Bobotsov must have
However strange it may seem, this mere rou­ thought he had a fair game, but as usual
tine move is probably the decisive blunder ! Larsen has seen further.
Instead , white should have played 6. cxd 5 or
6. a3 Be7 7 . d4i
6 • •• dxc4!

Of course Larsen accepts the ))challenge ((.

7. Qa4

By means of Ne5 and Na3, white normally

wins back his pawn with a comfortable posi­
tion (strong white-squared bishop, mobile
pawns in the center, etc.). Here, however,
this is not possible . Against 7. Ne5 black has
the strong answer 7. - Qd4 ! , and for the
other possibility . . . it is simply against the ru­
les !
7 ... Na6!

Accurate play. Larsen is ready to play

Bd 7 . . . Bc6- + besides, 8. Ne5 could be an- 12 ... Bh3!

73
The culmination of black's steadily waxing out with cofours reversed? A good alterna­
initiative; now white must lose material. tive to the sharp text is 4. - e6.
13. axb4 S. Nf3 Bg7
6. 0-0 eS
Bobotsov decides to be shown. The only way
7. d3 Ne7
out of the mess is to sacrifice the exchange
8. Nbdl 0-0
with 1 3 . Nc3, but of course even this would
9. b4 Nd7
lose in the long run. Amusing is 1 3 . Re I Qc6
1 0. Rbl aS
1 4. f3 Bc5 1 5 . Qxc4 d3t 1 6. Kh l Rae8
1 1 . bS
with threats from which there is no escape.
He must do this since I I . a3 Nb6 1 2 . Qb3
13 ... Qe4
ax-b4 1 3 . axb4 Na4 ! leaves black with a fine
14. Bb7
game.
Instant mate arises from 1 4. f3 Qxe 2
1 1 ... cS
14 ... Qxb7 12. e3 dxe3!
IS. f3 Bd7!
Clearly the best move. 1 2. - Ra7? ! , to re­
Resigns
duce the strength of white's fianchettoed
Games like this one, in which the champion bishop, looks natural, but after 1 3 . exd4
of Bulgaria is dominated like a novice, show cxd4 1 5 . Ba3± white's advantage would be
Larsen once more in his dazzling form of the indisputable, and also 1 3. - exd4 1 4. Re i ±
late sixties . i s unacceptable for black.
13. fxe3 Ra7
14. Qcl b6
I S. Ne4 Nf6
16. Nxf6t
28
Because 1 6. Nc3 Nh5 1 7. e4 f5 ! would give
Palma de Mallorca, 1969 Korchnoi attacking chances on the king's
Black: Korchnoi side which natura lly does not suit Larsen at
Benoni Reversed all.
16... Bxf6
1. g3 dS 17. 8b2 NfS
2. Bgl c6 18. Rbe1 Re8
3. c4 g6
Korchnoi has manoeuvered very skillfully
4. Qa4 !?
and the position can be assessed as roughly
At this time Korchnoi led the tournament even. This should speak for a snap draw,
with 4'12 / 1 . Larsen had only been able to but . .. Larsen does not like a snap draw, espe­
pick up 2'h. ( ! ) so naturally he decides to vary cially not when he is two points down !
from the normal (drawish) 4. cxd 5 cxd5 5 .
1 9. e4 Ng7!?
d 4 , besides , playing for complications right
from the start, is indeed Larsen in a nutshell. This is Korchnoi all over ! Most masters
would have p layed 1 9. - Nd4 20. Nxd4
4 •.. d4!?
exd4 with a passive, but defensible position.
Korchnoi is one of the finest specialists on Korchnoi, however, likes to challenge his
the white side of a Benoni, so why not try it opponent with such uncompromising

74
moves, as if he would say: ••Please come and
get me«! At the same time I must admit that
Korchnoi accompanied this ))Lasker-move«
with the offer of a draw, and . . . Larsen
turned it down !
20. Nd2 hS!

Striking back at once; and much better than

the natural but bad 20. - Rd 7? 2 1 . Nb l !
when black cannot play 2 1 . - Rxd3? be­
cause of 22. Rxf6+ -, here 2 1 . - Bg5 22.
Bh3 ! also gives white a clear advantage.
2 1 . Nbl h4
22. Nc3 hxg3
23. hxg3 NhS
24. NdS BgS
25. Qf2 f6
26. Bel Bxcl 3 1 . g4 !? Nf6?
27. Rxcl fS !
The great defender goes astray! Korchnoi
Again Korchnoi prefers to defend in the ac­ saw that 3 1 . - fxg4? would lose to 32.
tive way and the move played is undoubtly Be4+ -. We may assume that he also saw the
the best. If 27. - Rf7 white would be able to trick 3 1 . gxf5?? Ng4 ! , but such lines, partly
increase his pressure undisturbed by means based upon tactical tricks, are certainly not
of 28. Bf3 . . . Kg2 and a quick occupation of sufficient against a player of Larsen's capac­
the important rook's file. I nteresting is 27. ity ! In servere time trouble Korchnoi fails to
- Be6 !?, but white is not forced to accept find the right answer to white's ingenious 3 1 .
the pawn sacrifice. (in fact that would lead to g4! , and immediately he is placed in a very
a draw . ) Instead , he could continue as difficult position . Black should have played
above, or perhaps, try 29. Qe3 !? still having 3 1 . Ng7 ! intending 32. - Rh4! with equali­
the better of it. Moreover, Korchnoi was ty.
already in time trouble and had to play the
32. Nxf6 Qxf6
remaining moves without having any clear
33. gxfS BxfS? !
plan.
A better chance was 3 1 . - Rh5 !?±.
28. Qe3 Rh7
29. Reel Kh8 34. Qf3 Rhf7?
30. exfS !?
Probably the decisive inaccuracy. In his
Played in order to take advantage of Korch­ book, ))lch spiele auf Sieg«, Larsen gives the
noi's increasing time trouble. following line, 34. - Rf8 35. K f2 ))With
black difficulties in the f-file«. H owever, an
30 ... gxfS
earlier article in the Danish chess magazine,
))Skakbladet«, prefers the move 35. Rf2 , but
with the same text as above ! - K orchnoi
should have p layed 34. - Rf8 ! intending to
answer 35. Kf2 with 35. - e4 ! and 3 5 . Rf2
with 35. - Qh4 ! in both cases black should

75
be able to equalize without too much diffi­ 29
culty !
Palma de Mallorca, 1969
35. QhSt Kg7 Black : Panno
36. BdS Rff8
37. Rf2 !
King's Indian Reversed
Forcing an easily won ending. Not 37. Re2?
I. g3 g6
Bg6 ! , and black survives.
2. Bg2 Bg7
37 ... Bg6 3. Nc3!?
What else? Slightly unusual; but as already mentioned ,
38. Rxf6 BxhS
Larsen likes to go his own ways .
39. Rxb6 Bf3 3 ... eS
40. Rd6 Rf4 4. d3 Nc6!?
41 . Bxf3 Rxf3 s. f4 d6
42 . RdS Kf6 6. Nf3 Ne7
43. Kg2 RfS 7. 0-0 0-0
44. Re3 ReS 8. e4 h6
45. Rf3
A hybrid or not; the moves follow a main
Now black could resign with an easy con­ line of the C losed Sicilian, but without the
science ! usual black initiative on the queen's wing.
( I nstead of 4. - Nc6!? Panno could have
45 . . . a4
46. RxfS
played 4. - Ne7 intending 5. - c5 with a
KxfS
real ))Closed «.)
47. Kf3 a3
48. Ke3 Rh8 9. Be3 Nd4
49. RxcS 10. Qd2 Kh7
I I . Rae l Be6
Just in case ! Larsen could also win with 49 .
12. Nh4
b6, winn ing the a- and c-pawns for the b­
pawn, but two connected passed pawns are The most energetic reply. White could try
probably the best life assurance one can ima­ the prophylactic 1 2. Kh I;!;, but Larsen wants
gine. more.
49 ... Rh2 12... exf4
SO. b6 Rxa2 13. gxf4 Nec6
S l . d4 Ke6 14. Nf3
52. RxeSt Kd7
53. RaS Kc6
Not 1 4 . Qf2? Nxc2! or 1 4. Bf2?! g5!+
S4. cS Rh2 14 ... Nxf3t
SS. Ke4 Resigns I S. Rxf3 fS? !

A mi xture of moves. 1 5 . - Nd4! first was

more accurate.

16. Kh l Qf6
17. NdS !

Avoids t h e tempting variation 1 7 . d4? fxe4

76
 1 8 . Nxe4 Qf7 1 9 . d 5 ! Bxd 5 20. Ng5 t !
with a win, because o f the prosaic 1 7 . -
Nxd4! 1 8 . e5 dxe5 1 9. fxe5 Nxf3 20. exf6
Nxd2 2 1 . fxg7 Rfd8+
17... Qf7
18. c4 Rae8
19. � a6?

This is an important waste of time. The

threat against the a-pawn should have been
neglected , but Panno, already in time trou­
ble, decides to eliminate this possibility once
and forever. 1 9 . - Nd8 would have been the
proper move .
20. b3 Nb8
21. Bel c6
22. Ne3 Nd7
29 ... Qf6?!
23. exf5 Bxf5
24. Nxf5 gxf5 A nervous reaction. He should have taken
25. Rxe8 Rxe8 up the challenge with 29. - Bxb4 ! e.g. 30.
26. Bh3 ! Qb2 Be l ! (not 30. - Bc5 3 1 . d4 Ba7 32.
Now it is clear that Panno is faced with some d 5 ! Bxe3 33. dxe6 Rxe6 34. Bxf5 t , + -)
difficulties . The strong text prevents black now, after 3 1 . Rg I Bh4 it is not quite clear, if
from playing Nf6 , besides, it prepares an white has anything real to show for his
occupation of the o pen kp.ight-file. Needless pawn.
to say, Larsen is in his element in such posi­ 30. a3 Re7
tions ! 31 . Rg1 Ng7
26... Nc5 32. Bb6
27. b4 Ne6 Otherwise Panno could reduce the material
28. Be3 Bc3 still further with Rxe 3 ! and Bd4.
29. Rg3 !?
32... Qe6
With this bold move Larsen must have paid 33. Qc2 Bf6
special attention to Panno's increasing time 34. Qg2 Qf7
trouble, since nothing was wrong with the 35. a4! !
natural 29. a3±.
A very fine move . Sometimes such an inno­
cent looking pawn move is much more beau­
tiful than an everyday sacrifice at, e.g. h7.
The plan behind the pawn move is to create
an open file for the rook, and perhaps, a new
diagonal for the k ing's bishop. So innocent
and yet so ambitious !

35... Re8
36. Qf3 Bd8
37. Bf2 Nh5?

77
With only seconds left for his remaining 30
moves Panno commits a grave mistake
Palma de Mallorca, 1 969
which loses almost at once. However, even
without this blunder black would hardly White : Medina
have been able to survive, his position being King's Indian Reversed
too exposed .
38. Bd4
l. e4 g6
What a wonderful diagonal. The threat is 39. 2. Nc3 Bg7
Qxh 5 ! 3. g3
38 ... Rg8 Trying to reach the Closed Sicilian, one of
39. Rb l Bh4 Medina's pet variations, but in Larsen's
40. bS axbS famous black notebook the Spanish I M is
4 l . axbS cS characterized as a person who normally
42. Bc3 ReS plays I . e4 and answers I . c5 with 2. Nc3 .
-

43. Rgl Naturally Larsen decides not to welcome

Renewing the threat 44. Qxh5 ! . Besides, his opponent with an early c5, but to opt
Larsen's sly move contains a little trap. for a lesser known variation of the King's
Indian Reversed .
3... eS
4. Bg2 d6
S. d3 Be6
6. h4? !

Unusual, . . . and bad ! 6 . Be3 with a set u p as

in the >>Closed «, is much better.

6... Nf6
7. Nh3?

White consistently carries out h1s plan

which , unfortunately, turns out to be quite
wrong.

7... Nc6
8. NdS BxdS
9. exdS Ne7
43 ... Rg8? lO. c3 h6
He falls into it. l l . Qb3 Qc8
1 2 . Be3 0-0
44. BxfSt ! Resigns 13. 0-0-0

A somewhat risky decision, but because of

the awkwardly placed white knight , Larsen
would have had t he better of it anyway.
13... aS
l4. a4 c6
l S. dxc6 bxc6

78
 16. Qa3 Nf5 24 ... Nd4t !
17. Bd2 Rb8
Here there are already many ways to win,
How nice to get such a position in a last but the way chosen is indeed the most at­
round , especially since Petrosjan had al­ tractive .
ready drawn his final game ! Stand before
25. cxd4 exd3t !
the last round : Larsen-Petrosjan I I , Korch­
26. Rxd3 cxd4t
noi-Hort 1 0.
27. Kd2 Ne4t
18. h5 g5 28. Bxe4 dxe4
19. Ng1 29. RaJ

Who is able to give Larsen 3 tempi in ad­ If possible 29. Rb3 Qc4! is even worse.
vance??
29... Qc6
1 9 ... c5 30. Qb 1 d3
20. Qa2 Qa6 31. Ng1
2 1 . Kc2 Rfc8
If 3 1 . Nc3 Bxc3t 32. Rxc3 Qxc 3 t !
22. Ne2 e4
23. Bcl 31... Qc5!

Equally hopeless is 23. dxe4 Qxe2 24. exf5 The quiet point of the combination initiated
Qxf2-+ with 24. - Nd4t !

23 ... d5 32. Ra 1 Qxf2t

2 4 . Rhel 33. Kd 1 Bc3
34. bxc3 Rxb 1
Finally completing his development, but
35. Rxb 1 Qc2t t
alas . . . too late !

According to Najdorf, we now have two

gentlemen in chess ! - Once Najd orf was in a
winning position against Larsen; the Dane
went on allowing himself to be mated. After
the game Najdorf stated , ))Larsen is a real
gentleman who also pays attention to the
spectators «.

79
 »A REAL PROFE SSIONAL«
( 1 970- 77)

1 970 was a good year for Larsen . At the grandmaster tournament in Lugano he started with
five successive wins and after that, the first place never seemed to be in danger. In the famous
match: U S SR vs ))The Rest of the World«, which took place in Yugoslavia (Belgrad) Larsen
played first board and scored 2\12- 1 Y2 (Larsen-Spassky I \12- 1 \12) (Larsen-Stein 1 -0) Then, in
the four-grandmaster-match in H olland , came the usual set-back ! ! Spassky won, Donner
became second and Botvinnik and Larsen tied for the last 2 places . Some three weeks later he
won an unimportant match against Kavalek by 6-2, playing some very fine games !
In 1 492 Columbus discovered America ! Almost five hundred years later, a new sort of
))explorer« - the professional chess master - overflowed the country. D ue to Fischer's out­
standing results, the interest of chess improved constantly in the Sixties . - (Culminating in
1 972, when Fischer won the notorious match against Spassky, and an ordinary person could
hardly buy a chess set in the stores of New York !). Gligoric and Larsen are the pioneers, but
later a lot of other masters followed in their footsteps visiting this »gentle«country in order to
earn some quick money ! (At that time a first prize in one of the so-called ))Opens« gave the
happy winner almost twice as much as a traditional European grandmaster tournament
would give and that by only half as much work !
In the summer of 1 970, Larsen set off for just another ))expedition«, ( 1 968) and again he
won both the U S Open and the Canadian Open. Later the same year he won a difficult
tournament in Yugoslavia and he fi nished the year with a second place in the Mallorca
Interzonal, behind Fischer but winning their mutual game. For the third time B. Larsen was
in the Candidates', but in Larsen's case these matches seem to repeat themselves. Larsen won
the first match against U hlmann, but then he was defeated horribly by the coming World
champion, R. J. Fischer.
The following years are a true copy of this theme. Some very fine victories in good
tournaments but whenever he enters a cyclus for the World ch, destiny ruins everything for
him ! In 1 973, Larsen had a comfortable lead in the Leningrad Interzonal (5\12 / 6) still, he only
managed to score 4\12 out of his remaining I I games, and for the first time since 1 958, Larsen
had failed to qualify for the Candidates'. According to Larsen the reason for this was a lack
of playing desire due to some misunderstandings in the prearrangement by FIDE. Larsen
(and many others) argued before the tournament that the Leningrad group was considerably
stronger than that of Petropoliz. It is true that the average of the Elo points were roughly
even in the two groups, but the division of the strongest players seemed quite unfair ! In the
Leningrad group there were 4 players with the highest Elo rating: Tal, Karpov, Korchnoi and
Larsen but in Petropoliz there were only two: Portisch and Polugajevsky. Besides, in Petrop­
oliz there were only one single player from the last Candidates' (Geller) but in Leningrad
there were five ! : Larsen, Hubner, Korchnoi, U hlmann and Taimanov! Euwe (President of
FI DE) has later ad mitted that there were some mistakes on that occasion, but he blamed
Larsen for having sent his protest too late to change matters ! - (Larsen played the Interzonal
under protest having suggested to be changed or, together with no. five in Leningrad having
another chance in Petropoliz. )

81
 In 1 976, Larsen won just another important I nterzonal (Biel) and again he was a Candi­
date . This time the opponent was the Hungarian grandmaster Lajos Portisch, whom B.
Larsen had already beaten once before in a candidate match ( 1 968) and even though Portisch
had improved considerably in th� last years, Larsen was expected to win this encounter even
by a small margin. The match took place in Rotterdam and became the overall surprise of the
Candidates'. Portisch won with the surprising score 6�-3� True, Portisch played strongly in
this encounter, but due to scandalous conditions as far as the match arrangement was
concerned , Larse n lost his usual fighting spirit and played far below his normal standard !
Hardly stopping to breathe Larsen went to Geneva and here he achieved his first( ! ) 1977
tournament victory, confirming his own statement that if he was only given good playing
conditions, he would be able to produce some very fine chess !
This is grandmaster BENT LA RSEN , an uncompromising professional, one of the grea­
test FIGHTERS in chess history, an enormous gifted person (not only at chess !) and last but
not least, an interesting and gentle personality whose importance for the chess life in Den­
mark - 'and the rest of the world - is paramount !

82
(The last round of»the march of the century«.) Stein (left) lArsen (right) Back: Geller (left)
Gligoric(!) (right) Be/grad 1 9 70.

31 boring Russian analysis ! Nevertheless, 1 0 .

h3 i s correct.
Belgrad, 1 970
USSR vs ))The rest of the World<< 10... Ng4!
1 1 . f3 N ge5
Black : Stein (4th round) 12. b3 Nc5
King's Indian Defence
Black's last thrre moves have ensured him a
satisfactory position.
I . Nf3 Nf6
2. g3 g6 13. Be3 f5 !
3. Bg2 Bg7
How typical of Stein. This energetic answer
4. c4 0-0
prevents white form carrying out his plan
5. 0-0 d6
which was to build up a strong position
6. d4 Nbd7
with .. Qd2 and Rad I . Stein was a fantastic
-
7. Nc3 e5
attacking genius . U nfortunately his out­
8. e4 exd4
standing chess career came to a tragic end
9. Nxd4 ReS
when he d ied (age : 38) of a heart attack in
10. Rei?!
1 973. H ere some of his most brilliant results :
Hardly to be recommended ! The idea be­ He gained first prize in two of the strongest
hind the ambitious text move is to omit the tournaments of all time ( M oscow: 1 967 and
obvious 1 0. h3, and . . . to avoid endless and 1 97 1 . He also won three first prizes in the

83
U S S R Championships !), and, of course, clearly better for black, so the bold exchange
many, many others. sacrifice is white's only chance to get out of
the mess !
14. Qd2 fxe4
1S. BgS Qd7!? 18 •.. Rxe4

Another very interesting idea is 1 5 . - Bf6 ! ?

I ndeed not 1 8 . - Bxa I? 1 9 . Ne7t Kh8 20.
1 6 . Bxf6 Qxf6 1 7. Nxe4 Nxe4 1 8 . Rxe4
Qe l ! ! with decisive threats, e.g. 20. - Be5
Bf5 1 9 . Rf4 Nc6!+ Not, however, 1 5 . -
2 1 . Rxe5+ -
Nxe4? 1 6 . bxc4 Bxd4t 1 7 . Qxd4 Qxg5
1 8 . Nd 5 ! with a murderous attack. 19. fxe4 Qxc6?!

16. Nxe4 Nxe4

He should have accepted the challenge with
17. Rxe4 Nc6??
1 9. - Bxa l ! An analysis given by the Yugos­
Unbelievable, horrible etc, etc ! A couple of lavian GM, Janosevic, runs as follows: 20.
months later the young Russian master, Ne7t Kf8 2 1 . Qf2t Ke8 22. e5! dxe5 23.
Murej , came up with the incredible 1 7 . ­ Nd5 Bd4 24. Be3 Bxe3 25. Qxe3, ))With a
Nf7 ! ! which seems to win by force ! e.g. 1 8 . very strong attack((. H owever, 25. - Qg7 !
Bh3 Rxe4 ! 1 9. Bxd7 Rxd4 with too much (K. Rosell) puts a very serious question to
))wood(( for the queen, or 1 8 . Rae ! Bxd4t ! that analysis ! Another Yugoslavian com­
winning a piece. Finally, both 1 8 . Be3 and mentator, Marie, suggests the following
1 8 . Rxe8t would lose, at least, the exchange ))brilliant(( line : 20. Ne7t Kf8 2 1 . Qd I ! Be5
without the slightest compensation to show 22. Qf l t Ke8 23. Nxc8 Qxc8 24. Bh3 Qb8
for it. 25. Be6 and wins, but also this is a mere
illusion, since black has the much stronger
20. - Kf7 ! ( Even in Larsen's own comments
to this game the move 20. - Kf8? is pre­
ferred , but in a later dispute he admits that
20. - Kf7 ! ))is possibly better but still with
unclear consequences(() .
Larsen claims that 2 1 . e 5 ! is very strong,
but what if black's king is on f7 instead of
f8?? Black must capture this bold pawn, but
certainly not with the bishop which would
allow a beautiful finish, e.g. 2 1 . - Bxe5??
22. Qf2t Kg7 (22. - Ke8 23. Bd5+ -) 23.
Bh6t ! ! and the mate is unanswerable. In­
stead , he must play 2 1 . - dxe5 ! , and it is not
easy to see how white can strengthen his
i nitiative, e .g. 22. Qc l Bd4t ! (here, still with
the king on f8 , Larsen gave only 22. -
Qd4t) 23. Kh l c6! with the nice point 24.
18. Nxc6 !?
Qf l t Ke8 25. Qf6 e4! and black wins.
It is h ighly possible that this sacrifice should
20. e5!
not have given Larsen anything real, but it is
definite that without it white would be in Not necessary to think twice before playing
trouble, e.g. 1 8 . Rxe8t Qxe8 1 9 . Be3 this which guarantees white a slight but clear
Qxe3 t ! also 1 8 . Be3 Rxe4 1 9. fxe4 Ne5 is positional advantage.

84
 20 ... QcSt How nice to put this move in the envelope.
21. Khl Be6 Now white must win material.
Clearly forced . Very bad is 2 1 . - Qxe5 22. 42 ... Rd8
Re i , and 2 1 . - Bxe5 22. Bd 5 t Kh8 23.
Unfortunately black cannot play 42. - Rb8
Re i , with the threat 24. Rxe5, is probably
because of 43 . Bxc7 Rb7 44. Bxd6!+-
too risky.
43. Bg4 dS
22. Bxb7 Rf8
44. 80 h 6 !?
23. Be3 QxeS
24. Re t Qc3 The analysis must have proved that this
2S. Kg2!? sharp try was Stein's only hope of survival.
Instead , 44. - d4 45 . Re i Bd6 46. Re4
If this is better than 25. Qxc3 Bxc3 26. Re i
also loses a pawn, but without the important
Ba5 27. Bxa 7 c5 is hard to say, but Larsen is
exchange of pawns on the king's side .
an experienced tournament player who
knows how d ifficult it is to meet such quiet 45. gxh6t Kxh6
moves, especially, when one is short of time, 46. Bd2t Kg7
and Stein had only some twenty minutes for 47. BgS Rd6
his remaining fifteen moves ! 48. Bxd S !

2S ... Qxd2t A n important decision, but Larsen was per­

26. Bxd2 Bd4 fectly sure that the coming bishop endgame
27. Bf4 Kf7? ! was a win, and he proved to be right.

Probably an inaccuracy. Why not 27 . 48 ... BxdS

Re8, or, perhaps 27 . - g5.'! 49. RxdS RxdS
SO. cxdS Kf7
28. Bh6 Rb8
St . Kf3 Ke8
29. Bc6 Bf6
S2 . Bf4 Bf6
30. Be3 a6
S3 . Bxc7 Bxh4
3 1 . Bd2 Rb6
S4. b4
32. 8(3 Rb8
33. BaS Bd8 As a result of his fighting spirit and combin­
atorial skill, Larsen's mastery of the end­
But not the blunder 33. - ReS?? 34.
game is often underestimated ! And yet, in
Rxe6+ -
this field Larsen is second to none, and has
34. Rfl Kg8 produced a wealth of brilliances. This game
3S. Bc6 Bf7 should help to underline this.
36. g4
54 ... Kd7
It is extremely instructive to watch Larsen's SS. Bb6 Bf6
play in such »simple<< positions, and yet, the S6. BcS Bb2
best is still to come. S7. a4 Ba3
S8. aS Bb2
36... Be7
59. Kf4 Bf6
37. Kg3 Rd8
38. Rdl Bf6
39. h4 BeSt
40. Kg2 Rc8
41. gS Kg7
42. Bd7

85
 72. Kxg3 BaS
73. Kg4 Bd8
74. KfS BaS
7S. Ke6 Bc7
76. Kf7 BaS
77. Ke8 Bc7
78. Be7 BaS
79. Bd8 Bd2
80. Bb6 BgS
8 1 . BcS Resigns

A gigantic struggle between two of the grea­

test masters of all time.

32
Lugano, 1970
60. Ke4 Black : Kavalek
Larsen's plan is clear. First he will break Larsen's Opening
with b5. After this, Stein's king and bishop
would be busy trying to stop both the a- and
I . b3 cS
d-pawn . In the meantime white's task would
2. Bb2 Nc6
be pleasant. It would be easy for him to cap­
3. c4 eS
ture the remaining black pawns and then, by
4. g3 d6
means of ••Zugzwang«, the win should not be
too difficult for a master of Larsen's capaci­ In this opening almost ••everything« is play­
ty. able. Here, 4. - Ne7, intending to play d5
••in one step<<, is an interesting alternative .
60 ... Bc3
6 1 . bS! axbS S. Bg2 N ge7
62. a6 Kc8 6. e3 g6
63 . d6 Kb8
Still, 6. - d 5 !? is perfectly playable.
64. KdS Bf6
6S. Kc6 gS 7. Ne2 Bg7
66. KxbS g4 8. Nbc3 0-0?!
67. Kc4 Ka8
Not the most accurate. 8. - Be6 is correct
68. Kd3 BeS
because white cannot play 9. Nd5? Bxd 5
Why not the amusing try: 68. - g3 e.g. 69. 1 0. cxd 5 Nb4- +
Ke2 Bg5 70. Kf3 Bh4 7 1 . Kg4 Bd 8 72.
9. d3 Be6
Kxg3?? Bc7 != ? (7 1 . d7+ -)
10. NdS Qd7
69. d7 Bc7 l l . h4!
70. Ke4 g3
Only thus ! Larsen not only initiates an at­
71 . Kf3 Bd8
tack on the black king, but also prevents the
If 7 1 . - Kb8, 72. Bd6! decides at once. freeing move Bh3 .

86
 1 1 ... f5? 21 . f3 exf3
22. Bxf3 Ne5
After this move black has a very difficult
23. Qh2 Bxc4!?
position. It is obvious that Kavalek must
have underestimated white's chances in the A desperado to damage white's queen's side
open h-file; if so, he is in for a little unpleas­ pawn formation. Instead , 23. - Rfe8 24.
ant surprise. Like it or not, Kavalek should Nb5 ! loses without a fight, e.g. 24. - Nc8
have played I I . - h5, with a tense struggle (Nxf3 25. Qh8 t ! is mate.) 25. Qh7t Kf8
ahead . 26. Bd 5 ! + -
12. Qd2 Rae8? ! 24. bxc4 Nxf3
25. Qh7t Kf7
Probably another false slip . In order to ob­
26. Nxd5 Rfg8
tain a quick counter play 1 2. - Rab8 seems
27. Nxe7 Rb8
natural, but also the more modest 1 2. - h5
is worth consideration. Has Larsen over-reached?
13. h5 b5!? 28. Ka t Qxe7
14. hxg6 hxg6 29. Qxg6t Kf8
15. Nec3 bxc4
16. dxc4 e4!?

Black wants to secure a haven on d3 for his

knight, but also white can be happy, s ince
the open diagonal a 1 -h8 definitely favours
the attacking part. (In this case Larsen ! )

1 7 . 0-0-0 Ne5
1 8. Nf4! Rd8

Kavalek declines ! With 1 8 . - g5 1 9. Nxe6

Nd 3 t 20. Qxd 3 ! exd 3 he could win the
queen, but after 2 1 . Nxg7 ! Larsen's attack
would be irresistible, e.g. 2 1 . - Kxg7 22.
Nd 5 t Kg6 23 . Bf3 ! ! , a beautiful »quiet<<
point . Against the numerous threats there is
no defence .
19. Kbl Bf7

»Traffic jam« on the king's side, better is 1 9 . N o ! Now observe Larsen's genius !
- a 6 i n order t o prevent a possible Nb5 . A t 30. Ne6t ! Qxe6
this time Kavalek had only twelve minutes 3 1 . Bxg7t
left for his remainitlg (2 1 !) moves.
It is possible that Kavalek, in his awful time
20. g4! trouble, only expected 3 1 . Qxe6?? Bxb2t
with a draw by perpetual check, but Larsen
A fine sacrifice based on dynamic p ositional
had seen a little further than his opponent.
judgement. After this move it becomes clear
that Kavalek's king will be exposed to vari­ 31 ... Ke7
ous unplesant threats . 32. Bf8t ! !
20 . . . Nxg4 Elegant to the last.

87
 32 ... Rbxf8 8. Nh2 !
33. Rh7t Resigns
According to the established theorist, Pach­
After 3 3 . - Rf7 34. Rxf7t Qxf7 35. man, this »ugly« move is the most suitable to
Qxd6t Ke8 36. Qd 8t is mate ! demonstrate the drawback in black's aggres­
Definitely one of Larsen's most inspired sive play. White prevents the freeing f5 (8. ­
games and . . . with his »own« opening! f5? 9. exf5 !) besides, he is ready to play Be2
with a clear advantage, e.g. 8. - c5 9. Be2
Nf4 I 0. Bf3 f5 I I . h4 Nd7 1 2. g3± (Kaval­
ek-Yepez, Caracas 1 970)
33 8 ... Bf6 !?
Solingen, 1 970 Black has relied on this novelty, presumably
5th Match Game missing White's bold reply.
Black: Kavalek 9. Be2 Ng7
King's Indian Defence 10. h4!

Brilliantly introducing a dangerous new

1 . c4 Nf6 possibility for his rook and queen. Black
2 . Nc3 g6 must accept the sacrifice, otherwise Larsen's
3. e4 spatial advantage would be too d ominating.

Not the Grunfeld this time ! 10... Bxh4

1 1 . Qd2 !
3-. d6
4. d4 Bg7 This is the true point of white's combination
5. Nf3 0-0 initiated with 8. Nh2, already Larsen has a
6. h3!? strong attack.

One of Larsen's pet variations against the 1 1 ... hS

King's Ind ian, and not so harmless as it
Here Kavalek took a »sleep« for forty min­
looks like. The most popular is of course 6.
utes ! Still, the move is forced, since he can­
Be2
not allow white to block the h-pawn.
6 •.• eS!?
1 2 . Qh6 Be7
Kavalek wants a real King's Indian, and it is 13. g4 gS!?
difficult to blame him for that. Nevertheless,
Kavalek had relied on this as a saving clause,
6. - c5, transposing into the narrow waters
but Larsen is already so well organized that
of the so-called Maroczy Bind , is a good alt­
black's plan just boomerangs .
ernative.
14. gxh5 rs
7. d5 NbS!?
15. Bd2 !
This move and his next introduce complica­
Efficient, unpretenti ous development is the
tions; but with a firm grip in the center white
magic formula.
can only be happy with this sharpening of
the game. A more »neutral<< move is 7. - 1 5. . . f4
Nbd7, when there could follow: 8. Be3 Nc5
9. Nd2 a5 10. g4 c6 with an unclear game
(Larsen-Westerinen Helsinki, 1 969)

88
 27... Bf6
28. Nf2 Rg8
29. Rxg8 Kxg8
30. Ng4 Rh7
3 1 . 812 Kf7
32. b4!

Now white dominates the whole board .

32... b6
33. Kd2 Be7
34. Kd3 Rh8
3S. a4 Ra8? !

In desperate time trouble Kavalek's resist­

ance disintegrates and the text allows Larsen
a quick finish.
36. Nh6t Kf8
1 6 . 0-0-0 37. Rg1 Ke8
It is obvious that Kavalek has missed the 38. Rg8t Bf8
bus ! He cannot trap Larsen's bold queen, he 39. Bh4 aS
is seriously behind in development and last 40. bS NeSt
but not least, how does he protect the weak 41. Kc2 Nxa4
g-pawn? 42. NfS Kf7
43. Rg1 Resigns
16.•. Nbd7
1 7 . Tdg1 Rf7 White's passed pawn must cost black a
1 8 . Nf3 piece.

Forcing the win of a pawn.

1 8 ... Nf8
1 9 . NxgS Rf6
34
20. Qxg7t Kxg7 U. S. ))Open«, Boston, 1 970
2 1 . Ne6t d.c. Kh7 White : Weinstein
22. Nxd8 Bxd8
Sicilian Defence
23. Bg4

And now the »bad (( bishop disappears. The

l . e4 cS
rest is s imple !
2. Nf3 Nc6
23 •.. Bxg4 3. d4 cxd4
24. Rxg4 Rf7 4. Nxd4 Nf6
2S. f3 Nd7 S. Nc3 d6
26. Bel a6 6. Bc4 e6
27. Nd 1 7. Be3

Larsen has no need to hurry, with a sound A comparatively new line at the time and
extra pawn on the king's side and ideal much more aggressive than the usual 7. Bb3.
squares for his minor pieces the win is only a The variation stems from the Yugoslavian
question of time. grandmaster, Velimirovic, who has won

89
dozens of brilliances with it, and turned it to since they did not get the opportunity to try
become more popular than even 6. Bg5 - it out. However, after the Gheorghiu game,
This game took place in the ultimate round Larsen could hardly hope for this as a sur­
and Larsen led the tournament by half a prise weapon, naturally, he must have pre­
point (Larsen 9 Y2 , Benko 9, R. Byrne-Kaval­ pared someth ing against 1 4. h4!?, too.
ek etc. 8 Y2 . Also in this round : Benko plays
14 ... Bb7!?
Kavalek.)
This is, I think, what Larsen had in mind
7... Be7
when he played 8. - a6!? Instead , two other
8. Qe2 a6 !?
moves are interesting: 14. - b4!? and 14. ­
Normally Larsen does not feel inclined to Nc5 !? Here one example : 14. - b4 !? 1 5 .
conduct theoretical discussions on fashion­ Na2!? ( 1 5 . Na4 !?) Bb7 1 6. h 5 Qa5 1 7 . Kb l
able affairs , but we may assume that he has Bxe4 1 8 . f3 Bf5 ! = (Ljubojevic - Hamann
something up his sleeve. The continuation 8. Amsterdam, 1 975)
- 0-0 is of course playable, but then white
15. f3
would have a fixed target (Larsen's king ! )
and a promising ))self-playing« attack. The unclear pawn sacrifice 1 5 . h 5 ! ? is indeed
worth consideration.
9. 0-0-0 Qc7
10. Bb3 b5!? 15... b4
16. Na4 Nc5
Again one of these transpositions which 17. Qf2?
confuses a less experienced opponent, and . . .
gains valuable time o n the clock ! ( Here play The most critical moment of the game. After
is: 2Y2 hours for 50 moves.) the text white cannot count on obtaining an
opening advantage. Instead , Weinstein
1 1 . g4 should have played 1 7 . h 5 ! ? after which
The best . But why use 20 minutes for such an some highly interesting variations could oc­
obvious move? cur. If black accepts the pawn sacrifice (and
why not?) play could develop as follows : 1 7 .
11 ... Na5 - Nxa4 1 8 . bxa4 Qa5 1 9. g6 Qxa4 20.
12. g5 N xb3t h6!? (20. Kb I !?) when 20. - Qa I t 2 1 . Kd2
Certainly not the blunder 1 2. - Nd7? when Qxb2 1eads to a draw, and 20. - hxg6 2 1 .
white wins with 1 3 . Bxe6! hxg7 Rg8 22 . Rh8 0-0-0 ! is a serious try for
more .
13. axb3 Nd7
14. h4!? 1 7 ... ReS
18. Kb1 N xa4
White could also try 1 4. Nf5 !?, but here 19. bxa4 d5!
Larsen would be on home ground . In the
Zonal tournament Vrnjacka Banja, 1 967, Larsen has achieved his goal : A promising
the game Gheorghiu - Hamann continued : attack on the queen's wing, and - strong
1 4. - exf5 1 5 . Nd5 Qd8 1 6. exf5 Bb7 1 7 . pressure in the center. Black's position is
f6 !? ( 1 7. Rhe l !? is another try.) 1 7 . - gxf6 already preferable.
1 8 . Rhe l Bxd 5 1 9. Rxd5 Rg8 ! and black Bxd5
20. exd5
eventually won. - The subtlety 1 9 . - Rg8 ! 21. Nf5
stems from Larsen, who showed it to the
Danish team just before the departure for
the Havana Olympiad , but partly in vain,

90
 26. Rh l Bxb3
27. Rei Ba2t !
Resigns

Mate is unavo idable.

35
Vinkovci, 1970
Black : Gligoric
Sicilian Defence

I. g3 g6
2. Bg2 Bg7
3. e4 c5
4. Nf3 Nc6
5. 0-0 Nf6
21. .• 0-0 !
6. d3 0-0
Clearly this is the correct way to give up his 7. Rel d6
))material« advantage , because in ))Winning<< 8. Nbd2 Rb8
the bishop, white leaves himself terribly 9. a4!?
weak on the white squares surrounding his
Another interesting plan in this quiet system
king. Larsen had already noticed 22. Rxd 5?!
is 9. c3!? preparing 1 0 . d4
exd5 23. Bd4 Bc5 f holding everything, and
against 22. N h6t? Kh8! is the simple yet 9... b6
strong answer. 10. Nc4 Bb7

22. Nxe7t Qxe7

23. b3

He cannot allow black to play this move .

23 ... Rc3
24. Rh3??

��Not a move, but a nervous breakd own« !

(Larsen) - White's only chance was the pawn
sacrifice 24. Bd4 ! in order to lure black's
rook away from the murderous c-file.

24... Rfc8
25. Rd2 Qc7!

A terrible move to meet. The threat is 26. -

Bxb3 27. cxb3 Rc l t 28. Ka2 Ra l t ! 29 .
Kxa l Qc l t 30. Ka2 Qa3 t 3 1 . Kb l Rc l t t .
but 26. - Rxb3t is not ))bad« either. 1 1 . h4!?

91
»The most incredible move of the whole Quite the strongest move, and in accordance
tournament« (Bent Larsen) - Alreday know­ with Larsen's principles of the flank attack.
ing the uncompromising Dane a little the For black this move comes in a very incon­
reader is probably not too astonished at this venient moment. He is not quite ready for
move , which in fact is a real Larsen reflec­ Nd4, and his other knight is awkwardly
tion. Time and again the Danish grandmas­ placed on the edge of the board . Perhaps it is
ter has stated that such flank attacks do not worth to underline that »play on the whole
very often lead to simplification, and here it board << is one of the most marked tendencies
certainly puts new life into a rather boring in Larsen's arsenal of play !
position . The main purpose of the move is to
22 ... bS
prevent Gligoric from playing the freeing I I .
23. a6 Ba8? !
- d 5 which can be answered with 1 2 . exd5
Nxd 5 1 3 . h5 !±. A less ambitious player The lesser evil is to accept the pawn sacrifice
could consider I I . e5 with mutual exchanges with 23 . - Bxa6 24. Na5 Nb8, but of
and a draw as the most likely result ! course Larsen would have more than
enough play for his slight material defect,
11 ••• Qc7 and by means of 25. Qc3 and . . . Kh2 he could
12. Bd2 Rbd8 build up a very dangerous initiative.
13. Qcl dS
24. NaS eS
14. Bf4 Qc8
25. Qc3!
I S . exdS NxdS
16. Bh6 This is the move which Gligoric must have
underestimated when analysing his possibil­
Black seems to have overcome his opening
difficulties , but Larsen has confidence in the ities after 23. - Ba8?!
potential energy of his army on the king's 25 ... Nd4
side. 26. Nb7 ! Bxb7
27. axb7 Qxb7
16 ... Rfe8
28. Nxd4 cxd4
Some annotators have recommended 1 6 . ­ 29. Bxb7 dxc3
f6, but that is hardly better, since it leaves 30. bxc3 Re7
black with a big hole on e6, and still white 3 1 . Rxa7
would maintain good attacking possibilities
This ending must be a win for white. He is a
against the enemy king.
pawn up, his bishop has a great future and
for the moment black's knight is out of play.
1 7. Bxg7 Kxg7
Nf6
Still, the rest is not without interest.
1 8 . hS
19. h6t Kg8 31 ... Kf8
20. Qf4! 32. Rbl rs
33. RxbS Nf6
Powerful centralisation containing a little
34. Ra8 Rxa8
trap. Now Gligoric cannot play 20. - Qg4?
3S. Bxa8 Ng4
because of 2 1 . Rxe7 ! winning a pawn.
36. Rb8t Kn
20 ... NbS
Of course not 36. - Re8?? 37. Rxe8t Kxe8
21 . Qd2 f6?
38. Bd 5 Nxf6 39. f3+ -
Better 2 1 . - Ba8 or 2 1 . - Nf6
37. BdSt Kf6
22. aS! 38. c4 e4!?

92
 53. gxh4 gxh4
54. 80 NgS
SS. cS

Black has no satisfactory move.

55... Nf7t
56. KdS Ke7
57. f4 Nh6
58. Bh3 Ng8

Pitifully retrograde !
59. c6 Nf6t
60. KeS Ne8
6 1 . rs Resigns

The old story . Black tries for a last swindle.

36
39. Rf8t !
Vinkovci, 1970
A little finesse. Now 39. -- Kg5 40. dxe4 White: Tajmanov
fxe4 4 1 . c5 e3 42 . fxe3 Rxe3 43 . c4 ! wins
Nimzo-Indian Defence
outright.
39 ... KeS
l . d4 Nf6
40. dxe4 fxe4
2. c4 e6
41 . Bxe4! Nxh6
3. Nc3 Bb4
42. Bd3 Nf7
43. Rg8 Nd6 When Larsen wants to play »safe((, he very
often chooses the Nimzo-lndian, which in
The sealed move . Analysing the adj ourned
his opinion is one of the most solid systems
position both players came to the same con­
against I . d4. H owever, no rule without an
clusion: A win for white !
exception; and to call Larsen's play in this
44. Ra8 Nb7 game for »safe((, is indeed a cruel j o ke !
4S. Ra7 Kd6
4. Qc2
46. f3
A little surprise. The Rubinstein-V. 5. e3, is
The rest is simple. Black's only excuse for
of course the most popular, and by far the
prolonging the ga me is lack of belief in the
most analysed , but sometimes even an au­
afterlife !
thor wants to vary a little.
46 ... NcS
4... cS
47. Rxe7 Kxe7
S. dxcS 0-0
48. Kf2 Kf6
6. Bf4 BxcS
49. Ke3 hS
SO. Kd4 Ne6t An interesting alternative is the double­
5 1 . KdS gS edged 6. - Na6!?, but Larsen wants a nice
52. Kd6 h4 quiet game.

93
 7. Nf3 Nc6
8. e3 d5
9. a3 Qa5
10. Rac 1 !?

Perhaps this novelty is the real reason be­

hind Taj manov's avoida nce of the main line.
Nevertheless , surprised or not, Larsen plays
the move considered to be the best against
1 0. Rd I !?, and it also seems quite natural
here .
10 ... Be7

A couple of months later I M Ole Jacobsen

found the fo llowing interesting variation 1 0 .
- d4! I I . exd4 (but not I I . b4? Qxa3 1 2 .
bxc5 Qxc3t + ) Nxd4 1 2. Nxd4 Bxd4 1 3 .
14 ... g5 !?
Be2 e5 1 4 . Bg3 Be6 1 5. 0-0 Bxc3 1 6 . Qxc3
Qxc3 1 7 . Rxc3 Nxe4 with complete equali­ The dou ble-edged , temperamental play of
ty. This fine line turns Tajmanov's novelty to Larsen has ga ined him widespread populari­
be rather harmless, and if white wants to try ty in chess (and a lot of fighting victories !)
for more than a draw, he must play 1 0 . circles. But on this occasion, selecting an ult­
Rd l !?i ra-sharp continuation and that for pure tac­
tical reasons , he commits positional ))hara­
1 1 . Be2 dxc4
kiri « ! H is only excuse in doing so is the con­
12. Bxc4 Nd5?
siderable psychological effect of the move,
This sharp move is of dubious value ; but or, perhaps, a simple lack of alternatives!
characteristic of Larsen's style ! )) . . . when you Better let Larsen speak for himself. Here are
gamble against good players they tremble !« ­ his own comments from the Danish chess­
A better continuation would have been 1 2 . magazine ))Skakbladet<c ))Of course a seri­
- Bd 7 ! with a satisfactory position. lt is also ous weakening of the king's position, but
worth mentioning that the dubious knight nevertheless completely justified and that
move is a last farewell to the ))safety first« fo r two reasons . I t solves the problems aris­
approach intended from the very start . ing from an isolated pawn, and in some vari­
From now on he pays more attention to Taj ­ ations it cou ld be important that white's
manov as a person than to the demands of king is still left in the center.<<
the position !
15. Bg3
13. Bxd5 exd5
But not 1 5 . Bxg5?? Bxg5 1 6. Nxg5 d4!-+
14. Qb3 !
15 ... g4
A very powerful move, but also a forced one,
16. Nd4??
since after 1 4 . 0-0? ! Be6, play would be even .
Now, however, Larsen is placed in an awk­ An incred ible error of judgement from a
ward situation. How is he going to protect player of Tajmanov's capacity. Instead of
his weak pawns? The solution to this p rob­ the feeble text white should play 1 6 . Ne5 !
lem creates perhaps the most fantastic move e.g. 1 6. - Bf6 1 7 . Nxc6 bxc6 1 8 . 0-0 Be6
in his ent ire career ! 1 9. Qd i ! ( I 9 . Qc2!? Bxc3 20. Qxc3±) c5 20.

94
e4! with a dangerous attack. (Analysis by
Ole Jacobsen . - See also the chapter: The
Unexpected M ove)

16 ..• Nxd4
17. exd4 Bg5

Is it possible that Taj manov simply over­

looked this natural move when he played 1 6 .
Nd4??,?

18. 0-0

The only reasonable move, but then, why

use half an hour before playing it? After 1 8 .
Rc2 ReS t 1 9 . Re2 Rxe2t 20. Kxe2 Bd7+,
white would be in trouble.
18 ..• Bxc l
19. Rxcl Be6
20. h3!? 23 ... Bg4 ! !

If black is given the chance he will consoli­ This i s the beautiful move o n which Larsen
date with moves such as : .. .f6, . . . Rf7, and had to rely when making his 2 1 st move. The
. . . Kh8, so white must strike at once . whole point is that white's queen must cap­
ture on g4 , but that is a white square. ! With
20 ... gxh3 no further checks available the threat
2 1 . Be5 !? against the knight must be respected, and
The point of Tajmanov's 20. h 3 ! ? But what if black has won . . . a temp o !
-
black plays the obvious . . . 24 . Qxg4t Kh8
25. Ng5 Qd2
21 . .. (6
22. Ne4 Now white's position is utterly hopeless.
The intended ))blow«. Black's answer is Larsen's role as a heroic defender has sud­
forced since 22. -- Qd 8? loses to 23 . Qg3t denly changed into the much more pleasant
one . . . the vigorous avenger!
Kh8 24. Nxf6 Rxf6 25. Qg5 !
22 ... 26. Rc7 Qxf2t
fxe5
27. Kh2 Qxg2t
23 . Qg3t
28. Qxg2 hxg2
What now? 29. dxe5 Rac8
30. Rxb7

Desperation. Equally hopeless is 30. Rxh7t

Kg8 3 1 . Rh6 Kg7-+
30.•. Rc2
31 . Nnt Kg7
32. e6 Kf§
33. e7 g l (Q)t
34. Kxgl Rg8t
Resigns

95
 37 10. Bf4 Qc7
I I . Qd2 0-0
Palma de Mallorca, 1970
1 2 . Rfe l Ng6!?
Interzonal
Probably not the most exact. The knight has
Black: Uhlmann nothing to do on g6, moreover it soon be­
French Defence comes a welcome target for Larsen's bold h­
pawn . Better is 1 2 . - Rfe8 with only a slight
1. e4 e6 advantage to white.
13. Bxd6 Qxd6
One could hardly expect another move from
14. Ng3 Rfe8
Uhlmann, for years a devoted »French­
IS. h4!
man,« and together with Botvinnik the finest
conoisseur of this difficult system. Suddenly black is in trouble . 1 5 . - Qf4? is
2. d4 dS bad because of 1 6. Qxf4 Nxf4 1 7 . Nf5± and
3. Nd2 cS 1 5 . - Nf4? 1 6. Nf5 ! Qc7 1 7. Ne7t Kh8
4. exdS exdS (Kf8 18. Qb4!) 1 8 . Ng5 ! is even worse.
S. BbSt !?
IS ... h6
Normally white plays 5. Nf3 Nc6 and only 1 6 . hS Ngf8
then 6. Bb5 but if now 5. - Nc6, 6. Bb5 is 17. NfS Qf6
just a harm less transposition of moves. 18. Qf4 Re6
19. Qg4 Rae8
s ... Bd7 !?
20. Rxe6 Rxe6
Four years later, in the final Candidates' 21. Ne3 Re4
Match between Karpov and Korchnoi, the 22. Qg3 Qe6
system with 5. - Nc6 6. Bb5 occured 7 23. c3!
times, but only in the last ( 1 8) of these »dis­
Larsen's position is already clearly superior,
cussions <<, Karpov succeeded in finding a
so naturally he rejects the »offered « d raw 23 .
better system for developing play and got a
Nd2 Rxd4 24. Nf3 etc. With the simple text
noticeable edge. According to grandmaster
Larsen safeguards his d-pawn against the
O'Kelly, the Tarrasch variation in the
threat from black's rook, and is ready for the
French Defence should be banned because it
unpleasant rejoinder Nd2+ -
only leads to a draw!
23... gS
6. Bxd7t
24. hxg6 e.p . Nxg6
Avoiding most of Uhlmann's home-pre­ 25. Nd2 Rf4
pared variations, but 6. Qe2 t is of course 26. Qh3 !
equally good .
Forcing the exchange of queens, after which
6... Nxd7 it should be much easier for white to make
7. Ne2 Bd6 the most out of his advantage.
8. 0-0 Ne7
26 ... Qxh3
9. Nf3 c4!?
27. gxh3 Nf6
True, in this way black avoids the isolated 28. Ng2 RfS
pawn which normally is the subject of dis­ 29. Rei Kf8
cussion in the Tarrasch variation. Anyway, 30. Nn Nf4
the d-pawn is still weak. 3 1 . Ng3 Nxg2

96
3 1 . - Nxh3t 32. Kh2 Rxf2 33. Kxh3 52. Kh4 Rd6
Rxb2 is interesting, but would probably not 53 . Re2 Rb6
give black sufficient compensation for the
sacrificed material.

32. Kxg2 Rg5

33. f4 Rg6
34. Kf3 Nd7
35. Nf5 Rb6
36. Re2 Rf6
37. Ne3

The pressure on black's •>isolated« pawn is

now beginning to mount.
37 ... Rd6
38. f5 b5
39. Kf4 a5
40. a3 Nb6
4 1 . h4

Move by move white improves his position. 54. f6 !

41... Nd7 And this is the logical breakthrough, care­

4 2 . Ng4 Rb6 fully prepared long ago . (4 1 . h4 !)
54 ... Nxf6
Black can do nothing but wait .
55. Nxh6
43. h5 Ra6 Larsen's supenonty may be decribed in
44. Rg2 Rb6 many ways : a strong passed pawn, more ac­
45. Rgl Ra6 tive pieces , better pawn structure, a more
active king and finally, a permanent weak­
The sealed move. W ith advantages in space
ness to attack, but now with all his pieces.
and mobility, Larsen has everything going
The rest has few technical problems and re­
for him.
quires little explanation.
46. Rbl a4
55 ... Ne4
A concession indeed , but to allow 47 . b3 56. Ng4 Re6
would probably be too dangerous . 57. Ne5 Ke7
58. Ng4 Kf8
47. Rgl Rb6
59. Rg2 Nd6
48. Rg2 Ra6
60. Ne5 Nf5t
It is certainly not difficult to find black's 6 1 . Kh3 Ng7
moves ! 62. Kg4 Kg8
63. Rh2 Rh6?
49. Rg3 Rb6
50. Re3 Rd6 A final slip in time trouble. His last chance
5 1 . Kg3 Rb6 was to play 63 . - Rf6
The rook ending: 5 1 . - Nf6 52. Nxf6 Rxf6 64. Kg5 Re6
53. Kf4 is hopeless for black. 65. Ng4 Ne8

97
 66. Rfl Nd6 the other hand , claimed that Fischer had
67. Rg2 Ne4t played very little since his notorious with­
68. Kf4 Kh7 drawal form the I nterzonal in Sousse , 1 967,
69. Ne3 ! whereas he had achieved some of the most
outstanding tournament results ever seen.
The time has come for the decisive attack
Unexpectedly the story had a happy end .
against the weak d-pawn.
When Fischer arrived in Belgrade, he was
69... Nf6 very eager to play, and he welcomed Larsen
70. RgS Re4t to play top board satisfying himself with Pe­
trosjan, whom he beat 3: I ! Here, a couple of
Passive resistance by 70. - Rd6, does not
months later, we see them again, but now the
work because of 7 1 . Nf5 ! + -
fight is face to face !
7 1 . Kf3 Rh4
2. Nf3 d6
72. NxdS Kh6
3. d4 cxd4
73. ReS Resigns
4. Nxd4 Nf6
Actually Uhlmann did seal a move (73. - 5. Nc3 Nc6
Nxh5), but realizing the natural reply 74. 6. Bc4
Ne3, which wins a couple of pawns, he later
This is the so-called Sozin variation. Fisch­
resigned without resuming.
er's stubbornness in favouring this system
An excellent example of Larsen's superb
was no surprise to Larsen, but which line
technique - this was his best game at Palma
would the American Champion choose?
de Mallorca .
6... e6
7. Bb3 Be7
8. Be3!?
38 Perhaps the Velimirovic-attack?
Palma de Mallorca, 1 970 8 ... 0-0 !?
Interzonal
))I am not afraid «, is what Larsen says play­
White : Fischer ing this sharp move. Another set-up is 8. -
Sicilian Defence Qc7 as in the game : Weinstein-Larsen. (34)
9. Qe2
1. e4 cS
Preparing the )>Velimirovic-attack. << Nor­
This game was, no doubt, the center of at­ mally Fischer prefers a more quiet set-up
traction at the Mallorca Interzonal. In the which involves the move 0-0, followed by a
late sixties, culminating in 1 970, at the quick f4-f5 . Obviously Fischer is in the
))Match of the Century«, there had been a mood for a fight, but what about Larsen?
constant battle between Larsen and Fischer Bent Larsen is known as a ))long sleeper«, so
for the title of ))King of Rest of the World «. to start play at 1 1 .30 in the morning did
In Belgrade both Larsen and Fischer certainly not suit him well. Besides, the pre­
claimed to play top board but for different vious night Larsen could not sleep so he
reasons ! According to the current rating list went up and began to analyse the Velimirov­
Fischer was ahead of Larsen and the team ic-attack for hours . Naturally, he was now a
captain, Dr. Euwe, had decided to put the little tired and perhaps ready for a quick
team in accordance with that list ! Larsen, on draw, but facing Fischer's aggressive line he

98
realized that this would be life and death Another slip. Better is 2 1 . h6
struggle, and suddenly he became wide
2 1 . .. BxgSt
awake !
22. QxgS h6!
9••• a6
He will not get a second chance.
10. 0-0-0 Qc 7
l l . g4 Nd7!? 23. Qg4 Rf7 !

It was precisely this particular move Larsen Preventing the threats before they occur.
had analysed the previous night, so after all White's »attack « is over. Now his queen's
lack of sleep also has its advantages ! »Old « side crumbles . ��A cup of coffee for Larsen,
theory is I I . - N xd4 1 2. Rxd4 b5 with a please ! <<
wild game ahead . But not I I . - b5? 1 2 . 24. Rhg1
Nxc6 Qxc6 1 3 . g5 Nxe4 1 4. Nd 5 !±
Not 24. Nxe6? Qc8 25. Rxd6 Re7 !-+
1 2 . h4? !
24 ... a4
Out o f four possibilities ( 1 2. f4!?, 1 2 . g5 !?, 25. bxa4
1 2. h4 and 1 2. Nf5 !?) this is definitely the
weakest. Strange, because when Fischer vi­
sited Yugoslavia ( 1 969) he and Velimirovic
analysed the whole system, and reaching this
position, Velimirovic recommended the
move 1 2. f4 !? Another Velimirovic idea is
1 2. Nf5 !? tested in the game Velimirovic-Bu­
kic. White won , but that line is not to every­
one's taste, certainly not Fischer's. When I
asked Larsen about this move, he smiled and
said , »Sure, it is interesting, but Fischer
would never play it. «

12... NcS
13. gS bS
14. 13

What else? A typical drawback in variations

with Be3 is that e4 is difficult to protect. 25 ... eS!

The fine culmination of Larsen's previous

1 4 ... Bd7
play. The knight is forced away from the
15. Qg2 b4
protection of the queen's side, and 26. Nf5
16. Nce2 NxbJt
Bxf5 27 . exf5 Rxa4 is hopeless.
1 7 . axb3 aS
18. g6!? 26. Ne6 Qc4
27. b3!?
White must hurry since the initiative already
belongs to black . Desperation. But 27. Rxd6 b3 28. c3 Rxa4
loses at once
1 8 ... fxg6
19. h5 Nxd4 27... Qxe6
20. Nxd4 gS 28. Qxe6 Bxe6
2 1 . BxgS? ! 29. Rxd6 Re8

99
The game is over , but Fischer wants to be 39
shown !
Palma de Mallorca, 1 970
30. Rb6 Rxf3 Interzonal
31 . Rxb4 Re8
White : Mecking
32. Kb2
Nimzo-Indian Defence
If white plays 32. c4, the black army pene­
trates to the second rank with a winning at­
tack.
1. d4 Nf6
32 ... Rn 2. e4 e6
33. Rei Bf7 3. Ne3 Bb4
34. a5 Ra8 4. e3 0-0
35. RbS BxhS S. Bb3 eS
36. RxeS Be2 6. Nf3 dS
Now black's passed pawn must decide the 7. 0-0 Ne6
issue; the rest is easy. 8. a3 exd4!?

37. ReS hS One of Larsen's ))Strange<< moves. Like

38. e5 Bf3 Fischer, Mecking loves the pair of bishops,
39. Ke3 h4 so actually there could be little doubt about
40. Kd3 Re2 his next move yet, it was played after only
some 15 minutes of thought .
Back again, please !
9. axb4 dxe3
41 . RO Rd8t IO. bxe3 dxe4
42. Ke3 Be4 I I . Bxe4 Qe7
43. Kb4 Rb8t 12. Be2 b6
44. Ka3 h3 13. Bb2 Bb7
4S. e6 Lxe2 14. Qb3 aS!?
46. b4 Re3t
He could also play 1 4. - NeS, with an al­
The sealed move. most equal game, but the text is more com­
47. Kb2 Bd3 plicated .
48. Ra t Ba6 IS. Qe4!?
49. Re6 Rxb4t
SO. Ke2 Bb7 Keeping an eye with his king's wing, besides,
51. Re3 Re2t the threat is 1 6 . bS.
52. Kd l Rg2 I S ... Qb8!
Resigns
The point of Larsen's previous move. Now,
both 16. QbS, and 1 6. bxaS, is met with 1 6.
- Ba6+.
16. Qh4 NeS
17. NxeS QxeS
18. bxa5 bxaS
19. Rfb l?

An incred ibly weak move from a player of

1 00
Mecking's calibre, walking into the full force Kh I . Now comes a beautiful forced fin ish .
of Larsen's queen's side counterplay.

19 ... Be4
20. Rbd l

A sad decision , but the intended 20. c4,

would have been answered with 20. -
Qb8 !-+
20. .. Rfb8
2 1 . Rd2 Bd5
22. Qd4 Qg5
23. Bfl Ne4

From an even opening Larsen has reached a

clearly superior middlegame position. He
has a spatial adva ntage on the quee n's side
and the more active piece development.

24. Rc2 Nd6

25. c4 Nf5 30. .. Rxd2
26. Qd2 31 . Qxd2 Nh4
32. Bg3 Qf6 !
From a person already very short of time
one would have ex pected the modest 26. White's attempt to seek release on the
Qf4. True, due to black's strong passed queen's side has allowed Larsen a typically
pawn the endgame would have been diffi­ Alekhine - like combinati on. Now, if Meck­
cult , but by no means lost. With the sharp ing plays the obvious 33. Re i , Larsen would
text Mecking plays with the fire ! have the pleasant choice between two win­
ning continuations, e.g. 33. Re I Nf3 t 34.
26 ... Bc6 gxf3 Qxf3 35. e4 Bxe4 36. Rxe4 Qxe4-+,
27. Be5 Rd8 or the simple 33. - a3-+
28. Qc3 a4
29. c5?! 33. Qd l Nf3t ! !

Again a serious waste of time. Mecking The final subtlety. The end i s in sight.
should have freed his game a little with 29. 34. Khl
Bf4! Qg6 30. Kh I ! intending to follow up
with f3, and e4 . The feeble line chose n by Not 34. gxf3 , in view of 34. - Rd 8 ! 35. Bd6
Mecking leaves him with a very cramped Bxf3 36. Qxa4 Rxd6!-+
position and almost no counterplay 34... h4
29 ... h5! 35. Bf4 Rd8
36. Bd6 h3
Larsen's ))visiting ca rd « is on the board ! All
of a sudden black's initiative has grown into There is no way fo r white to stop this attack.
a strong attack . 37. Rxa4 Bxa4
30. Rd2? 38. Qxa4 Nd2
39. Kgl Qg6
A blunder wh ich loses at once. Time trou ble 40. Qdl Nxfl
or not, Mecking should have played 30. 4 1 . Qxfl Rd7!

101
 42. f3 Rb7 but 1 4 . NgS !? is interesting. Also worth seri­
43. e4 Rbl ous consideration is 1 4 . 0-0!? e.g. 1 4 . - h6!
Resigns I S . Nd2!? as in the game (Polugajevsky­
Mecking, Manila , 1 975)

14 ... Ke7!

40 The point . Larsen does not fear I S . BgS t f6

Las Palmas, 1971 1 6. Bd2 Bxf2t and 1 6. Bh4 QaS ! also gives
black the better of it.
Candidate Match, 6th game
White : Uhlmann IS. 0-0 Qb6
16. Bd3?
Queen's Gambit
In such a sharp position one cannot afford
to play »routine« moves. M uch better is 1 6.
1. c4 Nfli
Qe2 with an equal position.
2. Nc3 e6
3. Nf3 dS 16 ... h6
4. d4 c6 17. Qe2 Rhd8
S. e3 Nbd7 18. Bd2 Kf8
6. Bd3 dxc4 19. Racl
7. Bxc4 bS White's black-squared bishop cries out for
8. Bd3 Bb7
help , but the text ignores this cry and forces
9. e4 b4
the bishop to be a passive spectator for the
10. Na4 cS rest of the game. A better try is 1 9. a3
l l . eS NdS
1 2 . NxcS !? 1 9 ... Rac8
20. Rc2 aS
In M onaco, 1 968, Uhlmann lost to Larsen
with 1 2. dxcS, but in the 4th match game he Now it bites on ••granite«.
reached a promising position with 1 2 . NxcS, Kg8
2 1 . Rfc l
so why not another try? - Also interesting is Ne7
22. h3
1 2. 0-0!? cxd4 13. Re i (Portisch-Larsen,
match game , 1 968), but faced with one of White has a sad position. He cannot play
Larsen's »strange « moves 1 3 . - g6!? Por­ actively, but simply has to wait. It is under­
tisch's analysis came to a sudden end , and standable that Uhlmann's clock at this stage
soon the game was agreed a d raw. of the game showed one hour more than
Larsen's.
12 ... N xcS
13. dxcS BxcS!? 23. Net Bd4
24. Rxc8 Rxc8
Here it is, the surprise ! The novelty used
2S. Rxc8t Nxc8
here was ready to be let off in the Portisch
26. b3
match, but Portisch was too quick playing a
novelty himself on move 1 2 . (0-0 !?) One has Very passive . Why not 26. Nf3P
to be quick with one's novelties now-a-days !
26... Ne7
14. BbSt 27. Nf3 BcS
28. Bel NfS !
Natural, but probably not the best. 14. Qa4t
is met with the same answer as in the game, An excellent move. Impossible is 29 . Be4TI

1 02
 29. - Ng3- + . Also out of question is 29. 41
Bxf5 exf5 with a very nice, probably win­ Arhus, 1971
ning, position. Evidently U hlmann is in
trouble. Team (ch)
Black : Uhlmann
29. Kn Qc6
30. Bb5 Qc7 King's Indian Defence
3 l . Bd3 Nd4
32. Nxd4 Bxd4 l . c4 Nf6
33. f4? 2. Nc3 g6
3. e4

The so<alled Grunfeld ))killer«. (When

Larsen plays the white pieces, he normally
avoids both the Grunfeld- and the Nimzo­
lndian Defence .)
3 ••• d6
4. d4 Bg7
5. Be2

The psychological moment ! The text indi­

cates the Averbach Variation, one of Uhl­
mann's favourites when he plays the white
men.
5... 0-0
6. Nf3

Presumably Uhlmann overlooked Larsen's No ! To-day the main line is the topic of d is­
brilliant 36th move, otherwise he most cer­ cussion.
tainly would have opted for an ending a 6... e5
pawn d own , but with a long fight ahead . 7. 0-0 c6!?
33••• Qc l Unusual, but, of course, playable. Normal
34. Qd2 Qat lines an: 7 . - Nc6 and 7. - Nbd7
35. Qc2 Bc3
36. Qbl 8. Be3 Nbd7
Ba6 ! !
9. Qc2 exd4? !
A pretty finish. White resigned because he
will lose a piece whatever he moves. A dubious decision. Black should try to
maintain the tension in the center with 9 . ­
ReS
10. Nxd4 Re8
1 1 . Rad l Qe7
12. f3 d5? !

Much too sharp . Trying to solve his prob­

lems in this violent way, Uhlmann only
makes things worse . 1 2. - a5 is the right
course.

103
 13. cxd5 cxd5 20. Nc7 ReS
21. Rd8 !
But not 1 3 . - Nxd 5 14. Nxd 5 cxd 5 1 5 .
NbS dxe4 1 6 . f4! when black will lose the And now Uhlmann is aware of it, too !
exchange without sufficient compensation
21 ... Rxc7
to show for it.
22. Qxc7 Bf6
14. Ndb5 dxe4 23. Ra8 Nc6
15. fxe4 ! 24. Bc4

Coolly played . Probably Uhlmann hoped Already there are many ways to the wi n.
for 1 5 . Nc7? exf3 1 6. Rxf3 Ne5 ! Here, 24. Bh6!? is another possibility.
1 5 ... Ne5 24 ... Qxc4
25. Rxe8t Kg7
))with a satisfactory position and interesting
26. Qd6 Ne7
complications ahead??«
H ow to win a won game? The rest is forced.
27. Rxe7! Qe2
28. Bh6t Kxh6
29. Qxh6 Qe3t
30. Kfl

But certainly not 30. Qf2?? Qc l t 3 1 . Qf l

Qc5 t
30 ... Qd3t
31 . Kf2 Qd2t
32. Kf3 Qd3t
33. Kg4 Qe2t
34. Qf3 f5t
35. Kh3 Resigns

16. Rxf6! 42
Indeed not ! The lonesome defender of the Palma de Mallorca, 1971
all-important square is removed , and after Black : Bellon
this black's game will soon collapse.
Larsen's Opening
1 6 ... Qxf6
17. Nc7 Bd7
I . b3 b6!?
lf 1 7. - Be6 then 1 8 . Bxa 7 ! wins a pawn.
A very simple yet interesting thought. Black
18. Nxe8 Bxe8 indicates that he wants to copy white's plan
19. Nd5 Qe6? of developing play and only intend s to part
from that if white plays a routine move.
Facing enormous problems, black commits
the final error. The only chance was to play 2. Bb2 Bb7
the other queen move, viz. 1 9 . - Qh4 3. e3 f5? !

104
Much too sharp . As said above, it would 19. Bxd5 c6
have been better to stick to the symmetry 20. 8a2 !
with 3. - e6
With the unpleasant threat 2 1 . Qb3+ -
4. 8e2 !
20 ... d5
Neatly exploting the awkward position of 21. cxd6 e.p . Bxd6
black's king and rook ! This fine idea is per­ 22. Qf3 Qa6!?
haps a remin iscence borrowed from a couple
of Bronstein's games, e.g. Bronstein-M ike­ A desperate gasp for counterplay.
nas and Bronstein-Andersen . Here the inter­
esting idea used in those two games : I . e4 e5 23. Qxc6 Red8
2. Nf3 f5? ! 3 . Nxe5 Qf6 4. d4 d6 5. Nc4 24. b5 Qxa3
fxe4 6. Be2 ! ! and since black cannot play 6. 25. Ke2 Qb2t
- Qg6, his position is already dubious . 26. Kf3 g5
27. g3 Kh6
4 •• . Nf6 28. Be6 f4

Not 4. - Bxg2?? 5. Bh5t g6 6. Bf3 ! when

black must lose material.

5. Bxf6 ! exf6
6. 8f3

As a result of black's faulty 3rd move white's

position is already clearly better.
6 •.. Nc6
7. Ne2 g6
8. c4 Bd6
9. Nbc3 0-0
10. a3 Re8
1 1 . b4 Qc8
12. d4

Developing for more space . It is obvious

that black is in trouble, not only because of
the double pawn, but also because of the 29. gxf4 gxf4
lack of co-ordination in his poor, disorgan­ 30. Rag l
ized army.
Cashing in on the lack of co-ordination be­
12 ... Nd8
tween black's pieces and , of course, the terri­
13. c5 Bf8
ble position of his king.
14. Nf4 !

The signa l for a fierce attack. 30 ... fxe3

31 . fxe3
14 ... Kg7
15. h4 Ne6 Indeed not the ))brilliant« 3 1 . Rg6??t hxg6
16. Nxe6 Rxe6 32. hxg6 t Kg5 ! when white has made a fool
17. Nd5 Re8 out of himself and has to force a draw by
18. h 5 Bxd5 perpetual check.

1 05
 3 1 . .. Rab8 better with 1 2. Ne I , when the chances still
32. Qe4 rs would have been about even.
33. Qh4 Resigns
1 2 ... exd5
Funnily enough; In the final position it is the 13. cxd5 Ndb6
dark squares in the black camp which can­ 14. Qd3 Nfxd5
not be defended .
Not 1 4 . - Nbxd5? 1 5 . Ng5 !

15. Nf5 Bf6

16. Bxf6 Qxf6
17. e4 g6!
43
A fine defensive resource probably underes­
Teeside, 1972 timated by Larsen when he played 1 2. d5?!
Black : Ljubojevic
18. Nh6t Kg7
Reti's Opening 19. Qd2 Nc3
20. Ng4 Qe7
l . Nf3 Nf6 21 . Rfe 1
2. g3

It is hard ly possible to blame Larsen for this

solid move, but playing against Ljubojevic it
would have been better from a psychological
point of view at least, to play 2. c4, avoiding
one of his favourite lines, the so-called Pol­
ish Variation.

2... b5!?
3. Bg2 Bb7
4. Na3 !?

In such positions everything is playable (at

least once !)
4 ... a6
5. c4 b4
6. Nc2 e6
7. 0-0 c5
8. b3 Be7 2 1 .. . f6?
9. Bb2 0-0
The move played looks like a solid defence,
10. d4 d6
but in fact it is based upon a miscalculation.
Without too much trouble Ljubojevic has Lj ubojevic is reported to have seen the com­
been able to equalize the game. Perhaps ing sacrifice, but being in a rosy mood, he
white's 4th move was not that good !? simply refused to calculate it seriously ! The
only way to test Larsen's risky play was the
1 1 . Ne3 Nbd7
bold 2 1 . - Nxe4 ! e.g. 22. Qh6t Kg8 23 .
l2. d5?!
Rxe4 Bxe4 24. Ng5 f5-+ or 22. Qb2t f6
True uncompromising play by Larsen, but 23. Ng5 d5 24. f3 Qd7-+ Now, however,
probably not the most correct. White does Larsen has sufficient compensation for his

1 06
slight material defect, and of course he 44
strikes at once !
Teeside, 1972
22. e5 ! dxe5 Black : Cafferty
23. Nfxe5 fxe5
24. Rxe5 Qf7??
Larsen's Opening
The losing blunder. Lj ubojevic is known to
1. b3 e5
play very fast , but here in a very tense posi­
2. Bb2 Nc6
tion, he only used seconds before he moved
3. e3 d5
his queen to f7. A little »sleep« would proba­
4. Bb5 Bd6
bly have convinced him about the hidden
5. c4!?
dangers of the p osition and told him to play
24. - Qd 7 ! e .g. 25. Qxd 7t Nxd7 26. Re7t An interesting alternative to Ljubojevic's 5 .
Rf7 27 . Rxf7 Kxf7 28. Bxb7 Ra7 = f4 !? Larsen does n o t like the variation 5 . -
Qh4t!? 6. g3 Qe7 (Ljubojevic-Portisch,
25. Rae I Nbd 5
Teeside 1 972. Black won !)
There is nothing better. If 25. - Bxg2 26.
5 ... dxc4
Re7 Bd 5 27. Qh6t Kh8 28. Nf6 ! !+ - and
6. Nf3 !?
25. - Rae8 26. Qh6t Kh8 27. Rxe8 Rxe8
28. Rxe8 Qxe8 29. Bxb7 also leaves white
The sharp point of the previous move . Ne­
with excellent winni ng chances.
vertheless , a pawn is a pawn, and it would
26. Bxd5 Nxd5 have been much better to accept the sacrifice
27. Qb2 ! than to opt for the somewhat nervous mano­
euvre : 6. - Ne7 !? - 7. - Nf5?!
A beautiful quiet point which decides the
game at once . Strange as it may seem, black 6••. Ne7? !
cannot save his queen and the text only pro­ 7. Bxc4 Nf5? !
longs the issue.
Even less tempting is 7. - 0-0? 8. Ng5 h6
27 ... Nc3 9. h4! with a dangerous attack, but why not
28. Re7 Rad8 the natural 7. - Bf5 .?
29. Rxf7t Kxf7
8. Nc3 Nh4
30. Qcl Rdl !?
9. g3 Nxf3t
A last try . 10. Qxf3 0-0
31 . Qf4t Kg8 l l . h4!
32. Qe5! The Larsen patent.
Now the rest is easy. 11 ... Be6??
32 ... Rxe l t
Positional suicide. True, the position is a
33 . Qxel Be4
little uncomfortable for black, but I I . -
34. Qd2 h5
Qe7 seems to be all right and should of
35. Ne5 ReS
course have been prefered instead of the
36. Qd6 Nxa2
panic text which ruins black's game immedi­
37. g4 c4
ately.
38. Qf6 Rf8
39. Qxa6 c3 12. Bxe6 fxe6
40. Qc4t Resigns 13. Qe2 Qf6

1 07
 14. Ne4 QfS 33 . fxeS ReS
IS. d3 Rad8 34. Rd7 Bxe3
16. g4 Qf7 3S. Rxe7 BxgS
36. Rg7t Kh8
If 1 6. - Bb4t 1 7 . Kfl Qf7 then 1 8 . a3 fol­
37. e6 Resigns
lowed by b4 and Kg2 is very good for white.
17. a3 Be7
18. 0-0-0 Bd6

Obviously it is impossi ble for black to do

anything active because of white's dominat­ 45
ing knight. Teeside, 1 972
19. Kbl Qe7 Black : Wade
20. Ka2 aS
Larsen's Opening
2 1 . hS Qd7

Probably planning an unclear piece sacrifice

I. b3 dS
on b4, e.g. 22 . gS? ! a4 23. b4 Bxb4!? with
2. Bb2 cS
chances not unfavo urable to black. Unfor­
3. e3 Nf6
tunately (for Cafferty !) white has a much
better line . . . Black has chosen a quiet and solid set-up,
but white should be happy about his well­
22. h6! g6
placed bishop and of possible control over
On 22. - a4 23 . b4 Bxb4? ! 24. hxg7 ! is the the important central square, e S .
simple answer . ·
4. BbSt !?
23. d4!
Another logical move is 4. f4 !?, but that
A very fine breakthrough revealing yet would be Bird's Opening and Larsen wa nts
another of Larsen's favourite themes: The to play his ))own(( opening !
transposition of one given advantage into
4 ... Bd7
another more substantial one.
S. Bxd7t Nbxd7
23 ... exd4
5. - Qxd 7 followed by 6. - Nc6 is more am­
24. Bxd4 eS
bitious, but the text is of course quite play­
2S. Bb2 bS
able.
26. Ka l Rb8
27. RdS Ne7 6. Nf3 e6
28. Rd3 Qe6 7. c4 Be7
29. Rhd l Rb6 8. 0-0 0-0
30. NgS ! 9. Qe2!

The powerful knight has done its job well, A fine flexible move the main purpose of
now it decides the game. which is to confuse black as to white's inten­
tions in the center!
30... Qc8
31 . f4 Nc6 9 ... a6?
32. Qg2 Ne7?
M istakenly thinking that Larsen opts for a
Th is loses at once. The only move to prolong plan invo lving d3 and e4. Much better is 9.
the battle was 32. - Qe8 - ReS

1 08
 1 0 . Nc3 Qa5 If 20. - Rfc8 or 20. - Kh8 white has the
I I . cxd5 exd5 strong answer 2 1 . Qe5 !±
1 2. d4
2 1 . Rxc5!
Of course. Now Larsen has a fixed target.
Even stronger than 2 1 . bxc5 which also
Besides , he has an excellent operation­
would have given white the better of it.
square (d4) for his minor pieces.
Black is forced to exchange rooks, otherwise
12... Rac8 Larsen's pressure in the c-file would be de­
13. dxc5 Nxc5 vasting.
14. Nd4 Ne6
21 ... Rxc5
15. Nf5 !
22. bxc5 Qe6
An unpleasant visitor this knight . White is
As already shown (See note to white's 1 9t h
clearly better.
move) Wade cannot accept this pawn sacri­
1 5 ... Ba3 fice.
16. Racl Rc7
23. Nd4 Qe5
17. Na4 Bxb2
24. Qa3 Ng4
18. Qxb2 b5!?
25. Nf3 Qc7
26. Rei

White's advantage is clearly sufficient for

the whole point!
26... aS
27. Qd3 b4
28. c6!

It is a pleasure to study Larsen's play in such

positions 28. Qxd5 is not ))bad « either, but
the text is much quicker and does not give
black the slightest chance of survival.
28 ... Nf6
29. Nd4 h5
30. Qf5 Qc8??

Time trouble, but in a lost position.

It is hard ly possible to find anything better.
1 8 . - Rfc8 fails to 1 9. Ne7t, besides, white 3 1 . c7 a4
threatens to play Rxc7 followed by Re i with 32. Qxc8 Rxc8
an overwhelming game. 33. Nf5 Resigns

19. Nc5!

A little tactical finesse. If 19. - Nxc5 20.

Rxc5 Rxc5 2 1 . b4 Qb6 22. bxc5 Qxc5 23.
Rc I Qb6, then 24. Rc6 decides the game at
once

19... Qb6
20. b4 Nxc5

1 09
 46 14. b3! Qn
15. Ba3 Rfe8
Las Palmas, 1 972
16. dxe5 Nxe5
Black : Smyslov 17. Nxe5 dxe5
Vienna 18. Rfd 1

White has a little, but clear advantage. On

l . e4 e5 the other hand , black is Smyslov!
2. Bc4 Nf6
18 ... RedS
3. Nc3 Bb4!?
1 9. Bc5 a6
It is hardly surprising that Smyslov refrains 20. h3 Rxd l t
from 3 . - Nxe4 !? nor is it surprising that he 2 1 . Rxd 1 Rd8
avoids 3. - Nc6 which undoubtly would 22. Rxd8t Bxd8
have presented Larsen with some sweet 23. Nfl Qd7
memories from t he Amsterdam, Interzonal, 24. Qd2 Qxd2
1 964 in which Smyslov, together with Lars­ 25. Nxd2
en, Tal and Spassky tied for first . It was on
this occasion that Larsen gained credit for
being a World One on the amusing topic:
»Almost forgotten variations . ((

4. Nf3 d6
5. 0-0 0-0
6. d3

Larsen has chosen a very solid line consid­

ered to be a little drawish, but watch out ! In
this kind of position he is like a fish in water
and extremely dangerous !

6 ... Be6

Perhaps he should capture on c3 first.

7. Bxe6 fxe6
8. Ne2
When Smyslov played 24. - Qxd2, he pro­
He will not get another chance.
posed a draw, but Larsen having j ust or­
8 ... Nbd7 dered a big cup of nice warm coffee decided
9. c3 BaS to go on a little further, after all he had
10. a4 c6 everything to win since the draw would still
l l . Ng3 Qe7 be there ! The following endgame is, despite
12. Qe2 h6 the mistake on move 56, one of Larsen's
1 3 . d4 Bc7?! finest efforts ever, and should be studied
only with the greatest appreciation.
This seems to be a typical routine move, but
perhaps Smyslov simply overlooked Lars­ 25... Bc7
en's strong answer. The proper move is 1 3 . 26. Kfl Nd7
- Qf7, with only a minimal advantage to 27. Be3 b5
white. 28. Ke2 !

1 10
��It is better that both parts are left with weak 54. Bf2 a5
a-pawns, than to cut down the front. « (Lars­ 55. Bg3 Bg7
en) 56. c4??
28 ... Kn For the second time in this game Larsen
29. Nf3 Ke7 plays a commitical pawn move j ust before
30. Net bxa4 the end of a sessio n ! The only reasonable
3 1 . bxa4 Bb6 explanation to this and the following blun­
32. Bel Ba5 der must be that the players were exhausted !
33. Ba3t c5 In the first session they had played for 5
34. Kd2 Kd6 hours. Then came a break for 3 hours, and
35. Nd3 Bc7 now again 2 hours of play ! Even for grand­
3 6. Kc2 masters 10 hours of more or less uninter­
rupted calculation seems to be too high a
White has improved his position considera­
price to pay, j ust in order to avoid or at least
bly and now plans to sacrifice his a-pawn in
minimize adjourned games!
order to win the more important c-pawn.
56 ... a4
36 ... Kc6 57. Kc2
37. Bel Nb6
38. Nb2 Bd8
39. Kd3 Be7
40. g3?

A careless move just before the end of the

first session. Instead , 40. Be3 ! would have
prevented any p ossible black counter-play
and placed Smyslov in a very precarious sit­
uation.

40... Bd6
41. Ke2 c4!

The sealed move and the best !

42 . a5 Nd7
43. Nxc4 Bc5
44. Na3 Bd6
45. Nc4 Bc5 57 ... Kb6??
46. f3 Kb5
The sealed move and . . . the final blunder!
47. Kd3 Bfl?
Sometimes , as here, it is almost more im­
portant to be in good physical form than
It is difficult to see what white can do if black
anything else! The only move leading to a
simply plays 47. - Be7
draw is 57. - Nc5 ! e.g. 58. Bxe 5 t Bxe5 59.
48. Nd6t Kxa5 Nxe5 Kd 6 60. Nf7t (60. Nd3?? loses for
49. Ne8 g5 white ! ) 60 .
- Ke7 =
50. g4 Kb6
58. h4 gxh4
5 1 . Nd6 Bc5
52. Nn Bf8 Forced. If 58. - Bf6 59. h5 Bg7 60. Kc3 ,
53 . Be3t Kc7 and black is in »Zugzwang«.

Ill
 59. Bxh4 Nf8 5. e3 Bb7
60. Bf2t Kc6 6. Bd3 c5
61. Kc3 Ng6 7. 0-0 0-0
62. Kb4 Nf4 8. dxc5 !?
63. Kxa4 Nd3
This seems to be a harmless novelty. The
64. Nd8t Kd7
book says 8. a3;!;
65. Bh4 Bf8
66. Kb5 ! 9. a3 aS!

Now it is obvious that white must wi n. Otherwise white would play I 0. b4 and I I .
Bb2 with a favourable position from the
66 ... Be7
Queen's G. It is true that with 9. - a5! Lars­
67. Bxe7 Kxe7
en weakens his queen's wing, especially the
68. Nc6t Kd6
square b5, but white's knight is placed on d 2
69. Kb6 Nc5
instead o f its natural square c3, consequent­
70. Nd8 Nd7t
ly it should be difficult for him to occupy b5
71. Kb5 Ke7
without serious waste of time.
72 . Nb7 !
IO. b3 Nc6
The »Zugzwang(( i s deadly but Smyslov de­
I I . Bb2 d5
cides to be shown.
The chances are about even.
72 ... Nf6
73. c5 h5 12. e4? !
74. gxh5 Nxh5
A very ambitious move, probably too ambi­
75. c6 Nf6
tious, since it proves to be without any real
76. Kc5 Ng8
attacking value and only weakens the im­
77. Nd6 Resigns
portant central square d4. I nstead, 1 2. Qe2
Despite some inaccuracies awarded as the would have maintained the balance.
best endgame of the tournament.
12 ... dxc4
13. Bxc4 Nd4
14. e5 Nxf3t
15. Nxf3 Nd5
16. Bd4 ReS
47 17. Bxc5 Rxc5
Las Palmas, 1 972 18. Qd4 Qc7 !

White: Gheorghiu A fine »natural(( move, b u t Larsen had to

Bogo-Indian Defence make very excact calculations for the com­
ing complications because now his king's
wing becomes a little exposed.
l . d4 Nf6
19. Ng5 Ne7
2. c4 e6
20. Qd3 g6
3. Nf3 Bb4t
4. Nbd2 b6 Of course not 20. --'- Ng6? 2 1 . Qh3 h6 22.
Nxe6!
The fight for the central square e4, can also
be obtained through 4. - d5 2 1 . Qh3 h5

1 12
 30. hxg6 Qd4t
31. Rf2 Nxg6
32. Qh6t Kg8
33. bxc4? Qg4t
34. Kfl Qd 1 t t

48
San Antonio, 1972
White : Evans
Queen's Indian Defence

I. c4 e6
2. Nf3 Nf6
3 . g3 b6
Please take a close look at the diagrammed 4. Bg2 Bb7
position. White has forced black to weaken 5. 0-0 d 5 !?
his king's wing, but, as Gheorghiu now real­
A typical double-edged Larsen reply over
izes , he has no time to capitalize on it before
the usual 5. - Be7 , e.g. 6. Nc3 0-0 7. d4
his own position will collapse ! Gheorghiu's
Ne4± (Dorfman-Gulko 43. U S S R ch 1 975)
main problem is his weak pawn on e 5 . This
pawn must be defended, but that gives Lars­ 6. cxd5 exd5
en all the time he needs. 7. d4 Nbd7
8. Nc3 Be7
22. f4 b5
9. b3 0-0
23. g4? !
10. Bb2 ReS
White is in dire trouble, but this desperate I I . Ne5 Bf8 !?
attempt only precipitates the end . To be fair,
Again he heads for complications. Accord­
even 23 . Bd 3 Rc3-+ or 23 . Be2 Rc3 24. Bf3
ing to Larsen the line I I . - Bb4 1 2. a3
Qc5t 25. Kh I Nf5-+ would not have saved
Bxc3 1 3 . Bxc3 Ne4 14. Bb2 f6 should be
the game , only prolonged it !
quite satisfactory for black.
23 ... bxc4
12. f4 c5
24. gxh5 Rxe5!
1 3 . e3 cxd4
This is the prettiest solution to the p roblem, 14. exd4 Ne4
but the prosaic 24 . - Kg7 is equally good. 15. Nxe4 dxe4
16. Qe2 Nf6
25. fxe5 Qc5t
17. g4!?
26. Rf2 Qxe5
This leads to very intricate play.
The rest is plain sailing.
17 ... Nd5 !
27. Nxe6 Qxa 1 t
28. Rfl Qe5 Of course not 1 7 . - Qd5? 1 8 . g5 Nd7 19.
29. Nxf8 Kxf8 Bxe4!

1 13
 18. Bxe4 f6 Perhaps he is too modest about his chances
19. Qd3 in the endgame to mention the interesting
possibility 28 . - Qc5t !? which, in my opin­
Logical play, anticipating a dangerous at­
ion, would have given him some chances of a
tack on black's king, but by no means neces­
win.
sary. 1 9. Rad I ! seems more accurate. Then
black cannot accept the piece with 1 9 . - 21 . Nf7? ! Rxf7
fxe5? since 20 . d xe5 followed by Qd 3 gives 22. Bxf7t Kxf7
white a murderous attack, but must play 1 9 . 23. Qxh7t Bg7
- Rc8 ! with very unclear consequences. 24. g5 Qd6
25. g6t Kf8
19 ... g6
26. Rae 1 Nb4
20. Bxg6

What is this? Does Evans, two pawns up, not Refusing Evan's offer of a draw, but only
look like a sure winner? Larsen must have after some time because of problems - not
something up his sleeve !? with the position which he judged as favou­
rable - but with his stomach !
27. Qh3 Qd5

The threat is 28. - Nd3-+

28 . Re3 Rc8
29. Rfe 1 f5

A grandmaster does not ignore a threat like

Qxc 8 t !
3 0 . R1e2 a5
3 1 . Kf2 Ba6
32. ReS?

This seems to be the final mistake. A more

stubborn line was 32. Rd2, but after 32. -
Rc6! wh ite would probably still lose .

20 . . . Re7! 32 ... Bxe5

33. Rxe5 Nd3t
This is the point of black's balancing trick! 34. Kg3 Nxe5
In such positions one must play with the 35. fxe5 Bb7
outmost care, one single tiny slip and the
The rest is mutual time scramble .
result might be a disaster. But this goes for
white too, and his next move is definitely not 36. Qh8t Ke7
the best, but what is white's best? Certainly 37. Qf6t Kd7
not 2 1 . Ba3? hxg6 22. Bxe7 Nxe7+. Larsen 38. Qxf5t Kc7
gives the following interesting line: 2 1 . Be4 ! 39. Qf7t Qxf7
fxe5 22. dxe5 Nb4! 23. Qc4t Bd 5 24. 40. gxf7 Bd 5
Qxb4 Rxe5 25. Bxd5t Qxd 5 26. Qc3 BeS t 41. Kf4 Kd7
2 7 . Rf2 Bxf2t 28. Kxf2 Re2t 29 . Kxe2 42. h4 Ke7
Qg2t 30. Kd l Rd 8t 3 1 . Kc l Qh l t 32. 43. h5 Kxf7
Kc2 Qe4t with a draw by perpetual check. 44 . Resigns

1 14
 49
Hastings, 1972-73
Black : Eley
Larsen's Opening

1 . b3 e5
2. Bb 2 Nc6
3. e3 Nf6

For 3. - d 5 , see game no . 44

4. Bb5 d6
5. Ne2 Bd7
6. 0-0 Be7
7. f4 e4?

A strange decision. Why not the natural 7.

- 0-0. ? Wh ite cannot win a pawn with 8.
16. Qg4 !
fxe5 dxe5 9 . Bxc6 Bxc6 1 0. Bxe5?? Qd 5-+
Now matters clear. It is obvious that the task
8. Ng3 0-0
resti ng on black's bishop is paramount.
9. Bxc6 ! bxc6
Keeping an eye both on the weak squares
If 9. - Bxc6, 1 0 . Nf5 leaves white with the around its king , and at the same time guard­
better posted bishop and possibilities on the ing its companion-in-arms, the knight,
king's side. should of course be impossible. Some varia­
tions to illustrate this: 1 6. - Bf6 1 7 . Bxf6
10. c4 d5
Qxf6 1 8 . cxd5+ - or 1 6. - Bf8 1 7 . Bxg7
1 1 . Nc3 ReS
Bxg7 1 8 . cxd 5 Qxd 5 1 9 . Nh5+ -
12. Re i Bg4? !
16... g6
Not really a mistake , but the start of a faulty
17. f5 Nd3
plan. 1 2 . - Rb8 looks natural.
At long last this knight has reached its desti­
13. Nce2 Nd7
nation, but by now black's position is so
14. h3 Bxe2
gummed up tha : Larsen can win by direct
15. Qxe2 Nc5?
attack.
But now he is far too optimistic. It was ne­
18. fxg6 hxg6
cessary to play 1 5 . - Bf6.
19. Rxn!

Not without some sat isfaction, we may be

sure.

19 ... Kxf7
20. RO t Bf6
2 1 . Bxf6 Resigns

1 15
 50 14. Ng2 Nb4
1 5 . Qd2 e3!
Leningrad, Interzonal, 1 973
White : Rukavina The master touch. Rukavina's position is
totally ruined .
Dutch Defence
1 6. fxe3 Rxfl t
17. Kxfl e6
l . c4 g6 18. Bb2 exd5
2. d4 Bg7 19. cxd5
3. g3 c5 If 1 9. Nxd 5 Bxb2 20 . Qxb2 Nxd 5 2 1 . cxd 5
4. d5 d6 Qe7- +
5. Bg2 Na6
6. Nf3 !? 19... Qg5
20 . Rd l Be5
Perhaps it would have been better first to
play 6. Nc3. If then 6. - f5? ! white has the Played in order to prevent 2 1 . Kg l which
strong manoeuvre 7. Nh3 followed by Nf4± . would be answered with 2 1 . - Bxg3 ! (22.
Black would probably answer 6. Nc3 with 6. Ne4 Bxh2t ! -+)
Nf6, opting for an ordinary King's I ndian or 2 1 . e4 Qg4
perhaps a variation from the Benoni De­ 22. Kgl Rf8
fence .
This is certainly a crossroads. The other so­
6 ••• f5 !? lution is 22. - Bxg3 ! 23. hxg3 Qxg3 24. e3
Finally reaching the Leningrad Dutch. Who Rf8 ! 25 . Rf l Rxfl t 26. Kxf l Nd 3 ! - +
knows? Perhaps a friendly gesture towards 2 3 . Ne3 Qg5
the organizers? ! 24. Ng2 Qh5
7. 0-0 Nf6 25. Rei?
8. Nc3 0-0 Overlook ing a pretty combination, but even
9. Nel 25. e3 would hardly have saved the game .
A strong alternative is 9. Rb I ;!;

9... Rb8
IO. Qd3

Also worth serious consideration is 1 0 .

Nc2!? (Korchnoi-Tal, 1 968)
10... Bd7
I I . b3 Ne4
12. Bxe4??

A gross positional misjudgement. Still, it

was not too late to get an approximately
even position with the natura1 1 2. Bb2. Now,
however, Larsen soon gets an overwhelming
game.

12... fxe4
13. Qc2 Bh3

1 16
 25 ... Bxg2 ! But this is wrong. He should have played 1 6 .
.
26. Kxg2 Rf2t - h 6 satisfying himself with the worse o f it,
but with a long and tense struggle ahead.
A book motif!
27. Kxf2 Qxh2t 17. e4 Qa8
28. Kfl Qh3t
29. Resigns

51
Leningrad, Interzonal, 1973
Black : Radulov
Queen's Indian Defence

1. c4 Nf6
2. Nf3 e6
3. b3

He loves that diagonal !

3 ... Be7
4 . Bb2 0-0 1 8 . Qd2 !
5. Nc3 d5
Even better than the positional 1 8 . exd5,
6. e3 b6
which also gives white a strong position.
7. d4 Bb7
8. Bd3 c5 18 ... Bf6
9. 0-0 Nbd7
Not 1 8 . - dxe4? 1 9 . Qh6 Nf6 20. Ng5 Re8
10. Qe2 Ne4? !
2 1 . Nxh 7 ! + -
A dubious novelty. In the game Keres-Hort,
1 9 . Qf4
San Antonio, 1 972, H ort played the better
I 0. - Rc8 , and eventually he d rew the game. Since black must guard his rook this is the
decisive gain of time.
1 1 . cxd5 exd5
12. Rfd 1 Nxc3 19... Qd8
20. Ba5 Nb6
A sad decision, but 1 2. - f5 1 3 . Bb I would
2 l . b4 !?
leave black's d -pawn extremely weak.
This is what you should expect from Larsen.
1 3 . B xc3 ReS
The �>natural« l ine is 2 1 . exd 5, winning a
14. Racl Rc7
pawn, (if 2 1 . - Bxd5? 22. Be4 Rd 7 23 .
With the interesting idea 1 5 . - Qa8, and 1 6. Bxb6 axb6 24. Rxd 5 ! winning two pieces
- Rfc8. A drawback behind the move 1 4 . ­ for a rook.), but clearly Larsen is out for
Rc7 is that the rook will be left unprotected more.
for a coup le of moves.
21. •• Be7
15. dxc5 bxc5 22. exd5 Bd6
16. Qc2 g6? 23. Qh6 cxb4?

1 17
Larsen playing an exhibition game a couple
of weeks berfore the Grena-tournament. His
3 . d4 Nf6
opponent is Denmark 's next GM (perhaps
4 . e4 d6
even world champion !?) in correspondence
S . Be2 0-0
chess, Jergen Sloth.
6 . Nf3 Bg4

An interesting idea often used by Spassky in

A banal oversight. Perhaps he preferred a
similar positions , e.g. 6. - c5 7 . 0-0 Bg4 8 .
quick death rather than a slow painful one
d 5 Nbd7 9 . Bg5 a 6 1 0 . a 4 Qc 7 I I . Qd 2i
waiting for a chance which surely would
(Karpov-Spassky, 3rd match game, 1974)
never come !
7. Be3 Nfd7
24. NgS rs
8 . Rc l !
2S. Ne6 Qd7
26. Rxc7 ! Resigns N o routine moves here ! I f white proceed s
with 8. 0-0?! black gets a good game with 8 .
- Nc6 9. d5 Bxf3 10. Bxf3 N a 5 I I . Be2
Bxc 3 ! or 8. - e5 9 . d5 Bxf3 ! 10. Bxf3 f5=
52 (Birbrager-Stein, Sverdlovsk, 1 963)
Grena, 1 973 8 ... cS!!
Black: Westerinen Played only after a long thought, but a bad
King's Indian Defence move. 8. - e5 seems indicated .
9. d5 Na6
l . c4 g6 10. 0-0 Nc7
2 . Nc3 Bg7 l l . a4 Na6

1 18
 12. NgS Bxe2 33. NdcJ Ra7
1 3 . Qxe2 h6 34. NdS Ra 1 t
14. Nh3 Nb4 JS. Kn BeS
IS. Qd2? ! 36. g3 Ra2t
37. Kg1 Rb2?
In order to meet 1 5 . - Kh7? with 16. f4! but
of course Westerinen does not even d ream of
such a passive move ! Instead, Larsen should
have played 1 5 . f4! followed by Qd2, and
perhaps e5 ! with a nice attack.
IS... NeS!
16. Qe2 Qd7
17. f3

Suddenly black is faced with new d ifficult­

ies . White threatens to play 1 8 . Nf2 and f4,
besides, the knight on b4 looks a little fool­
ish, stranded in the enemy camp without any
chances of help from black's other pieces.
17 ... e6!
18. dxe6 Qxe6
19. NbS NedJ??
A typical product of time trouble. Westerin­
A surprising blunder instead of the natural en hopes for 38. - Ra8, but forgets that the
19. - Qe7 with only a slight plus for white, open rook-file also can be useful to white !
but black's game would be tenable.
38. RaJ !
20. Rc3! QeS
Ups ! Now it is black who has to face a furi­
21. RxdJ N xdJ
ous attack .
22. Qxd3 Qxb2
23. Rbl Qa2 38... bS
24. Qb3 QxbJ 39. Ra7 Rf8
2S. RxbJ Rfd8
Or 39. - bxc4 40. Ne7t Kf8 4 1 . Ng6t Kg8
26. aS
42. Nxe5 dxe5 43 . Nf6 ! + -
White has, of course, plenty of time, but it
40. f4 gd4
seems more relevant to play 26. Nf4, bring­
4l . gxf4 Bg7
ing this p iece into play again.
42. fS
26 . . . gS
Black can hardly move. The rest is simple.
27. Nn Rd7
28. Rd3 Rad8 42... bxc4
29. Ndl fS! 43. f6 Rf7
44. R xf7 Kxf7
This is Black's best chance. If now 30. exf5?!
4S. Nxd6t Ke6
the answer would be 30. - d 5 !
Any other move is equally hopeless.
30. NbcJ ! fxe4
3l . Nxe4 b6 46. fxg7 Rb8
32. axb6 axb6 47. Ne8! Resigns

1 19
 53 Excellent ! It will soon be clear that Larsen's
knight is much more active than white's
Manila, 1973
black-squared bishop.
White : Quinteros
15. Qc2 0-0
Ruy Lopez Bxc3
1 6. 0-0-0
17. Qxc3 f6
l . e4 eS 18. f4?
2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bb5 Nge7!? Quite wr9ngly Quinteros continue to reduce
the capacity of his bishop instead of playing
The Cozio Defence, a rare guest in grand­ the lesser evil, 1 8. exf6+
master competitions. Perhaps this old line is
a wise choice against Quinteros, known as
an expert on the Exchange Varition of the
Lopez.

4. c3 a6
5. Ba4 d6
6. d4 Bd 7
7. h4 !?

An interesting novelty . .A crucial line is 7.

Bb3 h6 8. Nh4!? exd4 9. cxd4 Nxd4! 1 0.
Qxd4 Nc6 I I . Qd 5 Qxh4 1 2. Qxf7t Kd8
with a very unclear position.
7 ... h6

Of course not 7 . - Ng6? or 7 . - g6? Both

would be answered wit h 8. h 5±
8. h5 exd4 1 8 ... aS ! !
9. Nxd4? !
A bolt from the blue. This beautiful move,
But here it is difficult to agree with Quinter­ which in one dashing flash changes the posi­
os. Instead of the artificial text move, which tion totally, must have come as a big surp rise
only helps black, the given move is 9 . cxd4, to the Argentinian grandmaster who now
when 9. - d 5 1 0 . e5 brings about a compli­ pondered for almost an hour before he play­
cated position probably with a slight plus to ed his next move.
white.
19. a3 a4
9 ... N xd4 20. Kb 1 NaS
10. cxd4 dS 21. Qd3 Nc4
l l . eS Bxa4 22. Bd2 fxeS!
12. Qxa4t Nc6
Must be carefully calculated because the
1 3 . Be3
white pawn maj ority on the king's side could
Perhaps a further i naccuracy. 1 3 . a3, in or­ be dangerous.
der to prevent Bb4, is a serious alternative.
23 . fxeS Rad8
13... Qd7 24. Bcl bS
14. Nc3 Bb4! 25. Rhel Rfe8

1 20
 26. Qf3 cS This is what we could call a key position in
27. Rd3? ! the main line of the King's Indian. In his
match against Tal ( 1 965) Larsen played 1 0.
A waste of time but honestly speaking,
f3 f5 I I . g5!? and won an interesting game.
black's pawn avalanche together with the
A year later, Santa Monica 1 966, he beat the
powerful knight would decide the issue any­
great Najd orf with: 1 0. Nd3 f5 I I . Bd2 Nf6
way.
1 2. f3 f4 1 3 . c5 g5 1 4 . Re i Ng6 1 5 . cxd6
27... d4 dates' Tie- Match , Larsen reached this iden­
28. Red 1 NaS tical position against Tal who played 1 7. ­
29. g4 Nb3 Ne8? and eventually lost. Three years
30. Rde 1 passed , but in the 5th game of the Candi­
dates' Tie-Mach, Larsen reached this identi­
The exchange sacrifice 30. Rxb3 axb3 31.
cal position against Tal who played 1 7 . ­
Qxb3 t c4 32. Qf3 b4! is hopeless.
g4 !? scoring a spectacular, but not quite de­
30. .. c4 served win with it! (See also the game : Aver­
3 1 . Rdel b4! kin-Tal, 37th U S S R ch 1 969) - In this game
Larsen plays an old line considered refuted
An unfair struggle this one, four black
twenty years ago. You ask by whom? . . . Naj ­
pawns against tw o white ones : that must
dorf o f course !
lead to a d isaster.
10. 0 rs
32. axb4 d3
1 1 . Be3? !
33. Bd2 a3!
Probably too sharp ! Now all Najdorf has to
A move to which there is only one reply.
do is to repeat (and to remember ! ) his moves
34. bxa3 Nd4 from the game with Taj manov, Zurich 1 953,
3S. Qf2 Qa4 starting with I I . - f4! =
36. Bc3 Ne2
11 ... Nf6?
37. Bb2 Qc2t

In this totally l ost position, white over­ A strange positional error from a grandmas­
stepped the time limit. ter considered to be an expert on the black
side of the King's Indian. Instead of winning
a vital tempo with I I . - f4! , Najdorf wel­
54 comes Larsen to play 1 2. c5 without further
preparation from say, Nd 3 .
Manila, 1973
12. cS f4
Black : Najdorf
13. Bf2 gS
King's Indian Defence 14. a4!

l . c4 Nf6 The natural move is 1 4 . Rc I, but this is even

2 . Nc3 g6 better.
3. e4 d6
14... Ng6
4. d4 Bg7
1 S . aS hS
S. Be2 0-0
16. cxd6 cxd6
6. Nf3 eS
17. NbS a6
7. 0-0 Nc6
8. dS Ne7 A sad decision but 1 7 . - g4 1 8 . Nxa7 g3
9. Ne 1 Nd7 1 9. Bb6, is bad for black.

121
 18. Bb6 Qe7 tive black-squared bishop, but also because
19. Nc7 Rb8 of white's terribly strong passed pawn and of
20. Qb3 ! course the dominating bishop pair which in
this case is equally good in attack as well as
Much better than 20 . Ba7 !? Qxc7 2 1 . Re i
in defence !
QxaS 22. Bxb8 Qd 8 with some chances of
survival. 32. gxf3 Rg2
33. Rxg2 N xg2
20 ... g4
2 l . Rcl Bd7 If 33. - Rxg2, white can make good use of
22. Nd3 Nh4 the c-file with: 34. ReS t Bf8 35. Bd 8 ! + -
34. Rgl Ne3
35. Rxg8t Kxg8

23. Ne6!

An old trick ! Black is forced to part with his

strong white-squared bishop after which his 36. Bd8 !
attack would be less effective than usual.
True, 36. Qc3 would also lead to victory, but
23 ... Bxe6 the text move is prettier.
24. dxe6 Rbc8
36... Qe8
25. Khl !
37. e7t Kh7
Just in case ! 38. B xb7!

25... Kh8 Larsen's bishops mop up on the queen's

26. Nb4 Bh6 wing, while the black army, d isorganized as
27. Bc4 Rg8 it is, remain a spectator to the unavoidable
28. Rgl Rg7 disaster.
29. Qd3 RegS
38 ... Qa4
30. Nd5 Nxd5
39. Qb l Qb5
31. B xd5 gxf3
40. Bxa6 ! Qxa6
Powerful as it looks b lack's attack is 4 l . e8 (Q) Qe2
doomed to fail. Partly because of the inac- 42. Q f7 t Resigns

1 22
After 42. - Bg7 43. Qxh5t and 44. Qh3 the But not I I . exf4?
- 1 2. Bxf4 g5, when 1 3 .
rest i s silence ! e5! favours white . .
12. Nxg6 fxg6
13. 0-0 !

Much stronger than 1 3 . fxe5?! which Spas­

55 sky tried in the game mentioned above.
Manila, 1 973 13 ... Qe7? !
Black : lvkov
The crucial line i s 1 3 . - 0-0 ! e . g . 1 4 . f 5 gxf5
Nimzo-Indian Defence 1 5 . exf5 e4 1 6. Be2 Qe7 as in the game
Gligoric- Mecking, San Antonio, 1 972.
l . d4 Nf6 14. Qf3 !
2. c4 e6
3. Nc3 White has won the theoretical discussion
and is now ready to build up a dangerous
This is one of the rare cases in which Larsen initiative on the king's wing.
allows the Nimzo-lndian to be played
against him . Usually he prefers to play 3. 14... 0-0
Nf3 or 3. g3 1 5. Qg3 Kh7
16. fS gS
3... Bb4 17. Qh3 Kg8
4. e3 cS 18. g4
S. Bd3 Nc6
6. Nf3 Larsen's position is very promising. Besides
the spatial advantage the threat of h4 is
Again he breaks, with a principle, (not to hanging over lvkov's head like the sword of
allow a double-pawn !) but if white plays 6. Damocles !
Nge2, d5 would give black a good game.
1 8... Bd7
6..• Bxc3t 1 9 . Qg3 Ba4
7. bxc3 d 6 !? 20. Rb1 Rb8
An interesting variation which dates back to 21. Rb2
Nimzovich. In recent time it has frequently The last preparation before the break on
been used by the German grandmaster, Ro­
the king's side.
bert H ubner. By the way, in the 5th game of
the match for the world championship 21 ... b6
another Robert won a fine victory w ith it 22 . h4 ! Nh7
against Spassky !
Of course not 22. - gxh4? 23. Qxh4 Nxd5
8. e4 eS 24. g5 hxg5 25. Bxg5 Nf6 26. Rg2+ -
9. dS Ne7
23. hxgS NxgS
10. Nh4!
24. Rh2 Be8
White must be aggressive on the king's side
The only move ! But what now? The position
otherwise black would soon take over the
seems totally blocked so how d oes white
initiative, e.g. 1 0 . 0-0?! h6 I I . Ne l g5!+
gain further ground under his feet? The an­
1 0 ... h6 swer must be an exchange of white-squared
11. f4 Ng6 bishops, only then it would be possible to

1 23
play Rh5, after which the attack would soon
be overwhelming.

38 ... aS?

Panic ! lvkov should have kept calm with his

defensive queen moves, but perhaps time
25. Qh4 Qf6 trouble spoilt his positional j udgement of
26. Kg2 Kf7 the position?
27. Kg3 a6!
39. Rab3 Ba4??
Otherwise it would be very easy for white to
And this, still positionally speaking, is even
play a rook to a3, and then the bishop to a4.
worse ! Voluntarily forcing an exchange
28. Be3 Kg8 which white has worked for for hours must
be wrong !
The best. To open the game with 28. - b5?!
would only be in white's favour. 40. R3b2 Bxc2
41 . Rxc2 Qe8
29. Rbl Rf7
30. Rb3 The sealed move. During the seperate ad­
journed analysis both players came to the
Avoiding the little trap 30. Bxg5 Qxg5 3 1 .
same result: White has a winning advantage.
Qxg5 hxg5 32. Rh5 Rf6 ! =
42. Rb5 Qd8
30... Rfb7
43. Be3 a4
3 1 . RaJ Ra7
44. Rcb2 Ra5
32. Rb2 Qd8
45. Kd3 Rxb5
33. Rbl Qe7
46. Rxb5 Nf7
34. Bc2 Qd8
47. Qh5 !
35. Qhl Qe7
36. Kf2 Qd8 And now, without delay, Larsen returns to
37. Ke2 Qe7 the first theme of this game: The attack on
38. Bf2! the black king. The threat, to which there is
no defence, is 48. Rb l + -
A sudden swift in plans. Now Larsen pres­
ents lvkov with a delicate problem. What to 47... Kf8
do against the possible threat 39. Bh4. ? 48. Rbl Qf6

1 24
Hopeless is 48. - Qe 8 49. Qg6 b5 50. cxb5 56
Rxb5 5 1 . f6 !+ -
Las Palmas, 1974
49. Kcl Ng5 Black : Quinteros
50. Bxg5 Qxg5
51. Qxg5
Pirch
hxg5
52. Kbl
I . Nf3 d6
2. d4 g6
3. e4 Bg7
4. c3 Nf6
5. Nbdl 0-0
6. Be2

Quinteros prefers sharp and complicated

variations such as the Sicilian Najdorf or the
Sicilian Dragon. Keeping this in mind Lar­
sen selects a very quiet and solid variation, in
order to provoke Quinteros to take a ris k !

6 ... Nc6
7. 0-0 e5
8. dxe5 Nxe5
9. Nxe5 dxe5
10. Qc2 Be6?!

The first risky step. A strategical good idea

))Vive Ia petite difference ! « A very instruc­ here is 1 0. - Bh6!? but also 10. - b6!? is
tive position this one . Put the white a-pawn worth serious consideration.
on a3, and the game would be a dead draw.
I I . Nf3 Nd7
Here, however, Larsen has threats on both
12. Ng5 Qe7
wings, and that is more than black can han­
13. Rd 1 Rfd8
dle. Going over variations such as 52. - Ra8
14. Be3 Nf8
53. Ka3 Ra6 54. Rh I Kf7 55. Rh8 !+ - ,
15. Nxe6 Nxe6
lvkov decides to take a desperate chance
16. Qb3 !
with . . .
A good way of assessing the position would
52... g6!?
be to say that Larsen is already in the end­
53. fxg6 aJt
game, while Quinteros is still in the middle­
54. Kb3
game ! In such a possible ending black's
Not 54. Kxa 3 . Ra8t, when the win would be chances would not be too rosy, partly be­
difficult. cause of the weak queen's wing, but also
because of his inactive so-called ))bad<< bish­
54 ... Kg7
op.
55. Ka4 Kxg6
56. Kb5 Rf8 16 ... b6
57. Kc6 Rfl 1 7 . Bc4 Rxd 1 t
58. Rxb6 Rxal 1 8 . Rxd 1 Rd8
59. Kxd6 Rbl 19. Bxe6 Rxd 1 t
60. Ra6 Resigns 20. Qxd1 fxe6

1 25
A sad decision but 20. - Qxe6 2 1 . Qd8t 32. Bd2 Bd8
Bf8 22. h3 ! is by no means better. 33. Qd3 Kg8
34. Bh6 Be7
21 . Qa4
3S. g3

As usual Larsen combines the attack on the

queen's wing with threats against the enemy
king.
35 ... Qb7
36. h4 a6
37. Be l bS
38. axb5 axbS
39. c4 bxc4
40. Qxc4 Kf7
41 . Be3 Qa7
42. Qa4 Qxa4??
Quinteros played this, the decisive blunder,
with amazing speed . It is difficult to explain
this error, because the following bishop end­
ing is an easy win for white . Quinteros must
Larsen has excellent winning chances. definitely have missed something very sim­
Black's pieces are inactive, he has an ugly ple in his pre-calculations !
doublepawn and still, the queen's wing is
very weak. 43 . bxa4 Ke8
44. Kd3 Kd7
21 ... cS 4S. Kc4 Kc6
2 1 . - a5 would be answered with 22 . c4, 46 . Bg5 Bd6
when the break c 5 ! is difficult to meet in a
The sealed move. Black's task is hopeless.
satisfactory way.
He must keep an eye on white's dangerous
22. Qc6 Kf7 passed pawn and he must protect his two
23. Kn Qe8 weak pawns in the center. Finally, he must
24. Qc7t Qe7 not allow white's king to advance further
25. Qc8 Qe8 into his camp. A U together this seems to be
26. Qa6 Qd7 an impossible business, but one must admit
27. Ke2 Bf8 that Quinteros puts up a very ingenious de­
28. a4! fence . The remaining moves are very in­
st ructive .
White im proves his position by every move
and now, faced with the threat 29. a5, black 47. Bd8 hS
must allow the white king entry to the 48. aS Bb8
queen's wing. To Larsen this is an important 49. f3 Bd6
step forward. SO. g4 Bb8
51 . gS?!
28... Qc7
29. Kd3 Be7 Prolonging the game unnecessarily. A quick
30. b3 Qd7t win could have been obtained with 5 1 . a6 !
31 . Kc2 Qc7 Ba 7 (not 5 1 . - Bd 6 52. a7 Kb7 5 3 .

1 26
Bb6!+ -) 52. Be7 ! Zugzwang ! Bb6 5 3 . Bf6 60. exf5 gxf5
Bc7 54 . a7 Kb7 5 5 . Kxc5+ - 6 1 . g6 Bd4
62. Bd6!
51 ... Bd6
52. Bb6 That bishop again!
Now he cannot use the above mentioned 62 ... h4
variation , e.g. 52. Bf6 Bc7 53. a6 Kb6 54.
Indeed not 62. - Kb6?? 63. Bxc 5 t !
a7 Kxa7 55. Kxc5 Kb7!
63 . Bxc5 !
52... Be7
53. Ba7 Bd8! The third and final point of Larsen's 58th
move . The line is: 63. - h3 64. Bxd4 h2
A fine resource undoubtedly overseen by
65. a7 Kb7 66. g7 h I (Q) 67. a8t (Q) Kxa8
Larsen when he played his 5 1 . g5?! Now on
68. g8t (Q) Kb7 69. Qf7 t Kc6 70. Qe8 t !
the other hand white must play with the out­
winning . Hardly t o believe that this is a pos­
most care in order to collect the whole point.
sible variation and not a composed study!
54. a6 BaS
63... Bg7
55. Bb8 Bel
64. Bgl h3
56. Bxe5 Bxh4
65. Kd3
57. f4
The rest of the game is technique !

65 ... Bh6
66. Ke2 h2
67. Bxh2 Kb6
68. Kd3 Kxa6
69. Kc4 Kb6
70. Kd5 Kb5
7 1 . Bf4 Bg7
72. Be5 Bh6
73. Ke6 Kc6
74 . Kf7 Resigns

One of Larsen's ))immortal« bishop endings .

57
Menorca, 1 974
The threat is 58. f5 with a book win, but
what if black plays 57. - Bg3 . ? Black: Duckstein
Bg3
English
57...
58. Bb8 ! !
1. c4 e5
A beautiful study - like bist10p move. The
2. Nc3 Nf6
point is 58. - h4 59. a7 Kb7 60. f5 ! when
3. Nf3 Nc6
white wins the race.
4. g3 d5
58 ... Bf2 5. cxd5 Nxd5
59. f5 exf5 6. Bg2 Be6
Some years ago 6 . - N xc3 !? 7. bxc3 e4 ! Almost unnoticed Larsen has built up what
was considered strong, but recent analysis seems to be an irresistible attack against the
has proved the pawn sacrifice 8. Nd4 ! to be bewildered black king. The threat for the
very promising. moment is Qxe 5 !
7. 0-0 Be7 !? 23 . . . Ke7
24. Qf3 Ke8
Theory recommends 7. - Nb6
25. Rd 1 ? !
8. d4! exd4
Being too sure about the win, Larsen makes
9. Nb5
a typical ))left-handed « move instead of the
Instead of the slightly boring 9. Nxd4 Nxc3 murderous 25. Qf6 ! Now black can hang on
1 0. bcx3 Nxd4 I I . cxd4±, this is certainly with "25 . - Re6 but perhaps he feared 26.
an interesting alternative. a4!± ?
9 ••. Qd7! 25 ... Qe7?
The most flexible continuation for black. 9 .
- d 3?! cannot be good, and 9. - Bf6 1 0.
Nfxd4 gives white a small but clear advan­
tage .
10. Nfxd4 Nxd4
1 1 . Nxd4 Bh3
12. e4 Bxg2?

But this is bad . B lack can achieve equality

with 1 2 . - Nf6! e.g. 1 3 . Nf5 Bxf5 1 4 . exf5
Qxd l 1 5 . Rxd l c6= or 1 3 . Bf4!? Bxg2 1 4 .
Kxg2 Nxe4 1 5 . Re I , and it i s not quite clear
if white gets eno ugh for his pawn.
13. Kxg2 Nb6
14. Nf5 Bf6
1 5 . Qc2 g6
16. Nh6 ! 26. Qf4!
An excellent outpost for the knight. Notice A fine quiet move. Now black's position col­
the »trap« 1 6 . Rd l ?! Qe6 1 7 . Nh6 Qc4 ! lapses with a bang !
when black has nothing to fear.
26 ... Kf8?
16 . . . 0-0-0
1 7 . 8(4 Rhe8 Probably a blunder in time trouble, but
18. Rac l c6 Duckstein is lost in any case.

Unfortunately this is the only move. (1 8 . ­ 27. Rd8t ! Resigns

Be5?? 1 9. Rfd I !+ -)
19. b4 Be5
20 . Rfdl Qc7
2 1 . Rxd8t · Kxd8
22. Bxe5 Rxe5
23. Qc3!

1 28
 58 white cannot play 1 5 . Nf5? because of 1 5 . ­
Bxf5 1 6 . exf5 e4 1 7. Be2 d 5 ! and black is
Manila, 1974
already better.
White : Torre
15. fxeS dxeS
Sicilian Defence
16. NfS BxfS
17. exfS e4
1. e4 cS 18. B xe4
2. Nf3 e6 But not 1 8 . Be2 Bd6!+
3. d4 cxd4
4. Nxd4 Nf6 18... Nxe4
S. Nc3 d6 19. Nxe4 QeS!
6. Be2 A powerful centralization-move from a
Since the famous game against Fischer, queen thought to be stranded on b8!
( Mallorca, Interzonal, 1 970 no 38) it is very 20. Qg4! hS
seldom that a Larsen opponent chose s the 2 1 . Qf3 Nxc2 !
»Velimirovic-attack(( against him ! Is it refut­
ed? Probably not. But why play a line which
Larsen knows better than his own p oc ket,
Torre may have thought !

6... Be7
7. 0-0 Nc6
8. Be3 Bd7
9. NdbS!?

Torre tries to prove that black's queen is

slightly out of play on b8. The book prefers
9. Nb3;!; or 9. f4;!;
9... Qb8
10. a4 0-0
l l . f4 Rc8!?

A novelty ! If I I . - Rc8 !? should be better

than Polugajevsky's I I . - Rd 8 ! ? (Podgajec­
Polugajevsky U S S R 1 973) is hard to say,
Hardly surprising Larsen rejects the d raw
but an unknown idea is always difficult to
which could have been obtained with 2 1 . ­
deal with , especially when it comes from
Rc4 22. f6 ! Rxe4 23 . fxe7, when it is diffi­
Larsen !
cult to find a better move than 23. - Rxe3
12. Kh 1 which allows a draw by repetition of moves.
Perhaps a waste of time. Podgajec played 22. f6?
1 2. Bf3 !?
Torre, the young national hero, goes astray !
12... Nb4 He should have played 22. Bf4! Qxf5 23.
l 3 . Bf3 a6 Rad I with a fairly even game.
14. Nd4 eS!
22... Nxe3
The point of Larsen's previous play. Now 23. Qxe3 Bd6

1 29
An unpleasant surprise. I nstead of having 4 1 . Nd 3 , thus only analysing it for less than
an even game Torre finds himself placed in an hour !
difficulties .
41 . Ne4?! Kg6
24. Qg3 Qxg3 42. Nd2 Rdl
2S. hxg3 BeS 43. Nc4 Bb8
26. fxg7 Kxg7 44. Ne3 Rbl
27. RfS f6 4S. Nfl BeS?!
28. Rafl Rc6
29. b3 Kg6 Too much analysing and almost no sleep
30. RSf3 Rd8 turns out to be a bad cocktail producing a
31. Nf2 Rc3 sleepy grandmaster! Here Larsen forgets all
32. Rxc3 Bxc3 about the exact order of moves. The right
33. Nh3 BeS way is 42. - Rb2
34. Nf4t Kh6 46. Nd2 Re i
35. Kh2 Rd2 47. Nc4 Bc7
Larsen has managed to squeeze the most out 48. Ne3 bS?
of the position, but if it is enough to win It is indeed very seldom to see Larsen com­
is another question. mit such a grave positional error. After the
36. Rf3 Rdl exchange of pawns on the queen's wing it
37. Nd3 Kg6 should be possible for Torre to keep his
38. Nf4t KgS game alive. Because of the reduced material
39. Nh3t Kh6 even a rook ending a pawn down should be a
40. Nf2 Rbl draw. 48 . - Rb I ! this is the difference. Now
even 49 . Nd5 Be5 50. Nf4t Bxf4 leaves
black with a big, perhaps winning, plus.
49. axbS axbS
SO. NdS BeS
Sl . Ne3?

How difficult it is to play such relatively

))simple« endings ! The move actually chosen
is bad because the knight will no longer be
able to reach f4. I nstead , 5 1 . Nf4t should re­
sult in a draw by careful playing.
S l ... Rbl
Sl. Nfl Rb2
53. Kh3 KgS
S4. Nh2 Rbl

No d oubt ! Torre is d oomed and he must just

stand by, an id le spectator, as Larsen takes
The adj ourned position. Larsen analysed it his position apart.
for some ten(!) h ours, paying special atten­
SS. Rd3 KfS
tion to 4 1 . Nd 3, but next day when the enve­
56. Rf3t KgS
lope was opened , it contained the move 4 1 .
Ne4, which Larsen had rejected as inferior to The most important thing is to pass the sec-

1 30
ond time control. 56. - Ke4! is not bad analysed to >lrleath«, this used to be one of
either! The rest is relatively simple and is Larsen's pet lines when he was playing the
given without comments. Sicilian. Here he has to face it, playing t he
white pieces . Perhaps Larsen is not the only
57. Re3 Kg6
one to practise psychology at the chess
58. Rf3 b4
board?!
59. NO Bc3
60. g4 h xg4t 6. Bg5
6 1 . Kxg4 Rxb3
He must have something up his sleeve! To
62. Rd3 Ra3
the best of my knowledge this move, which is
63. Kf3 BeS
the most aggressive, has never occured in
64. Ke2 Rxd3
Larsen's games before. ( For 6. Be2 see game
65. Kxd3 b3
no 1 .)
66. Nd2 b2
67. Kc2 KfS 6 ... e6
68. Kd3 Kf4 7. f4 Be7
69. Ke2 Kg3
In the play-off for the Candidates', Varese,
70 . Kfl rs
1 976, the game Tal-Portisch saw Portisch
7 1 . Nb l Bd6
playing the »Pois oned <<-Pawn-Variation for
72. Nc3 Bb4
the first time ever, but perhaps that was
73. Nbl BaS
more due to his lack of points than to his abi­
74. Na3 Bc3
lity as a chess-pscyhologist ! Anyway, it
75. Nb l Bb4
would have been interesting to see what Lar­
76. Kgl f4
sen had prepared against 7. - Qb6!?
77. Kfl f3 !
Resigns 8. Qf3 Qc7
9. 0-0-0 Nbd7
10. Bel

This is not considered to give black any trou­

59 bles, but Larsen has prepared an interesting
Manila, 1974 novelty which he wants to test on this occa­
sion. Other possibilities are: 1 0. Bd3± - 1 0.
Black: Portisch Qg3;!; and the »old« line 1 0. g4;!;(=)
S icilian Defence
10 ... bS
l l . Bxf6 Nxf6
1. e4 cS
Not I I . - Bxf6? 1 2 . Bxb 5 ! + -
2. Nf3 d6
3. d4 1 2: e S Bb7
1 3 .-Qg3? !
To Portisch this must have been a little sur­
prising since Larsen is known to play almost Accord ing t o S tean (Sicilian : Najdorf p.
anything but 3. d4 in this position ! 48).« this is objectively worse than 1 3 . exf6!?
Bxf3 1 4. Bxf3 Bxf6 1 5 . Bxa8 d 5 1 6. Bxd5
3... cxd4
Bxd4 1 7 . Rxd4 exd 5 1 8 . Re l t Kf8 1 9 .
4. Nxd4 Nf6
ReS ! ;!; (=)« ( I n the famous game Keres­
5. Nc3 a6
Fischer, Cand idates' 1 959, Keres played the
The Najd orf Variation. Once, before it was weaker 1 9. Nxd5 and eventually lost.)

131
 13 ... dxe5 that follows , Larsen seizes the initiative,
14. fxe5 Nd7 never to give it away for the rest of the game.
15. Bf3 !?
28 ... gxh5
This is the novelty Larsen had relied on, but 29. Qe2! Qb5
as Portisch demonstrates, it is quite harm­ 30. QxbS axb5
less. Of course not the ))tricky(( 1 5 . Qxg7 3 1 . RxhS Bf8
Qxe5 1 6. Nxe6? ! fxe6 1 7 . Bh5t Qxh5-+
The tempting 3 1 . - Bc5 would be strongly
(Shapiro-Brondum, Biel 1 976)
met with 32. Rxh6 Be 3t 33. Kb I Rd I t 34.
IS... Bxf3 Ka2 Rfl 35. Ng5 !±
16. gxf3 g6! 32. Nel Rd5
And not 1 6. - Qxe5?! 1 7 . f4! with a nice 33. Nd3 Kd8
attack to white. 34. Kd2 f5?

17. f4 Qb7! With this move black reduces his chance of

easying his cramped position by means of a
Again the best . It is very important to pre­ later f5 . Besides, from being almost dead,
vent .w hite from occupying the vital square, Portisch's bishop is now completely dead.
e4. 35. Ke3 Ke8
18. h4 0-0-0 36. Rhl Rd7
37. c3 bxc3
Portisch has defended himself well, and his 38. bxc3 Rc7
position looks promising but, and there is a 39. Kd2 K f7
but, he has spent a lot of time on his last few 40. Ncl K g6
moves so now the problems come from 4 1 . b4!
another front !

19. Nf3 b4
20. Ne2 Nc5
21 . Ng5 Rfd8
22. Qe3 h6
23. Nf3 Rd8
24. Ned4

Dangerous ! It was better to play 24. Ng3,

with only a slight advantage to black.
24 ... Rd7
25. Nb3 Nxb3?

A strange mistake for a player of Portisch's

capacity. 25. - Qe4 was the natural and
strong continuation, which would have en­
sured him the better position.
26. axb3 Rhd8
What a pretty move to seal ! The dia­
27. Rxd7 Qxd7
grammed position is an odd example of a
28. h5!
rule and the exception to it. Normally it is
The wind shifts . With this move and the one wise to put the pawns on white squares if the

1 32
opponent has a black-squared bishop, but 60
here Larsen carefully puts all his pawns on
Orense, 1 975
black squares ! Why he does so should not be
d ifficult to understand . Black's humble bish­ Black : Andersson
op cannot defend b5 or e6, so when white's King's Indian Defence
k night arrives at d4, it would be time for
Portisch to resign . The most convincing var­ 1 . g3 g6
iations are: 4 1 . - h5 42. Ne2 Bh6 43. 2. Bg2 Bg7
Ke3+ - or 4 1 . - Rc4 42. Ne2 h5 43. Ke3 3. c4 Nf6
Bh6 44. Kf3 ! , and white's rook decides the 4. Nc3 0-0
rest. Finally, 4 1 . - Rc4 42. Ne2 Re4 43. 5. d4 c5
Kd3 h5 44. Nd4 Bh6 45. Rg l t Kh7 (if Kf7 6. d5 d6
then 46. Nxb5 !+ -) 46. Nxe6 Bxf4 47. Nf8t 7. Nf3 Na6
Kh8 48 . Nd7 Bxe5 49 . Rg5 ! with an easy
wm.
If black wants to play e6, (and he should do
so because his position usually gets a little
41... Rd7t
cramped without this freeing move.) this
42. Kc2
is excactly the time to do it, e.g. 7 . - e6 8.
But not 42 . Ke3? Be7 43. Ne2 Bd 8 ! 0-0 exd5 9. cxd 5 , and now both 9 . - Re8,
as in the game Grigorjan-Polugajevsky,
42... h5
USSR ch 1 974, or 9 . - Qe7!? (Petrosjan)
43. Ne2 Bh6
should guarantee black a satisfactory game.
44. Rh4 818
45. Rh3 ! 8. 0-0 Nc7
9. Re1 !
Puting black in a state of ��zugzwangK If
45. - Bh6, white wins with 46. Rg3t Kf7 A good move for several reasons. It prepares
47. Rd 3 ! the center-break e4-e5 , and it makes room
for the bishop which from f l would be able
45 ... Rh7
to guard itself against a possible black b 5 .
46. Nd4 h4
47. Nxe6 Be7 9... a6
48. Kd3 Kh5 10. a4 Rb8?!
49. Ke3 Kg4
This is the ma;n reason to black's arising
50. Rh1 Kg3
problems. Of course he should have played
5 1 . Rg1t Kh2
1 0. - b6, and only then Rb8.
52. Kfl Rh6
l l . a5 e6?
An amusing variation is 52. - h3?? 53.
Nd4! and t h e net is closed . Funnily enough, this move which would
have been excellent, if played as black's 7th,
53 . Nd4 Ra6
is now a mistake ! Instead , I I . -- b6, as in the
54. Rg2t Kh1
game Larsen-Donner, Leyden 1 970, should
55. Rg 1t Kh2
have been preferred . (A similar position is to
56. Rg2t
be seen in the game Larsen-Westerinen, no.
Just a harmless repetition of moves before 24 in this book)
he decides upon anything of importance.
12. dxe6 Nxe6
56••• Kh1 13. Qd3 b6
57. Rg7 Resigns 14. Rd1 bxa5

133
 1 5 . Qxd6 Qxd6 The point of the previous knight-route: c7-
16. Rxd6 Ne8 a6-c5-<1 3 ! Now black must part with his
17. Rd3 strong bishop, (29 . - Ra4? 30. b3+ -) and
with an extra pawn and a pair of bishops the
It is quite clear that Andersson has a trou­
rest is only too elementary for the Danish
blesome game. Three weak pawns on the
grandmaster .
queen's side, and one of them must soon be
lost. Besides, Larsen has the ideal operation­ 29... Bxd3
square, d5, at his disposal and a much better 30. Rxd3 Nc4
piece-communication. Naturally Andersson 31 . Bxf7 N xb2
realizes this, and the following is an ingeni­
Black has managed to get rid of the danger­
ous attempt to complicate matters.
ous passed pawn only to find himself up
1 7 ... Nd4 against a terrible pair of white bishops !
1 8 . Nxd4 cxd4
32. Rb3 Rxb3
19. Nd5 Kh8
33. 8xb3 d3
20. Rxa5 Nd6
34. Ke1 Bd4
21 . ReS ReS
35. 8h6 g5
22. Kfl Bf5
23 . Rd 1 Bc2 Sheer desperation. But as usual Andersson
24. Rd2 Bb3 is in grave time trouble and forgets all about
resignation !
36. Bxg5 Kg7
37. Kd2 Bxf2
38. exd3 Bg1
39. 8e3 ! Bxh2
40. Bd4t Kg6
41 . Bxb2 Resigns

61
Orense, 1 975
Black : Quinteros
Modern Defence

1. c4 g6
25. Nc7! 2. d4 Bg7
3. e4 d6
It looks as if black is coming back into the
4. Nc3 Nc6!?
game, but Larsen's following no doubt care­
fully prepared knight-manoeuvre decides A very sharp reply. In the books it is consid­
the issue. ered inferior to moves such as: 4. - e5, 4. ­
Nd7, 4. - Nf6 or even 4. - c6, but perhaps
25 ... Rec8
that judgement is not quite fair!
26. Bd5 Rb4
27. Nxa6 Rxc5 5. Be3 e5
28. Nxc5 Bxc4 6. d 5 Nce7
29. Nd3 !

1 34
The alternative is the interesting 6. - Nd4 !? world, but still Larsen has a winning posi­
tion!
7. g4 !?
15... Kh7
Excellent ! You will often meet this idea in
1 6 . Nge2 Rn
variations with a fixed pawn-center, e.g. the
17. Ncl Nf8
Petrosjan-variation of the King's Indian.
1 8 . Be2 c6!?
The plan is to prevent (or at least make it
difficult) for black to play f5 . Also worth A violent attempt to get some counter-play.
consideration is the line recommended by It seems as if Quinteros finds it better to die
Boleslavsky and Keene starting with 7. c 5 ! ? on the battlefield than in the bed !
e . g . 7. - f5 8 . B b 5 t Kf8 9. f 3 B h 6 1 0 . Bf2
19. cxd6 Qxd6
Nf6 I I . h3 Kg7 1 2. Nge2 Rf8 1 3 . Bc4;!;
20. Bc5 Qd8
Olafsson-Keene, Reykjavik 1 972.
2 l . d6 Ng8
7 .•. Nf6? !
Fischer, a close friend of Quinteros, used to
Why not the crucial 7. - f5 !?-? e.g. 8 . gxf5 call such a position: »Traffic jam on the
gxf5 9. Qh5t Kf8 1 0 . Bh3 Nf6 »with an king's side ! «
unclear game« .(Boleslavsky)
22. Nb3 Qe8
8. f3 h 5?? 23. Be3 Ne6
24. Rd 1 Bd7
Honestly speaking this is a terribly move !
25. 0-0 Rd8
Almost »everything<< would have been better
26. Bc4 Rf8
than this panic reaction which leaves black
27. Bb6 Rb8
with a lifeless game . Interesting is 8 . - c5!?
28. Ne2 fxe4
In a game between Ree and Uhlmann, I B M
29. fxe4 Nd4
1 97 1 , Ree had played 8. h3 instead o f Lar­
30. Rxf8 Qxf8
sen's 8. f3 that game continued with: 8. - c5
31. Nbxd4 exd4
9. Bd 3 0-0 1 0. Nge2 Ne8 I I . Ng3 Bd7 1 2 .
Qd2 a6 1 3 . f3 f5 1 4. gxf5 gxf5 1 5 . exf5
Nxf5 1 6. Nxf5 Bxf5 1 7. 0-0-0 b 5 ! , with a
complicated struggle ahead .
9. g5 Nh7
10. Qd2 r5
1 l . h4 Nf8
1 2 . c5 a6
13. b4 Nd7
14. a4 0-0

Hopeless is 1 4 . - a5 1 5. Nb5 ! + -

1 5 . a5!

Instructive pawn play ! Did you know that

Larsen claims Philidor to be the greatest
master of all time?! I think that the old mas­
ter, if given the opportunity, would have
32. Rfl !
been very pleased playing over this game ! 1 2
pawn moves out of 1 5 ! ! are indeed out of this ))Sacrificing« his pride, the dominating

135
passed pawn, but to accept the gift would be 9. 0-0 Nc6
too dangerous because of 33. Rf7! with a IO. b3 0-0
furious attack , e.g. 3 3 . - Be8 34. Bc7+ - I I . Bb2 Rd8

32... Qe8 Larsen has chosen a quiet and modest set-up

33. Nf4 Qe5 which leaves black with a satisfactory game
34. Bf7! and perhaps a feeling of »no danger at all ! «
The text i s ambitious, probably t o o ambi­
Now he even tears in the quarry !
tious, but to prove that one must be aware of
34 ... Qxd6 all the hidden finesses in this popular varia­
35. Bxg6t Kh8 tion. Instead of the sharp I I . - Rd8 Larsen
36. Bxh5 d3 gives I I . - Rb8 !? with nearly equality.
37. e5!
12. Qd2 b5
The final touch. Black might j ust as well 13. Nd5!?
resign here. One of the most common sacrifices in the
37 ... Bxe5 Sicilian, but not in this variatio n ! Neverthe­
38. Ng6t Kg7 less, it is the only way if white wants to prove
39. Nxe5 Qxe5 that black should have played I I . - Rb8 !?
40. Qxd3 Resigns 13... exd5
A very instructive example of what may 14. exd5 Bb7
happen if black plays passively in a difficult 1 4. - Qd6?! does not win a piece, on the
variation. contrary it gives white a clear advantage af­
ter 1 5 . Qf4 ! H ere Gheorghiu offered a draw,
but as usual Larsen refused the offer! To
Larsen a draw is almost the same as half a
defeat ! (A malicious rumour has it that Pe­
62 trosjan looks upon a draw as half a victory ! )
Orense, 1 975
15. dxc6 dxc6
Black: Gheorghiu 16. Qf4 !
Sicilian Defence
A n ingenious queen-manoeuvre. The pur­
pose is to profit from black's - for the mo­
l . e4 c5 ment - arkward ly placed queen's bishop.
2. Nf3 e6
16 ... Bd6
3. Nc3 a6
1 7. Qf5 Bc8
4. d4
18. Qg5 h6
Perhaps this mere routine move was a little 19. Qc l ReS
surprising to Gheorghiu, but as we shall see 20. Qd2 Bg4? !
Larsen also knows the modern variations of
Tempting, but a seri ous inaccuracy! Instead,
the Sicilian quite wel l !
it was high time for 20. - Ne4 ! which seems
4 ... cxd4 to bring about some sort of dynamic equilib­
5 . Nxd4 Qc7 rium. Afte r 2 1 . Qd4 black is forced to weak­
6 . g3 Bb4 en his king's side with 2 1 .- f5 , but that is of
7. Ne2 Nf6 little importance and fully outweighed by his
8. Bg2 Be7 actively placed pieces.

136
 2 1 . B xf6 Bxe2 40 ... Bc2
4 1 . Rd7 axb3
Not 2 1 . - Rxe2? 22. Qd4 !
42. axb3
2 2 . Rfel BhS
23 . Bc3 Rxe 1 t
24. Rxel aS
25. h4 b4

Unfortunately he cannot play 25 . - a4 be­

cause of 26. bxa4 ! bxa4 27. Qd4 !

26. Bb2 Rd8

27. Qd4 Bf8
28. Qc4 Qd6
29 . Bcl Bg6
30. Be3 cS

Allowing white a very powerful white­

squared bishop, but it is still a question if
that would be enough to win the game.
3 l . Bf3 QeS
32. Kg2 QfS The adjourned position. Gheorghiu has a
33. hS? ! difficu lt choice between two evils. Should he
This attempt t o complicate matters (as usual opt for the active 42. - Bxb3. ? or, perhaps,
Gheorghiu had ))problems« with his clock ! ) the passive 42. - f6. ? Finally he decides to
should have lead to a draw, but with only a play the active line, but it still remains a
few minutes left Gheorghiu failed to find the question if the passive one would not have
saving line: 3 3 . - Bxh5! 34. g4 Qg6 3 5 . been better. True, Larsen would have an
R h I ? Rd4! In this line Larsen would be excellent position, but to prove it won,
forced to accept the draw with 35. Be2 Qc6t would be impossi ble !
36. Bf3 Qg6 etc. Now, however, Larsen is 42 ... Bxb3
on the right track ! 43. BdS Ba4
33 ... Bh7? . 44. Bxf7t Kh8
34. Rei QeS 45. Ra7 Be8
35. c3 Bd3 46. Be6 !
36. Qf4 Qxf4
Quite a shift in scenery ! Now Larsen avoids
37. Bxf4 Rc8
the exchange of white-squared bishops be­
38. c4 BfS
cause that would only help black out of his
39. Rd l a4
cramped position.
40 . g4!
46 ... Bc6t
With only one minute left this must have
47. f3 Re8
been a difficult decision to make, but Lars­
48. BfS Kg8
en's •>intuition« told him that the penetration
49. Ra6 Re2t
to the 7th rank would be decisive ! Black
50. Kg3 Be8
cannot play 40 . - Be6 because of 4 1 . bxa4!
5 1 . Ra8 !
and the passed pawn would be impossible to
stop, so he must play . . . All forseen, no doubt, from the diagrammed

1 37
position. Now black must lose material be­ 3••. cxd4
cause 5 1 . - Bf7 fails to 52. Be4!+- 4. Nxd4 Nf6
S. Nc3 e6
St ... b3!?
6. g3
S2. Be4 b2
53. Rb8 Bf7 A good and solid set-up against the popular
54. Bd3 ReS Scheveningen. Also interesting is the so­
SS. Rxe8 called Keres Variation 6. g4!? usually produ­
cing a lot of sparkling games.
This wins too, but 5 5 . Rxb2 is much easier.
6... Nc6
SS. .. Bxe8 7. Bg2 N xd4? !
56. BeS Be7? !
This i s ••theory«, but as Larsen proves in this
Missing his last chance in this difficult end­ game, it is bad too ! 7. - Bd7 is a much better
ing. Good or bad, Gheorghiu should have try.
played for further exchanges with 56. - g6!
8. Qxd4 Be7
S7. Bxb2 Bf7 9. 0-0 0-0? !
S8. BeS Bf6
59. Kf4 Be6 Still it would have been better to play 9. -
60. Bd6 Bd4 Bd 7
61. BeS ! lO. eS! dxeS
The rest is easy to understand . ll. QxeS Qb6
l2. a4!
61... Bf2
62. Ke4 Bh4 Larsen never fails to see such moves! Up to
63. Be2 Be7 now the players have been following a litt­
64. Bc7 Kf7 leknown Russian corr-game between Aron­
65. KeS Bc8 in and Konstantinopolsky in which Aronin
66. Bd3 continued with the weak 1 2. Na4?! Here,
however, Kavalek is faced with the nasty
Adj ourned , but later Gheorghiu resigned threat a5-a6, and soon finds it very difficult
without resumption. to develop his queen's side in a natural way.
12 ... Bd6

Other moves are less satisfactory, e.g. 1 2 . ­

Bd 7 1 3 . a5 Qa6 1 4 . Rd l Rfc8 (Bc6?? 1 5 .
Bf l !+ -) 1 5 . Bfl Qc6 1 6. a6±
63
13. QbS Qc7
Manila, 1975 l4. aS a6?
Black : Kavalek Players of a more methodical temperament
Sicilian Defence might have preferred the calm 1 4 . - Rb8
since now black's position becomes too ex­
posed .
l . e4 cS
2. Nf3 d6 IS. Qb6 Qe7
3. d4 l6. BgS BcS
No comments ! That Kavalek is in a difficult situation can be

1 38
seen in the variation 1 6. - Bc7 1 7 . Bxf6 29. Kel Rbd6
gxf6 1 8 . Qe3 ! when white threatens not 30. 80 Rb8
only Nd5, but also the murderous mano­ 31 . Be2 Rbb6
euvre Qh6-Ra4-h4+ - 32. f4 ! e4? !

17. Qb3 h6 Everything is bad , but this loses a pawn fo r

18. Bxf6 gxf6 nothing !
Unfortunately he cannot play 1 9 . - Qxf6 33. f5 Bd7
1 9. Ne4 Qe7 20 . Nxc5 Qxc5 2 1 . Rfd l !+ - 34. RaaS e3
35. Rc3 BbS
1 9 . Na4 Rb8
20. Rfdl eS The simple answer to 35. - Rd 2 is .l 6 .
2 1 . NxcS QxcS Rac5+ -
22. RdS Qe7
36. Rxe3 Bxe2
37. Kxe2 Rbc6
38. c3 Rd7
39. Rd3 Rb7
40. b4 Rbc7
41. Kd2 Re7
42 . RadS ReS
43. R3d4 hS
44. Kd3 Rei

The sealed move in a hopeless po s i ti o n N o t

.

only is he a pawn down and the unha p p y

owner o f three wea k pawn island s . h u t t h e
brightest jewel in his collection, the k i n !( . i s
also in great danger!
45. ReS Rb6
46. Rc8 aS
23. Qe3 !
A last desperate gesture.
Based upon a little tactical finesse. If now 23.
47. Kd2 !
- Be6, white wins at once with 24. Qxh6!
Bxd 5 25 . Bxd 5+ -, e.g. 25. - f5 26. Ra4 ! No doubt, he plays for mate ! 47. h x a 5 is a lso
(that rook again!) good , but the text is quicker.

23 ... Kg7 47 . . . Rh l
24. b3 Be6 48. h4 Rh2't
25. QcS QxcS 49. Kd3 Rh l
26. Rxc5 SO. Kc4

Nothing has really changed . The advantage A matter of taste . The »bri l l i a nt « 50 . K t· .1
on the queen's side is still so big that there Rh2t 5 1 . Kfl Rb5 52. Kg I ! is of c o t I I s•·
should be little d oubt about the outcome! equally good .
26 ... Rfd8 so ... R xb4 1
27. Kfl b6 Sl . cxb4 Rc l l
28. axb6 Rxb6 52. Kb3 Rxcll

1 1 '1
 53. bxa5 Kf'8
54. a6 Ke7
55. Kb4 Rei
56. Kb5 Rat
57. Ra4 Rblt
58. Ka5 Resigns

64
Barcelona, 1 976
White : Pomar
Dutch Defence

l . d4 r5
2. Nc3 !?

This wild west move is interesting, but per­ A fantastic pos1t10n. Only four moves,
haps not the right choice against a Larsen. black's being all pawn moves , and a totally
White invites 2 . - Nf6 upon which comes 3 . obscure scenery is on the board . Theo ry had
Bg5 with inventive lines such as 3 . - e6 4. considered only 4. - dxe4? ! when 5. d5 is
g4!? in the offing, but black has a much bet­ good for wh ite, but Larsen's reply is so
ter answer. strong as to amount to a refutation of 3. f3? !

2••• d5! 5. Bb5t

3. f3? !
It is difficult to give a better move, e.g. 5 .
Again he plays with fire. Is it possible that Nxd 5 cxd4+, perhaps 5 . dxe5 d 4 6.
Pomar simply underestimated his opponent Nce2!?=, (but certainly not 6. Nd 5? fxe4 7.
and dreamed about a move like 3. - Nf6? ! fxe4 Qh4F)
when 4. e4 ! would transpose into a favou­
5... Bd7
rable variation of the Staunton's Gambit?
6. Bxd7t Nxd7
3 ... c5! 7. Nxd5 cxd4
4. e4 e5!! 8. Ne2? !

It would have been better to select the route

h3-f2 for this knight. In that case chances
would be even, but now black is even better!
8... fxe4
9. fxe4 Nf6
10. Bg5?

Probably this is the mistake already. It was

necessary to exchange on f6, but black
would have a fine game anyway.
10... Qa5t
I I . Bd2 Qc5

1 40
 1 2 . Nxf6t Nxf6 3 ... fS !?
13. Ng3 hS! 4. e3 Nf6
5. Be2 Bb7
Larsen's vigorous playing has earned him a
6 . c4 a S !?
winning position. The text, which is very
7. 0-0?
strong, is almost his trademark and played
with a tiny smile this move has a terrible A careless routine move. It was not neces­
effect ! sary to castle, so why not the natural 7. Nc3±
14. Qf3 7•.. a4
8. d3 axb3
A gambling chance. But if 1 4 . h4 black sim­
9. axb3 Rxa1
ply plays 14. - g6 with a very nice game .
10. Bxa1 Bb4
14 ... h4
Black has no problems. The a-pawn has
15. Ne2 Qxc2
done a perfect j ob; so one has to be very
16. QfS Qxe4
careful about those flank-attacks from Lar­
17. Qe6t Be7
sen !
18. Bb4?
1 1 . Nc3 0-0
The decisive error. The only chance was 1 8.
12. Na2 Bd6
0-0 !? when Larsen would have to find( ! ) 1 8 .
13. Bc3 Nc6
- Qc6 1 9 . Qxe5 d 3 ! i n order t o maintain
14. b4 Ne7!
his winning advantage.
Larsen reveals his evil intentions. A direct
18 ... NdS
attack on the enemy king is the order given
1 9. Bxe7 Nf4 !
by this knight.
20. Qc4 Kxe7
Resigns 1.5. Ncl

A schocking game. Forced in view of threats like 1 5. - g5, or

1 5 . - Qa8
15... Ng6
1 6 . Nb3

Four moves by this humble knight and still it

65 is badly placed . No wonder that black in the
Las Palmas, 1 97 6 meantime has built up a powerful position.
White : Fraguela 16... Qe7!
Larsen's Opening 17. Qd2 Ng4

Now, with white's queen on d2, instead of

1. Nf3 b6 d I , this is excellent. The reason is: 1 8 . h3?
2 . b3 e6 Bxf3 19. Bxf3 Nh2!-+
3 . Bb2 18. g3
An odd ))Frenchman(( would arise from 3.
e4, but probably black's I . - b6 would
prove to be more useful than white's 2. b 3 .
Now, however, Larsen is allowed to play his
beloved f5 .

141
 and the combination difficult to calculate,
so, perhaps . . . ?
25. e4??

Obviously this must have been planned

several moves ago, but unfortunately it is
also Larsen's main variation and as usual he
has seen just one move further than his op­
ponent. Here, however, both players seem to
have overlooked the astonishing defence 25.
Qb4 ! ! which, believe it or not, saves the
game for white. The point is that 25 . -
Nxf3 t 26. Bxf3 Qxf3 fails to 27. e4! and
black's bishop on b7 is ))hanging«. Larsen
would be forced to take the draw with 27. ­
Nd5 28. Qxb7 Ne3 when perpetual check is
unavoidable . A pretty line, indeed , but hard­
In this fascinating position Larsen took a ly what black had expected from his 1 8th,
))sleep« for nearly fifty minutes. Indeed, h5!?
there are many tempting lines, e.g. the ))bril­ 25 ... Nxe4
liant« 1 8 . Nh4? ! 1 9 . gxh4?? Qxh4!-+, but
26. Qe3 Nd2 ! !
what if white simply plays 1 9. Ne I !? Anoth­
er interesting possibility is 1 8. - c5!? which That i s what h e missed . This blow came as a
prevents white from playing his intended c 5 . shock to Fraguela , but realizing that is was
Finally, Larsen, true to h i s ))style«, embarks he who had been cheated , he did the only
on an old friend in such positions, the h­ thing there was to do. With a little pale smile
pawn ! he silently stopped the clock and resigned.

1 8 ... h 5 !?

Probably a matter of taste, but the course of

the game seems to indicate that 1 8 . - c5!?
would have been better ! 66
1 9 . c5 bxc5 Las Palmas, 1976
20. bxc5 Bxc5 Black : 0. Rodriguez
2 1 . h3 !
Benoni Defence
The best. 2 1 . Nxc5 Qxc5 22. Bb4 Qd 5 2 3 .
Bxf8 Ne5 ! i s a w i n for black, and 2 1 . Bxg7
l . d4 c5
Qxg7 22. Nxc5 BaS also leaves black with
2. d5 Nf6
the better of it.
3 . Nc3 g6
21. •• Nf6 4. e4 d6
22. Nxc5 Qxc5 5. Bb5t Bd7
23. Bb4 Qd5 6. Bxd7t
24. Bxf8 Ne5
The interesting alternative is 6. a4! ? (In the
In the variation given above this should lead game Brinck-Ciaussen-Brondum, Danish
to a win for black, but the position is tricky ch 1 976, white p layed 5 . Nf3 Bg7 6. Bb5t

1 42
Bd7 7. Bxd 7 t , but here black answered the square d4 free for the white pieces. I I . ­
with the double-edged 7. - Qxd7!? and af­ Rae8, with only a slight advantage to white,
ter 8. a4 Qg4!? he took the ��poisoned« pawn. would have been much better.
That game ended as a draw, but with the
12. Kh1 Rae8
better chances for black.)
1 3 . dxe6 fxe6
A similar dangerous line is known from
14. Qe2 QcS
the Moscow-Variation of the Sicilian De­
1S. a5 dS
fence. ( I . e4 c5 2 . Nf3 d6 3 . BbSt Bd 7 4.
1 6 . Be3 Qc8
Bxd 7t Qxd 7 5. c4 Qg4? ! etc.)
1 7. Bxa7 !
6 ••• Nbxd7 Of course he does not fear the coming com­
7. a4 Bg7 plications, besides , Larsen may have thought
8. f4? ! that it is much better to be a pawn up than
A careless move played with lightning speed. being forced to sacrifice one !
8. f4?! is based upon the variation 8 . - 0-0? 17... NbS
9. Nf3±, but black has a much better move. 18. g3 Bxc3
8 ... QaS! 19. bxc3 eS?!
9. Bd2!? Again he shows little patience. It is obvious
To play 9. Kfl would indeed be too much of that his knight has no future on h5, s o in­
a confession ! stead of the dubious text he should have
played 1 9 . - Nhf6, still with a fight left.
9 ..• 0-0?!

He does not dare to accept the challenge

with the crucial 9. - Qb4 !?, but then he
should not have played 8. - Qa5 . Let us
examine what might have happened if black
had played the sharp 9. - Qb4! , 1 0 . Qe2
Qxb2 I I . Rb l Qxc2, now, for white's next
move there are two suggestions. Larsen
gives the variation 1 2 . Re i Qb2 1 3 . e5 d xe5
1 4. fxe5 Ng8 1 5 . Rb l Qc2 1 6. Nf3±, but
perhaps black can improve this line with 1 4 .
- Nxe 5 !? 1 5 . Qxe5 Rd 8 ! True, Larsen
could interpolate the move Rb I , both in his
1 5th as well as in his 1 6th move, but still
there would be a lot of fighting in the posi­
tion, and black would by no means be with­
out chances ! - Gheorghiu on the other hand
only gives 1 2 . Nf3±, but here black has the
20. NxeS !
interesting possibility 1 2. - c4! again with a
very complicated game, but probably not With the precision of a Swiss watch, Larsen
unfavourable to Rodriguez. starts the decisive stream of exchanges.
1 0 . Nf3 e6 20 ... NxeS
1 1 . 0-0 c4?
Panic ! The only chance was to play 2 1 . -
A serious positional mistake which leaves Qc6

143
 22. Rxf8t Qxf8 which Larsen lost a similar positiOn to
23. Rfl Qe8 Mecking in San Antonio, 1 972. The point is
24. Bc5! that black should not be afraid of losing this
pawn, because as compensation he will get a
The ))forgotten<< piece returns to the center
lot of active play, possibly more valuable
with a terrible effect !
than an isolated h-pawn!
24 ... Rxc4
10. Bel Qa5!
Also hopeless is 24 . - dxe4 25. Bd4 ! (but I I . b4 Qc7
not 25. Rf8 t? Qxf8 26. Bxf8 Kxf8 when 12. Nxh5 aS!
black still would be able to put up a fight.)
In Danish chess circles all this is well known,
25. Qd2 Qc6 but to Bellon it must have been a little sur­
26. Qf2 Resigns prising because he now thought for some
forty minutes before he made his move, but
what a move ! Even on Larsen's face, who
usually keeps a stiff upperlip when he playes,
67 a tiny smile could be seen, when Bellon
played his •>deep« rook move.
Las Palmas, 1 976
White: Bellon 13. Rh3? !

Caro-Kann The natural move is of course 1 3 . Rb I ! ?

13 ... axb4
l . e4 c6 14. cxb4 e6

In recent years this has been one of Larsen's Also playable is 1 4. - e 5 ! ?

favourites against I . e4. The Caro-Kann De­
15. b5 c5? !
fence has been on the repetoire of such great
players as: Capablanca, Botvinnik, Smyslov Sometimes h e really playes too fast ! Here,
and, of course, Petrosjan. They all used it Larsen underestimates white's strong an­
because it is solid as a rock, but Larsen is swer 1 6 . Nf4 ! , with a very double-edged po­
Larsen and , as we shall see, his intention sition. Instead , he should have played 1 5 . ­
with it is quite d ifferent ! Bxh 5 ! 1 6. Bxh5 Qa5t with a good game.

2 . d4 d5 16. Bf4? Bd6 !

3. Nc3 dxe4
Even better than 1 6 . - Qa5 t 1 7. B d 2 Qa4
4. Nxe4 Nf6
1 8. Qxa4 Rxa4 1 9 . Nf4 cxd4 20. Nxg6
5. Nxf6t gxf6 !?
fxg6 with a very impressive black center. But
This is Larsen's brand new weapon, a sharp with a queen's side majority and two strong
and interesting line well suited to his uncom­ bishops Bellon would definitely not be with­
promising style . Solid, but slightly boring, is out chances !
5 . - exf6.
17. Bg3
6. c3 Bf5
A strange move which seems to emphasize
7. Ne2 Nd7
that white's rook would have been far better
8. Ng3 Bg6
placed on h I ! H owever, he could have tried
9. h4 h5!?
1 7. b6 Qxb6 1 8 . Rb3 which at least would
Probably an improvement over 9 . - h6 with have solved the problem of an active square

1 44
for that important piece, even at the cost of a 29. Qf4 Rxd 1 t
pawn. 30. B xd 1 Qd4
3 1 . Be2 Nd2t
1 7 ... cxd4
32. Ke1 Qxf4
18. Qxd4 eS!
33. gxf4 Ne4
Now white must lose material. 34. h5 BfS
3S. Bd3 Nd6
1 9 . b6 Qc6
36. Bxf5 NxfS
20. Nxf6t Nxf6
37. Rb3 ReSt
2 1 . B xeS BxeS
38. KO Re7
22. QxeS t Kf8
39. Rb6 Rd7
23. KO?
And in this totally lost position Bellon ex­
An instructive blunder in a hopeless p osi­
ceeded the time limit.
tion.

68
Lanzerote, 1976
Black: Betancort
English

1. c4 cS
2 . g3 g6
3 . Bg2 Bg7
4. N c3 Nc6
S. b3 Nf6

In his famous game against Smyslov, Fisch­

er played 5. - e6, that game went on with 6.
Bb2 Nge7 7. Na4 Bxb2 8. Nxb2 0-0 9.
e3?! d 5 ! = (Smyslov-Fischer, I nterzonal, Pal­
ma 1 970)
23 ... Rxa2 !
6. Bb2 0-0
Now watch your step Mr. Bellon ! 24. Rxa2
7. d3 e6
Qc l t 25. Bd l Qxd l t 26. Qe l Bd3t is of
8. Bxc6 !?
course out of question
Unexpected? Yes, but true Larsen! I ndeed, it
24. Rd1 Qxb6
is not to everyone's taste to part with a
2S. Qf4 Qb2
strong bishop just in order to obtain some
White is defenceless. »d im« positional advantages, but to Larsen
who undoubtly has ad opted some of N imzo­
26. Re3 Ra1
vich's ideas, this is quite natural. ( Another
27. Qd6t Kg7
very good example of this unusual kind of
28. g3 Ne4
play is the game Jimenez-Larsen, Mallorca,
Bellon's only excuse for not resigning is that 1 967. See the chapter: The Unexpected
he is in an awful time pressure ! Move.)

1 45
 8... bxc6 Black's premature attacking attempt has
9. Qd2 d6 been repelled and Larsen has an easily won
10. f4 Qe7 position. Normally a grandmaster who ob­
1 1 . Nf3 eS? ! tains such an advantage proceeds with the
precision of a computer, but sometimes, as
Forcing matters . A more modest try would
here, he underestimates his opponent, and
have been the pure waiting-move 1 1 . -

instead of a boring but perfect game we get a

Rd8 ! with a roughly even game. In such po­
struggle full of sparkling ideas !
sitions one sl}ould not reveal one's inten­
tions too early ! 30 ... Qe7
3 1 . NeS? !
1 2 . fxeS dxeS
13. QgS ! Clearly a gesture of impatience. M uch better
is 3 1 . Reg I followed by the king retreat Kb2-
Now Larsen has a clear positional advan­
al!
tage. Of course not 1 3. 0-0-0? Ng4- +
31 ... Nf8
13... ReS
32. e4 QxeS
14. 0-0-0 h6
33. exfS QxfS
1 5 . Qe3 Ng4
34. Rcg1 Re6
16. Qg1 hS
35. Rg5 Qf2
17. Kb1 e4? !
36. R5g2 Qf7
This sacrifice does not give black real com­ 37. Qd2 Qb7!
pensation for his pawn, but his position is A poisonous move which forces white to
already troublesome, one of his problems play with the outmost care. In many varia­
being the weak pawn on c5, which is very tions an exchange sacrifice would be a dang­
difficult to defend . erous threat.
1 8 . Nxe4 Bxb2 3s. Rn Nd7
19. Kxb2 rs
20. Nc3 Ne3
21 . Ret Qf6
22. Qel aS
23. Ka3 !

A very fine defence. Larsen threatens to con­

solidate his position completely by means of
Na4 and Qc3 .
23 ... a4!?

The only way to obtain at least some kind of

counter-play.
24. Nxa4 Ng2
25. Qd2 f4
26. Rhg 1 Bh3
27. gxf4 Nxf4
28. e3 Ne6
29. Rg3 BfS
30. Qc3 39. Kb2 !

1 46
Just in time. Now white's unpinned knight speak together since an accident during the
threatens to decide the game at once. Candidates' Match a couple of years ago,
when Korchnoi accused Petrosjan of unfair
39 ... Rxa4
methods of p lay referring to a kick on the
40. Qh6 Rxa2t
knee which Petrosjan should have given him
Played with only seconds left on the clock. during a game ! ! ) To be absolutely sure not
This is the only possible defence, but, alas, it to be misunderstood ! Korchno i added a $
cannot save the game . . . only prolong it ! I 00 bill to the telegram as a special p rize for
Castro's attacking abilities against difficult
4 1 . Kxa2 Qa8t
opponents . So now the spectators were eag­
42. Kb2 NeS
er to see what the game Larsen-Castro
43. Rd2 Qd8
would bring, and they were not disappoint­
44. Qf4 Qb8
ed , the game being one of the most exciting
45. Qf2
during the whole tournament.
Now the rest is easy.
l . c4 Nf6
45... Rd6 2. Nc3 dS
46. Kc2 Qa8 3. cxd5 NxdS
47. QxcS Qa2t 4. g3 g6
48. Kc3 Rxd3 S. Bg2 Nxc3
Instead of this �>Combination(( it would have 6. bxc3 cS
been worth serious consideration to resign 7. Rbl Nc6
8. Qa4 Qc7
the game at once !
9. Ba3
49. Rxd3 Qb2t
SO. Kxb2 Nd3t As usual Larsen has adopted a little known
5 1 . Kc3 NxcS variation but to be honest, I don't think that
52. Rf6 Kg7 this is the best continuation, and Castro's
53. Rxc6 Resigns
next couple of moves seems to confirm that
statement !
9 ... e6
I O . QbS? !

From the previous game against Betancort

69
we already know the interesting alternative,
Interzonal, Biel, 1 976 that is to say 1 0 . Bxc6 !?i. Is it possible to
Black: 0. Castro assume that Larsen rejected this ))easy(( line
because he wanted to beat his young un­
English
experienced opponent in the very same way
as Castro had beaten Geller and Petrosj an??
In the previous rounds Castro had beaten
10 ... Bd7!
the two Russian super stars: Geller and Pe­
trosjan. A coup le of days later he recieved a With this simple yet strong answer black has
telegram from another Russian grandmas­ obtained an equal game. I I . Qxb7?? loses to
ter, Korchnoi, at t hat time j ust abscondered I I . Rb8 !
to the West! V ictor, ))The Terrible((, congrat­
I I . Qb2 QaS? !
ulated him on his big effort against Petros­
jan! (Korchnoi and Petrosjan do not even The impulsive Colombian goes astray. Just

147
like Larsen (Qa4-b5-b2), he sinns against himself loves to be on the ))right(( side of a sa­
one of the bacic laws in chess, which says crifice . Castro must be considered a typical
that one should never move a piece twice in tactieal master, but here he has to face a
the opening, especially not in this case where queen sacrifice from a player who is known
black's queen was excellently posted at c7. as one of the finest tacticians in recent time ! ­
The right move is I I . - Rb8! In the playing hall the spectators were very
upset, but Mr. Leuzinger, the tournament
12. Nf3 Bg7
director, had a very special remedy for such
13. 0-0 0-0
cases! Across the big demonstration-boards
14. d4 b6
(and always on the most exciting one ! ) you
IS. Rfd l Rfd8
could see a script in two different languages.
16. e3 Rac8
J ust one word appeared : Ruhe ! - Silence !
The chances are about even. Larsen has a Here, Mr. Leuzinger used that resource !
firm grip on the center, but Castro's pieces
21 ... NeS? !
are actively placed and his possibilities on
the king's side must not be underestimated. Castro, who a t Biel showed great skill i n
such double-edged positions, wrongly de­
17. Nd2 !?
cides to decline the sacrifice and instead be
Larsen, with his razor-sharp j udgment of the one to sacrifice. Not a queen, but still a
timing in an attack, invites Castro to take piece ! - Again this is an outstanding example
the first step . Because of the threat Nc4 of Larsen's fine j udgement of an opponent's
black's answer is forced. psychological behaviour in a p osition he
does not like ! Some annotators have blamed
17... cxd4
Larsen for 2 1 . Nce4!? and called the move a
18. cxd4 QhS
))bluff(( etc. etc . but to the best of my know­
19. h3 eS
ledge none of them have been able to present
20. dS e4
a ))waterproof(( refutation of that unexpect­
ed move. Accepting the sacrifice was of
course the only reasonable way, here are
some variations : 2 1 . - Bxb2 22. Bxb2
Qh6?! 23 . dxc6 ! Bxh3 (Not 23. - Bxc6?
24. Nf6t Kf8 25. Rxd 8 Rxd8 26. Bxc6- +)
24. RxdSt Rxd 8 25. c7 ReS 26. Rd I f6
27. Rd 8 t Kg7 28. Bxf6t Kn 29. Bxh3 !+ -
0r 2 1 . - Bxb2 22. Bxb2 Qh6? ! 23 . Nf6 t ! ?
Kf8 24. Nxd7t Rxd7 25. dxc6 Rxd I t 2 6 .
Rxd I Qg5 2 7.. Ba3t;!; H owever, black has
just one other possibility, instead of the pas­
sive 22. - Qh6? ! , and that is 22. - Qe2 ! ( I n
the official tournament b o o k this move
is not even mentioned !) Again white can
win a couple of pieces with 23. Nf6t Kf8
24. dxc6 Bxc6 25. Rxd 8 Rxd 8 26. Ba3 t
Kg7 2 7 . Bxc6, b u t here black's queen is
21. Nxe4!?
excellent placed , and 27. - Rd 2! seems to
This bold queen sacrifice must have been a win at once ! What would Larsen have play­
very unpleasant surprise to a player who ed? Probably 23 . Rd2, but after 23 . - Qa6,

148
Castro's queen would have been far better 32 ... aS
placed than in the variations with 22. 33. Qe6 a4
Qh6?! 34. Rb4 Qg3
22. g4 Bxg4
23. hxg4 Qxg4
24. Kfl !

The first subtlety.

24 ... rs

If 24. - Nf3 25 . Nf6t Bxf6 26. Qxf6 Nh4

then 27 . Bh I ! with the murderous threat 28.
Bb2+ -
25. Nd2 Qh4
26. Qb5 Rc3!

Castro is in his element. Now he hopes for

27. Bb2? Nd 3-+, but Larsen is at the top of
his form find ing one brilliant resource after
the other.
27. Rb3 !
35. Rc4 ! !
Again Castro is invited to win the queen, but
this time he would have to pay too high a The third and final subtlety in this very ex­
price for it. citing game ( Mr. Leuzinger had a busy
day!). Castro was so horrified by this sur­
27.. . Rc2
prising »Nowotny-theme« that he uncon­
28. Qe2 Nc4
sciously clutched his head with both hands,
29. Qd3 Rc8
but after a while he returned to reality, and
30. d6!
realizing that the game was lost, he played . . .
And suddenly everything has changed. All
35 ... Nd3
wnite's pieces are ideally placed and the
36. Qxc8t Resigns
passed pawn - the secret trumph - will decide
the game. A fine game showing Larsen's enourmous
strength in both defensive - as well as tactical
30... Ne5
play, and a probably useful lesson to the tal­
31 . QdSt Kh8
ented Castro ! (Later the same year Castro
32. f3 !
made his first G M norm finishing second
The second subtlety. Castro i s not even al­ after Larsen, but winning their mutual
lowed to play Ng4. game ! (Costa Brava, 1 976).

1 49
 70
Interzonal, Riel, 1 976
White: Liberzon
Sicilian Defence

l . e4 cS
2. Nf3 e6
3. d4 cxd4
4. Nxd4 Nc6
S. Nc3 Qc7
6. Be2 a6
7. 0-0 Nf6
8. Khl !?

In this variation it is much more common to

play 8 . Be3 ; nevertheless, the move actually
chosen deserves attention.
Grandmaster Bent Larsen , winner of 8 ... Bb4!?
the Interzonal, Biel / 976.
Trying to complicate as soon as possible
seems to be Larsen's clue in this Interzonal­
tournament. Here, the solid alternative is 8 .
- Be7.
9. Nxc6 !

In his notes to the game: Parma-Janosevic,

Orense 1 973, Minic only gives 9. Bg5 , but
Liberzon's move is much stronger.
9... bxc6
10. f4 dS

But not 10. - Bxc3? ! I I . bxc3 Nxe4 12.

Qd4 Nf6 1 3. Ba3±

l l . eS Nd7
1 2 . Na4!

Now Liberzon is ready for operations in the

c-file.
1 2 ... Nb6
13. c4 Be7
14. Be3 Nxa4
IS. Qxa4 Bd7
16. Qc2

1 50
No doubt, Liberzon has a promising posi­
tion, but what about Larsen? In many varia­
tions of the Sicilian, black should not hasten
to castle, but wait and try to keep white busy
on the queen's wing before he brings his king
away from the center. This is excactly what
Larsen is working on here.
16... Qb7
1 7 . 8d3 g6
18. Rab 1 aS
19. Qfl 0-0
20. Rfc l !

Again a very fine move. With a black rook

posted on c8, Larsen's white-squared bishop
could be mixed up with a black pawn !
20 ..• Rfc8
21. b3?

But what is this? Here Liberzon goes com­ 27 ... Bc6 !

pletely astray. Without too much d ifficulty White's attack is gone with the wind and
he could have obtained an excellent game. here, by means of the strong bishop move,
The only thing he needed was to play 2 1 . c5 ! , Larsen definitely takes over the initiative.
then, b y means o f Bd4 followed b y Rg l and
g4, he could have build up a very dangerous 28. b6? ! Rd8
attack. 29. Rc3 Be4 !

2 1 . .. Qb4 What a pretty bishop this one. (See note to

22. Rc2? white's 20th move.)

One mistake seldom comes alone ! The rook­ 30. Rb2 Qc6!
move is bad for several reasons. White's A difficult move to find, but much stronger
rooks are placed on the same d iagonal, be­ than the o riginally planned 30. - Qa8 ! ?
sides, the rook on b I is unprotected. Finally, Here Larsen wins a vital tempo.
black's intended break on the queen's side
now seems to gain in strength! 3 1 . 8b5 Qa8

22 •.. a4! Of course not 3 1 . - Qxb6?? 32. Qxe4 Rd4

32. Qc2 ! + -
Of course he accepts the invitation.
32. Bd3?
23. Bd2 Qb7
24. b4 c5 It would have been better to play 32. Bc4,
25. b5 Rab8 but Liberzon seems to have lost his way in
26. Qe2 dxc4 the mess of variations so he proceeds along
27. 8xc4 the wrong track !
32 ... a3!

Disaster! Liberzon has run into another of

Larsen's famous promotion combinations.

151
 33. Rb1 Rxd3 what Larsen may have prepared against the
34. Rxd3 c4 sharp 3. - Nxe4 !?
35. Rd7 Bxb1
4. d3 Bc5
36. Rxe7 Rxb6
5. Bg5 h 6 !?
37. Qxc4 Bxa2 !
In round 1 4 . Smyslov had tried 5 . - Na5 6.
The charming point. White resigned.
Bb3 Nxb3 7 . axb3 c6 8 . Nf3 d 6±, but that
game gave white a slight advantage so natu­
rally Matanovic avoids that line !
6. Bh4 d6
71 7. Na4 Bb6
8. Nxb6 axb6
Interzonal, Biel, 1 976
9. f3 !?
Black : Matanovic
A novelty which Larsen has kept as a secret
Vienna Game for over 1 2 years !
9... Be6
In the previous rounds Larsen had lost two
10. Ne2 g5!?
successive games . First he lost a difficult
game to the »Tiger« (Petrosjan !) and in the From Matanovic one would have expected
next round he was beyond recognition, los­ the solid 1 0. - Qe7
ing horribly to Robert Byrne. For an ordi­
1 1 . Bf2 d5
nary mortal this psychological chock would
1 2 . exd5 Nxd5
probably prove to be more than enough ,
13. Qd2 Qe7
(Bronstein-Cuellar, and Stein-Quinones,
14. 0-0 Nf4? !
are the best known examples .) But Bent
Larsen is not an ordinary mortal! as you will Black is eager to force exchanges in order to
have to admit if you play over the next two obtain a draw, but 1 4. - 0-0-0 is a much
games . H ere, the placings after 1 6. rounds : better try.
H ubner I OY2 , lArsen, Smyslov and Tal l O, Ra5
15. Bb5
Byrne and Petrosjan 9 Y2 , and finally, An­
dersson, Portisch and Smej kal 9 etc. By the Is Matanovic already in difficulties? The
way, it should be mentioned that Larsen's strange looking text seems to confirm this,
three last opponents were all tough grand­ but 1 5 . - 0-0-0 1 6. a4! is even worse.
masters, and that he should score at least 1 6 . a4 N xe2t
2Y2 / 3 ! in order to be sure of a place in the 1 7 . Qxe2 0-0
Candidates'. (In italics the Candidates).
=

Now there are no excuses for his weaknesses

1. e4 e5
on the king's side.
2. Bc4!?
18. c3 Qd6
Just as in the ))good old days«. (See the 19. Rfel Raa8?
games from the Amsterdam Interzonal,
1 964) Almost a blunder, which loses a pawn for
nothing. 1 9 . - Bd 7 was forced .
2 ... Nf6
3. Nc3 Nc6

Matanovic is a solid player, not interested in

1 52
 With almost every move Larsen tests his op­
ponent, who has the impossible task of keep­
ing his position together, and at the same
time being forced to move almost instantly.

34 ... Rg6
35. Rd7 QcSt?

Clearly a product of time pressure. M uch

better is 35. - Qg5 ! with a tough struggle
ahead .

36. Kfl Rf8

37. Qd3 !

Again a poisonous move with a multiply of

threats, some of them being: Rxe5 and Rg4.

37 ... R8f6
38. b4 QbS
20. Bg3 ! 39. RxeS Resigns
So simple and yet so strong ! Almost unno­
ticed Larsen has been able to build up a pow­
erful position and now he even wins materi­
al !
20 ... f6 72
2 1 . d4 Bf7
Interzonal, Biel, 1976
22. Rad l Qe7
23 . Qc2! Be8 White: Smejkal
24. dxe5 NxeS English
2S. Bxe5 fxeS
26. RdS BxbS
l . c4 cS
27. axb5 Rae8
2. Nf3 Nc6
28. Re4!?
3. Nc3 Nf6
This is the move from a professional ! The 4. g3 b6
reason behind the sly text is that Matanovic S. Bg2 Bb7
had spent considerable time on the opening, 6. 0-0 e6
so now Larsen wants to test him a little be­
The alternative is 6. - g6, but as already
fore he takes the e-pawn. A typical Larsen
mentioned (see game no. 7 1 ) Larsen must
reactio n ! Objectively speaking, 28. Qg6t !
play for a win and that would be very diffi­
would have been much easier.
cult if Smej kal sticks to symmetry with 7 .
28 ... Rf6 b3:t
29. h4 gxh4
7. e4 Qb8!?
30. Rxh4 c6
31. bxc6 bxc6 It is precisely such moves which one can
32. Rd2 Re6 expect from Bent Larsen. The move is of
33. Re4 bS course a novelty, besides, it is quite go od and
�4. Qdl against a player like Smej kal it is excellent!

153
Smej kal is known to get into time trouble 27 ... Nf3t
very easily so you can also see the move as an 28. Kg2 Nd4
attempt to help him towards this goal ! 29. Ret f6
30. f4 !?
8. d4 cxd4
9. Nxd4 Nxd4 A very sharp reaction, especially from a
10. Qxd4 Bd6! player in serious time trouble, nevertheless,
the move seems to be the right decision.
Excellent. Just like in t he Sicilian Defence,
30. .. e4
(in fact it is a Sicilian by transposition ! )
3 1 . Nc3 rs
black starts an immediate fight for the black
32. g4
squares in the center. Now for his next move
Smej kal pondered for some fifty minutes! This break is the point of white's previous
moves. The draw seems to be very close? !
l l . BgS ReS
1 2 . Qd2 h6 32 ... Rc6 ! !
13. Be3 0-0 A brilliant Larsen conception, and . . . the
14. Bd4 Bxd4
only move to keep the game alive ! If instead,
IS. Qxd4 eS
32. - fxg4? black's center, and with that his
16. Qd3 a6
� inning chances, would be broken for ever.
17. Rfdl Rfc8
18. b3 Qc7 33. Rxc6 dxc6
34. gxfS e3
The position is in balance . White has .a spa­ 3S. Na4 Kf7
tial advantage, but black has the better bish­ 36. NxcS
op.
Strange to imagine, but with two pawns to
19. Racl Rab8 the good Smejkal is in real danger of losing
20. Qe3 QcS this game!
21. QxcS bxcS
22. Na4 Rc7? ! 36 ... Kf6
37. a4 KxfS
A n inaccuracy. According to Larsen, i t 38. aS Kxf4
would have been better t o play 2 2 . - Rc6 39. a6 gS!
followed by Kf8 sti ll with the assessment: =
A diabolical trap to put on play just before
23. Rd6 Re8 the end of the first session!
24. Rb6? ! 40. a7?
Much better is 24. f3;!;
»Never miss a check ! <t Here, with only sec­
•.

24 ... Bxe4 onds to spare, Smej kal sinns against the

2S. B xe4 Nxe4 above mentioned »rule« and commits what
26. Rxa6 NgS seems to be the decisive error. 40. Rfl H
27. Rd l ? ! should have been preferred .

From this moment time trouble plays an 40 ... e2!

important role in this very important game.
For his last thirteen moves, Smej kal has
only ten minutes left. 27. Kg2 looks more
precise.

1 54
 41. Kf2? ! Ra8 !

Indeed not 4 1 . - Kg4? because of 42 . Ne6!

and now, with the king on f2, white should
be able to save the game.

42 . b4

Another unsatisfactory line is: 42. Nd 3t Ke4

43. Nc l Rxa7 24 . Nxe2 Ra2-+

42... Rxa7
43 . b5 cxb5
44 . cxb5 Rc7!

Larsen's nightly analysis has come to an end,

but with a sufficient result, because now he
has an easily won position.
45. Rcl Rf7
46. b6 Kg4t
In this position the game was adjourned and 47. Kg2
Smej kal had to seal his move. But what Unfortunately 47. Ke3 fails to 47. - e i (Q)t
should he seal? The sharp and complicated 48. Rxe I Nc2t
knight sacrifice 4 1 . Ne6t !?, or the more
modest 4 1 . Kf2 . ? There is no doubt that the 47... Nc2!
crucial line would be 4 1 . Ne6t, but would 48. h3t
Smej kal dare to seal such a move? Larsen The only move .
and his »second <<, grandmaster Panno , ana­
lysed the complicated knight sacrifice until 2 48... Kb4
a.m. Then Panno was tired and left Larsen's 49. Nd3 Ne3t
room in order to get some sleep, but as men­ 50. Kh2
tioned before Larsen is not an ordinary m or­
tal, so he went on analysing the game untill
the next day about 1 2 noon ! Then he took a
quick shower and went to the Congress-Hall
in order to have lunch (which he badly
needed) before the game was to resume at 1 3
p.m. But even here he could not quite forget
his adj ourned game and between the meals a
portable chess set was to be seen more than
once at Larsen's table ! - When the envelope
was opened by Mr. Leuzinger, Larsen real­
ized that a good night's sleep would have
been much better because Smej kal had play­
ed the natural 4 1 . Kf2. According to Larsen,
even: 4 1 . Ne6t Nxe6 42. Rxe2 Kf5 43 . Ra2
Nc7 44. b4 Na8 ! 45. Ra6 c5! should be a
win for black, (»but not without certain dif­
ficulties« - Larsen) 50 ... h5!!

1 55
A beautiful move which includes the simple, Preparing a quiet and solid variation and
yet convincing p lan of mate ! e.g. 5 1 . Re i g4 not, what Rodriguez perhaps hoped for, the
52. hxg4 hxg4 5 3 . Rxe2 g3t 54. K- Rfl t t sharp so-called Keres/ Ojanen variation, e.g.
6. - e6 7. Nge2 exd 5 8 . cxd5 d6 9 . 0-0
51. b 7
Na6 1 0 . Ng3 Nc7 I I . h3 Rb8 with interest­
The last desperate gasp from a dying man ! ing complications a head .

51 . .. Rxb7 6•.. e6
52. Ne1 7. N ge2 exd5
8. exd5 Ng4!?
Being in his usual time trouble Smej kal just
managed to see the variation: 52. Re i Rb3 An interesting novelty over the natural 8 . -
54. Nf2 g4!-+ d6
52 ... g4 9. 0-0 Ne5?
53 . hxg4 hxg4
What a pity! 9. - d6 is of course the only
54. Rc3 Re7
decent move. Then it would have been inter­
55. Ra3 g3t
esting to see what Larsen would have done
56. Kg1 Kh3
against the knight-manoeuvre Ne5-Nxd3
57. Ra8 Ng2!
with equality.
58. Rh8t Nh4
59. Rf8 1 0. d6!

Here, before Larsen was able to play 59. - Black must have forgotten all about this
Ra7, or Rc7, or, perhaps . . . ?! Smej kal re­ possibility which paralyzes his queen's side
signed, thus guaranteeing Bent Larsen at completely.
least a play-off for the Candidates'. (In the
1 0 ... Nbc6
last round Larsen played a quick draw with
1 1 . f4 Nxd3
Hubner, and rather surprisingly that was
1 2 . Qxd3 Nb4? !
sufficient for an untied first place ! - Bent
Larsen I 2 Y2 , 2. Petrosjan, Tal and Portisch Black's game is not easy, but why this
1 2, 5 . Smyslov, H ub ner and Byrne I I Y2, etc.) ))j ump« in an undeveloped position? True,
white's f5 is a nasty threat, but since it is
impossible to prevent ( 1 2. - f5? 1 3 . Qd5t)
it would have been far better to play 1 2 . ­
b6 or even 1 2. - Nd4

73 13. Qd2 a6
14. f5 b5
Lanzerote, 1 976 Nc6
15. a3
Black : 0. Rodriguez 16. Nd5
Benoni Defence

1. c4 g6
2. Nc3 Bg7
3. d4 c5
4. d5 Nf6
5. e4 0-0
6. Bd3!?

156
 22... Bb7
23. Bb2 f6
24. Rael Bc6
2S. cxb5 axbS
26. bxc5

Black is completely tied up, but with his next

move he shortens the game considerably.
26 ... Ra4?
27. Rxf6 ! Resigns

A warded as the most brilliant game of the

tournament.

74
Copenhagen, 1977
Clare Benedict
The diagrammed p osition is an excellent ex­
ample of •>Obstruction«. The advanced d­
White : Ogaard
pawn has a terrible restrictive effect on Ro­ King's Indian
driguez' game, and the amusing threat for
the moment is f6 followed by Ne7t with
l . d4 d6
immediate d isaster.
2. e4 g6
1 6 ... gxfS 3. c4

A sad decision, but he had no alternative. ••Whatever he plays, I play the King's Indi­
an<<, Ogard may have thought playing this
17. Ng3 Nd4
move !
1 8 . Ne7t Kh8
19. NgxfS NxfS 3... Bg7
20. N xfS ! 4. Nc3 Nf6
5. Be2 0-0
Of course 20. Rxf5 is not ••bad(( either , but
6. NO Nbd7
with the accurate text black is not allowed to
play Bb7. In this well-hammered variation black usu­
ally provokes white to close the center by
20 ... Qf6
means of 6. - e5 and 7 . - Nc6, but perhaps
2 l . Nxg7 Qxg7
Larsen feared the drawish Exchange Varia-·
22. b4!
tion 7. dxe5 d xe5 8. Qxd 8 Rxd8 9. Bg5;!; ?
Directly to the point. Now, just like a person
7. 0-0 eS
sentenced to death and being giving the
8. Rei aS? !
pleasant choice between the Electric Chair
or the gallows, Rodriguez can choose be­ Trying to confuse his opponent as soon as
tween 22. - Qd4 t with a lost ending, or try possible is a theme which always play an
to keep his position together in a middle­ important role in Larsen's selection of a p os­
game which would be lost, too ! sible move, but here 8. - c6 is the proper

1 57
move . The reason to this is that in some are forced back, h e would b e i n a very diffi­
variations black is able to omit the move a5, cult situation considering his lack of space
but it is hardly possible that he can avoid to and his terrib ly weak d-pawn.
play c6. An interesting example with 8 . -
c6!? is the game : Raskovsky-Dorfman, 17. h3!?
USSR (ch), 1 976, which continued : 9. Bfl
Now he is ready to play 1 8. f4± . Another
exd4 1 0. Nxd4 ReS I I . Nc2 Ne5 ! =
move which certainly deserves attention is
9. 80 ReS 1 7. Ra I !? as suggested by the Danish I M Ole
Jacobsen. Perhaps Ogaard remembered the
Still, it is better to play 9 . - c6, but Larsen
famous game : Pachman-Bronstein, M os­
does not like such ))forced « moves!
cow-Prague, 1 946 (in which Bronstein ex­
10. Rb1 exd4 ploited his chances beautifully) and feared
some identical combinations such as: 1 7 . -
(Another try is 1 0 . - c6!?, as in the game
Rxa l 1 8 . Rxa 1 Nxf3t?! 1 9 . gxf3 Bxd4, but
Portisch-Liberzon, Biel, 1 976)
20. Qxd4! Nxb3 2 1 . Qd 1 + - seems to be the
1 1 . Nxd4 NcS outright refutation of that idea !
12. f3 c6
1 7 ... RaJ !
A difficult decisio n ! but black's position
would be extremely cramped without this A memory from the past?! In his excellent
move. book, ))Larsen's Selected Games of Chess<<,
he introd uces his brilliant win against Pe­
13. Be3 a4
trosjan (Santa Monica, 1 966) with the fol­
14. Qd2 Nfd7
lowing sceptical comment: ))In fact I have
1S. b4 axb3 e.p.
always had a feeling that the King's Indian is
16. axb3 NdeS
an incorrect opening ! « . . . He concludes the
comment with a remark that suits that parti­
cular game perfectly, but also seems to be
useable in this case! ))So now I am playing an
opening in which I am convinced that flabby
routine play leads to disaster. « - Here Lar­
sen's choice is far from being routine work,
instead , it is the only possibility for active
counter p lay before white plays his intended
f4.
18. Qd Ra8
19. Qc2 !?

A move which shows that the young Norwe­

gian IM has the right attitude towards the
game . With 1 9. Qd2 a draw by repetition
seems to be the likely result inasmuch as
Larsen could hardly have found a better
A most interesting position has arisen. It move than 1 9 . - Ra3 , but why should Oga­
looks as if black has obtained full equality, ard be satisfied with a draw from a superiour
but that is only a mere d ream ! White's game position even if the opponent is a famous
is clearly better, and when Larsen's knights grandmaster?

158
 19 ..• Na6 Why this hasty pawn snatch? The calm bish­
20. Qd2 Nb4 op retreat, 26. Bf2 ! , looks much better and
2 1 . Na4 Qa5!? would have left Larsen in a difficult posi­
tion.
This bold queen sally obviously planned in
connection with the knight-manoeuvre Na6- 26 ... Be6
b4, looks premature, but it is not, and white
Now, according to the annotater in 11Chess
must play very excactly in order to prove
Informant<< (no . 23, game 680), 11black has
that black's 8th move was a little more than
the upper hand <<. To me, the position seems
just risky !
to be roughly even!
22. Nb5? !
2 7 . Bf2 Rad8
Looks as a winning combination, but in fact 28. Qc5?
the quiet 22. Red I would have been much
But this is wrong. With only five (5 !) min­
stronger.
utes left for his remai ning twelve moves, Og­
22 ... cxb5 aard fails to find the much better 28 . Qc7=
23. 8b6
28 •.. Nd4 !
29. e5 Bf8 !

Larsen finds one fine move after another. If

instead , 29. - Rd5?! white could possibly
have saved the game with 30. Bxd4!

30. Qc3??

Panic ! Again Larsen's enormous fighting

spirit trium phs . White's only chance was to
play 30. Qb6! , e.g. 30. - Qxb6? (30.
Bxb3+) 3 1 . Nxb6 Bc5 32. Bxb5!

30 .•. Qc6!

Freeing the trapped queen, and winning a

pawn as well. For his last ten moves Ogaard
had only fourty-twn seconds left ! (It was
7Y B
possible to state this because the players
J ust before this position arose, Rath, one of used an electronic chess clock worked out in
the members of the Danish team, asked Denmark a couple of years ago . )
Larsen if he was not in danger of losing the
game, but Larsen replied with a little smile 3 1 . Bxd4 bxa4
»J ust wait and see, I think he has overlooked 32. Bc4? Rxd4
something ! << In this hopeless position Ogaard exceeded
23 .•. Nxc4 ! the time limit. - Not a faultless game indeed ,
but one showing Larsen's fantastic optimism
Is it poss ib le to assume that Ogaard had and ingenuity in a difficult position.
overlooked this little »trick<<?
24. 8xc4 Qa6
25. Bfl Nc6
26. Qxd6? !

1 59
 75
Copenhagen, 1977
Clare Benedict
White: Janetschek
Scandinavian

I. e4 dS

Some months later Larsen wrote an article

called, ))Good-bye to the Scandinavian?«,
but the question mark seems to indicate a
certain scepticism about that ))last<< farewell
and indeed , the present game is by no means
a refutation of this interesting variation.
l. exdS Nf6
3. d4 NxdS
4. c4

Theory recommends a set-up which involves

the move 4. Nf3, but Janetschek loves com­
plications, and is not afraid of a weak d­
pawn. Bent Larsen, captain of the Danish team at
4... Nb6 Clare Benedict, Copenhagen, 1977 - Larsen
S. Nf3 g6!? scored 5 '12 / 7, and took the 1st board prize
(electronic chess clock) as well .
This is sharp, too. Of course Larsen knew
that the move considered by the theorists as
being the ))best«, is 5 . - Bg4!?, but playing 10. gS Bxf3
for a win with the black pieces always in­ I I . gxf3
volve an element of risk, and Larsen enj oys
If I I . Bxf3, black plays I I . - Ne5+
to play for a win as soon as possible !

6. Be2 I I ... NaS

A very useful move in such positions is 6 . Of course not I I . - Ne5? 1 2. c5!

h3!? ll. cS
6... Bg7
Trying to trap the knight would have been
7. 0-0 0-0
very risky, e.g. 1 2 . Bxb6 cxb6! The c-file
8. Nc3 Nc6
would be in black's hands; besides, Janets­
9 . Be3? !
chek's king would be very exposed after a
Still, it was not too late to play 9. h 3 , but also possible e6 and Qh4
9. d5 came into consideration. Nbc4
1 2 ...
9 ... Bg4 13. Bf4 e6!

Now, however, white's center becomes sha­ But not 13. - Nxb2? 1 4. Qc2 Nbc4 15.
ky. At this moment the threat is 1 0. - Bxf3 Rad l ±

1 60
 14. dxe6 fxe6 playing his 20th Nd2. U ndoubtly black is
IS. Qxd8 Raxd8 better, but to win this position is certainly
16. Bxc7 Rd2 not an »every-day job«. The following end­
17. Bxc4 Nxc4 game is extremely instructive, and should be
18. Ne4 Rxb2 played over very carefully!
1 9. Rad l BeS !
27. Ne4 Rc7
28. Nf6t

It would be impossible to keep the a-pawn

alive without this exchange of the rooks. On
the other hand, to black the exchange is an
important step foreward, the bishop, of
course, being much stronger than the
knight.

28 ... Kf7
29. Rxc7 Bxc7
30. Nxh7 Bxh2
31. NgSt Kf6
32. Ne4t KeS
33. Ke2 Kd4

Much better than 1 9 . - Rxa2 20. Rd7 !

when white's actively placed pieces should
guarantee him the draw without too much
trouble.
20. Nd6!? Nd2

A very difficult decision because the coming

exchange combination almost equalizes the
position. Nevertheless, to play 20. - Rxa2
was by no means clear. White would have
had at least two interesting continuations :
2 1 . Rdb l !? and 2 1 . Nxc4 Bxc7 22. Rd7 !?,
both with good chances of a draw.
2 1 . Rxd2 Rxd2
22. Nc4 Bxc7
Is this pasition a win for black? It is difficult
23. Nxd2 RfS
to give a clear-cut variation, but analysis
24. Rb l RgSt !
proved white's task very troublesome, hav­
An important »Zwischenschach« as the ing to guard gainst a possible g5-g4, an at­
course of the game shows. tack against the weak a-pawn, and finally,
the f-pawn could very well be a possible tar­
2S. Kfl RxcS
get for black's hungry bishop. Of course the
26. Rxb7 Bb6
fact that Janetschek was now in serious time
This is the position Larsen opted for when trouble easied black's task considerably, but

161
I doubt if he would have been able to keep The sealed move. Black has a winning posi­
the balance anyway! tion, but the win requires very exact playing.
It is a pleasure to watch Larsen's play in this
34. Ng5 e5
final fase.
35. Ne4 Bf4
36. Nd6 Kc5 44... Be l t
37. Nc8? 45. Kb3 Bh4
46. Kc3 Bf2 !
Now he must lose a pawn. The only possible
defence is: 37. Ne4t Kb4 38. Kd3 Ka3 39. ))Zugzwang ! « White decides to give up the a­
Nc3+. After 37. Nc8, white is lost though the pawn since 47 . Ng7 Be I t 48. Kb3 fails to
win is far from easy. 48. - Kd4-+, and 47. Kb3 Kd5 48. Kc3
e4 !-+ is equally bad .
37 ... aS
38. Kd3 Bg5 47. Kd3 Kb4
39. Kc3 Bh4 48. Nd6 Bc5
40. a4 Bxf2 49. Nf7 e4t ! !
41. Ne7 g5
A brilliant idea. Black sacrifices both pawns
A warning to white. In some variations the on the king's side only to force the a-pawn
break e4, would prove to be very unpleasant. through ! Now 50. fxe4 g4 ! loses at once, so
the white king must give up the protection of
42. Nf5 Bd4t
the queen's side.
43. Kb3 Bf2
44. Kc3 50. Kxe4 Kxa4
5 1 . Nxg5 Kb3
52. Ne6 Bf2 !
53. f4 a4
54. f5 a3
55. f6 Bh4
56. f7 Be7
Resigns

1 62
 FIND THE WINNING COMBINATION !

Below you will find a selection of clear-cut combinations, all of which are taken from
Larsen's games . U nlike Tal, Larsen is not a strictly combinative player, nevertheless, to find
brilliant combinations in a Larsen-game should not be too difficult ! Judge for yourself, but
here is the evidence !

Larsen-Szabo 2 Vranezic-Larsen
White to move Black to move

3 Larsen-Matanovic 4 Larsen-A. N. Other

White to move Black to move

1 63
5 Larsen-Bednarski 6 Gligoric-Larsen
White to move Black to move

7 Larsen-Petrosjan 8 Hamann-Larsen
White to move Black to move

1 64
 SOLUTION S

Larsen - Szabo, Wijk aan Zee, 1 967

I . Bd 3 ! Nxc3 2. Qxe 5 ! Qb2 3. Rxb5 ! ! Qxf2t 4. Kh3 Rf8 5. Qxc3+ - (White also wins
after: 2. - Qb4 3. Rb5 ! Rxb5 4. Qe8t Qf8 5. Bxh7 t ! )

2 Vranezic - Larsen, Amsterdam, Interzonal, 1 964

I . - Rxe5 ! 2. Nxe5 Bxf2t ! ! 3. Kxf2 (3. Kh l Rb l t mates) Qd4t 4. Ke2 Rb7t, mate is
unavoidable. White resigned .

3 Larsen - Matanovic, Zagreb, 1 965

I . Nxe6! (with the nasty threat: Qc3) I . - Rxc4? Panic! (The only chance was to play I . ­
f6) 2. Nh6t ! ! resigned (2. - Kh8 3 . Bxg7 t t and 2. - gxh6 3 . Qxh6+ -)

4 A.N. Other - Larsen, (from a simultanous exhibition display)

l . - Nd4 2. Nxb4 Nf3 t 3 . Kg2 Rxg3 t ! ! 4. Kf2 (if 4. Kxg3 Qxf4t ! ! 5 . Kxf4 Be5 t t) 4. ­
Bh4 ! ! 5 . Qxd6 Rg l t 6. Ke2 Re l t 7 . Kd 3 Be4t 8 . Kc3 Rxc l t 9 . Nbc2 Be l t I O . Qd2
Bxd 2 t t

5 Larsen - Bednarski, Havana, 1 967

I . Bc3 ! ! fxe4 (Also bad is: I . - Bf8 2. Rxe8t Rxe8 3. Qc4t Qf7 4. Rxe8t+ -) 2. Qe5 Bf8
(Better: 2. - Bd 6) 3. Qh8 t Kf7 4. Rfl t Qf5 (A sad decision, but otherwise he would be
mated .) 5. Rxf5t gxf5 6. Qf6t Kg8 7. Qg5 t Kf7 8. Qxf5 t Kg8 9. Qg5t Kf7 1 0 . Qf6t
Kg8 I I . Qh8t Kf7 1 2 . Qxh 7 t . The rest is no problem, white won easily.

6 Gligoric - Larsen, Havana, 1 967

I . - Rxg2! Now, if 2. Kxg2 Qxh 3 t 3. Kg I Qh l t t , s o Gligoric tried : 2. Rxg2 Qxh3 3 . e4
Rg6 , only to resign in view of the following variation: 4. Qe2 Qh I t 5. Kf2 Rxg2t

7 Larsen - Petrosjan, Santa Monica, 1 966

I . Qxg6 ! ! Nf4 (Indeed not: I . - Nc7?? 2. Qxg7 t ! ! ) 2. Rxf4 fxg6 3. Be6t Rf7 (Equally
hopeless is : 3. - Kh7 4. Rh4t Bh6 5. Bxh6 Rf5 6. Rxf5 gxf5 7. Bf7 e5 8. Rh3 ! + -) 4.
Rxf7 Kh8 5. Rg5 ! The brilliant point. Petrosjan is defenceless. 5. - b5 6. Rg3 Resigns . ­
I must apologise for the inclusion of this particular combination (Game no. 1 2 in this
book) but I could not resist - the combination being j ust too pretty!

8 Hamann - Larsen, Danish ch, Holstebro, 1 964

I . - Qxe I t ! (No credit for other moves , but I . - Rg7 was, of course, not ��bad« either ! 2 .
Kxe l Rxe2t 3 . Kd l Re l t 4. K c 2 R8e2t 5 . K b 3 Re3t, a n d black w o n easily.

1 65
 LARSEN'S WINNIN G RECORD

1 949 Holstebro, Club c h 1 964 Amsterdam, IBM

1951 Odense, Danish c h , I . class 1 966 Krylbo
1951 A lborg, District ch 1 966 Le Havre
1 952 Trondheim , (Junior tournament) 1 967 Havana
1 952 Alborg ch 1 967 Winnipeg
1 952 Herning, Danish ch, Master Group 1967 Sousse, Interzonal
1 953 Trondheim , (Junior tournament) 1 967 Palma de Mallorca
1 954 Copenhagen ch 1 968 Monaco
1 954 A rhus, Danish ch 1968 U .S. Open
1 954 Copenhagen 1 968 Canadian Open
1 955 Copenhagen ch 1969 Husum
1 955 A lborg, Danish ch 1 969 Palma de Mallorca
1 955 International Master 1970 Lugano
1 955 Zagreb, (Youth tournament) 1970 U.S. Open
1 955 Oslo, Scandinavian ch 1 970 Canadian Open
1 956 Copenhagen, Danish ch 1 970 Vinkovci
1 956 Hango 1972 Teeside
1 956 Gijon 1 973 Hastings
1 956 Copenhagen 1 973 London
1 956 Moscow, O lympiad, Int. Grandmaster 1973 Gren i , Scandinavian ch
1957 Hastings 1973 Manila
1 958 Mar del Plata 1974 New York
1 959 Arhus, Danish ch 1975 Orense
1 960 Wijk aan Zee 1 976 Lanzerote
1960 Copenhagen ch 1976 Riel, Interzonal
1 961 Wijk aan Zee 1 976 Costa Brava
1 963 Odense, Danish ch 1 977 Geneva
1 964 Holstebro, Danish ch 1 977 Ljubljana/Portoroz
1 964 Amsterdam , Interzonal 1978 Lone Pine

Matches

1956 Olafsson (3 Y2 - 4 Y2 )
1 958 Donner (I - 3 )
1 965 lvkov (2 Y2 - 5 Y2 )
1966 Geller (4 - 5 )
1 968 Portisch (4 Yl - 5 Y2 )
1969 Tal (2 Y2 - 4 Y2 )
1969 Westerinen (2 - 6 )
1970 Kavalek (2 - 6 )
1971 Uhlmann (3 Y2 - 5 Y2 )
1 975 Iskov ( Y2 - 5 Y2 )

1 67
 INDEX of OPENIN GS
(Numbers in bracket indicate that Larsen had white)

Alekhine's Defence 16
Benoni Defence (5), 1 0, (28), (66), (73)
Bird's Opening (9)
Bogo-lnd ian 47
Caro-Kann Defence 67
Dutch Defence 2 1 , 50, 64
English Open i ng ( 1 8), ( 1 9), 26, 27, (57), (68), (69), 72
French Defence (8), (37)
King's Ind ian Defence 3 , 1 3, (24), (29), 30, (3 1 ), (33), (4 1 ), (52), (54), ( 60 ), 74
Larsen's Opening (32), (42), (44), (45), (49), 65
M odern Defence (6 1 )
N imzo I nd ian Defence 1 4, 22, 36, 39, (55)
Pirc Defence (56)
Queen's Gambit Decli ned (23), 40
Queen's Indian Defence 1 7, 48, (5 1 )
Reti Opening (43)
Ruy Lopez I I , 53
Scandinav ian Defence 75
Sicilian Defence ( 1 ), (2), 6, ( 1 2), 20, 25, 34, (35), 38, 58, (59), (62), (63), 70
Tarrasch Defence 4, ( 1 5)
Vienna Game (7), (46), (7 1 )

1 69
 INDEX OF OPPONENTS
(The numbers refer to games and
the opponents colour is indicated
in brackets)

Andersson 60 (B) Medina 30 (W)

Bellon 42 (B) 67 (W) Najdorf 54 (B)
Betancort 68 (B) Ogaard 74 (W)
Bobotsov 27 (W) Panno 29 (B)
Botvinnik 2 (B) Petrosjan 1 2 (B) 1 3 (W)
Browne 2 1 (W) Polugajevsky 26 (W)
Cafferty 44 (B) Pomar 64 (W)
Castro 69 (B) Portisch 8 (B) 59 (B)
Damjanovic 20 (W) Quinteros 53 (W) 56 (B) 6 1 (B)
Duckstein 57 (B) Radulov 51 (B)
Eley 49 (B) Reshevsky 22 (W)
Evans 4 (W) 48 (W) Robatsch 6 (W)
Fischer 1 1 (W) 38 ( W ) Rodriguez 0. 66 (B) 73 (B)
Flohr 10 (W) Rukavina 50 (W)
Fraguela 65 (B) Sarapu 15 (B)
Geller 5 (B) Smejkal 72 (W)
Gheorghiu 19 (B) 23 (B) 47 (W) 62 (B) Smyslov 46 (B)
Gipslis 16 (W) Spassky 9 (B)
Gligoric I (B) 17 (W) 35 (B) Stein 31 (B)
lvkov 1 8 (B) 55 (B) Stahlberg 3 (W)
Janetschek 75 (W) Tajmanov 14 (W) 36 (W)
Kavalek 32 (B) 33 (B) 63 (B) Tal 25 (W)
Korchnoi 28 (B) Torre 58 (W)
Lengyel 7 (B) Uhlmann 37 (B) 40 (W) 41 (B)
Liberson 70 ( W) Wade 45 (B )
Ljubojevic 43 (B) Weinstein 34 (W)
Matanovic 71 (B ) Westerinen 24 (B) 52 (B)
Mecking 39 (W)

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