Bent Larsen (1935-2010) was one of the greatest fighters chess has ever seen. In his rich career the great Dane defeated all World Champions from Botvinnik to Karpov and he became one of the most successful tournament players of his time. His uncompromising style and his unorthodox thinking made him popular with chess players all around the globe. In 1967/1968 Larsen won five international elite events in a row, a truly spectacular achievement. His successes were such that Bobby Fischer let him play first board in the legendary Soviet Union vs. the World match in Belgrade in 1970. Bent Larsen also was a highly original chess writer and an extremely productive chess journalist. Not surprisingly the first chess book that Magnus Carlsen ever studied was written by the strongest Scandinavian player before him. This collection brings together more than 120 of Bent Larsen's games, selected and annotated by himself. His comments are lucid, to the point, often humorous and always instructive. Together, these games are a tribute to his genius and a continuous joy to read and play through.

Content:

007 Introduction: The Will to Win

021 Author`s Preface

023 Edito`s Foreword

025 Chapter 1 Beginnings

034 Chapter 2 Scandinavian Champion

037 Chapter 3 International Master

040 Chapter 4 Grandmaster!

052 Chapter 5 Ups and Downs

061 Chapter 6 Experiments

075 Chapter 7 Involuntary Pause

091 Chapter 8 Great Leap Forward

113 Chapter 9 Difficult Choice

124 Chapter 10 The Public Wants Sharp Play

131 Chapter 11 Satisfactory Results

143 Chapter 12 1967: A Crazy Year

172 Chapter 13 1968: Another Busy Year

179 Chapter 14 1969: About My Style

192 Chapter 15 Lugano to Solingen 1970

197 Chapter 16 The Palma de Mallorca Interzonal 1970

206 Chapter 17 Palma de Mallorca 1971

209 Chapter 18 Teesside 1972

214 Chapter 19 My First Victory against Smyslov

221 Chapter 20 Leningrad Interzonal 1973

225 Chapter 21 Manila 1973

231 Chapter 22 Las Palmas 1974

240 Chapter 23 The Spanish Team Championship 1974

242 Chapter 24 Manila 1974

252 Chapter 25 Report from Orense 1975

257 Chapter 26 Manila 1975

263 Chapter 27 Spanish Team Championships 1975

265 Chapter 28 Biel Interzonal 1976

277 Chapter 29 Las Palmas Tournament 1976

290 Chapter 30 Lanzarote 1976

297 Chapter 31 Costa Brava 1976

302 Chapter 32 Spanish Team Championships 1976

306 Chapter 33 Geneva 1977

310 Chapter 34 Las Palmas 1977

320 Chapter 35 Ljubljana/Portoroz 1977

326 Chapter 36 Spanish Team Championship Alicante 1977

333 Chapter 37 Bobby Fischer

339 Chapter 38 Bent Larsen's Extraordinary Personality

341 Chapter 39 Bent Larsen's Exhausting Curriculum Vitae

343 Larsen`s Achievements until 1973

345 Index of Openings

348 Index of Games