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From the time I saw Larsen’s chess columns in Chess Canada I thought that a good book could be made by publishing them. Of course anyone can come up with the idea – the hard part is collecting his columns, getting permission to translate and reproduce them, finding a publisher etc.
I looked up some from 1971 and they have titles like Youthful Optimism (Mecking – Larsen), Match Preparation (Uhlmann - Ujtumen), Worst Luck I’ve Ever Had (Larsen – Teschner), The Chance I Missed (Game 2 of Fischer - Larsen) and Analytical Overkill, which discusses the Lolli Position (Rook and Bishop vs Rook).
Two comments – the first by Jon Speelman and the second by Kevin Spraggett:
“Over the years I played about a dozen hard games with Larsen, with about an even score; indeed, jet-lagged in the first round of a tournament in Lone Pine in California he was my first grandmaster victim. After the games, I sometimes had the pleasure of having dinner with him and would be regaled by his fine stock of anecdotes. He had a chess column for many years and I can well remember him at a public phone in the crumbling Queen's Hotel in Hastings attempting to transmit his column, word by painful word, move by painful move.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/ob...s-2083732.html
“Bent was also a great writer. He is reputed to have become the world's first millionaire amongst chess players in the 1960's by the shear number of paid chess columns he had syndicated in the chess world. So sought out were his chess columns that he actually found himself spending more time at tournaments writing into the wee hours of the night than actually playing and preparing. Often players asked to not be housed on the same floor of the hotel as Larsen, because his typewriter was constantly working!”
http://kevinspraggett.blogspot.ca/20...september.html
He wrote for the Danish journal Skakbladet from 1950 to 2010. Other chess writings were for Schacknytt (Sweden) 1974 – 84, 1988 – 89, Frederiksborg Amts Avis: 1967 - 92, Ekstra Bladet: 1976 - 2000 (both Denmark).
The Chess Canada articles were from 1970 – 75, accompanied by a lovely line drawing of Larsen.
I really don’t know anything about his Scandinavian work and would welcome any information from readers about their content.
A complete bibliography of Larsen’s work can be found at
http://www.dsu.dk/skakblad/sb2010/larsen.pdf
The most recent articles readily available are in the German publication Kaissiber 1997 - 2010. The rather odd name is apparently a combination of the goddess of chess (Caissa) and kassiber – a secret and prohibited message smuggled out of prison!
Some articles in Kaissiber are Larsen on Siegbert Tarrasch, on Unzicker the Amateur, on My System and on The Bird Opening.
In New in Chess 2010, Issue 4, on the occasion of Larsen’s 75th birthday, the authors say:
“Bent Larsen wanted to play chess, and write. His chess writing is among the best, combining analysis with humour and psychological understanding of the fight, most notably in his classic game collection 50 Selected Games, from 1968. But there is much more. He is one of the great teachers of chess, with numerous works, directed at the general club player as well as inspiring the very best. The first chess book that Magnus Carlsen read was Bent Larsen’s Find planen (Find the plan).”
I looked up some from 1971 and they have titles like Youthful Optimism (Mecking – Larsen), Match Preparation (Uhlmann - Ujtumen), Worst Luck I’ve Ever Had (Larsen – Teschner), The Chance I Missed (Game 2 of Fischer - Larsen) and Analytical Overkill, which discusses the Lolli Position (Rook and Bishop vs Rook).
Two comments – the first by Jon Speelman and the second by Kevin Spraggett:
“Over the years I played about a dozen hard games with Larsen, with about an even score; indeed, jet-lagged in the first round of a tournament in Lone Pine in California he was my first grandmaster victim. After the games, I sometimes had the pleasure of having dinner with him and would be regaled by his fine stock of anecdotes. He had a chess column for many years and I can well remember him at a public phone in the crumbling Queen's Hotel in Hastings attempting to transmit his column, word by painful word, move by painful move.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/ob...s-2083732.html
“Bent was also a great writer. He is reputed to have become the world's first millionaire amongst chess players in the 1960's by the shear number of paid chess columns he had syndicated in the chess world. So sought out were his chess columns that he actually found himself spending more time at tournaments writing into the wee hours of the night than actually playing and preparing. Often players asked to not be housed on the same floor of the hotel as Larsen, because his typewriter was constantly working!”
http://kevinspraggett.blogspot.ca/20...september.html
He wrote for the Danish journal Skakbladet from 1950 to 2010. Other chess writings were for Schacknytt (Sweden) 1974 – 84, 1988 – 89, Frederiksborg Amts Avis: 1967 - 92, Ekstra Bladet: 1976 - 2000 (both Denmark).
The Chess Canada articles were from 1970 – 75, accompanied by a lovely line drawing of Larsen.
I really don’t know anything about his Scandinavian work and would welcome any information from readers about their content.
A complete bibliography of Larsen’s work can be found at
http://www.dsu.dk/skakblad/sb2010/larsen.pdf
The most recent articles readily available are in the German publication Kaissiber 1997 - 2010. The rather odd name is apparently a combination of the goddess of chess (Caissa) and kassiber – a secret and prohibited message smuggled out of prison!
Some articles in Kaissiber are Larsen on Siegbert Tarrasch, on Unzicker the Amateur, on My System and on The Bird Opening.
In New in Chess 2010, Issue 4, on the occasion of Larsen’s 75th birthday, the authors say:
“Bent Larsen wanted to play chess, and write. His chess writing is among the best, combining analysis with humour and psychological understanding of the fight, most notably in his classic game collection 50 Selected Games, from 1968. But there is much more. He is one of the great teachers of chess, with numerous works, directed at the general club player as well as inspiring the very best. The first chess book that Magnus Carlsen read was Bent Larsen’s Find planen (Find the plan).”
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