Bent Larsen

Jørgen Bent Larsen (4 March 1935 – 9 September 2010) was a Danish chess Grandmaster and author. Larsen was known for his imaginative and unorthodox style of play, and he was the first Western player to pose a serious challenge to the Soviet Union's dominance in chess. He is considered to be the strongest player born in Denmark and the strongest from Scandinavia until the emergence of Magnus Carlsen.

Larsen was a six time Danish Champion and a Candidate for the World Chess Championship on four occasions, reaching the semifinal three times. He had multiple wins over all seven World Champions who held the title from 1948 to 1985: Mikhail Botvinnik, Vasily Smyslov, Mikhail Tal, Tigran Petrosian, Boris Spassky, Bobby Fischer, and Anatoly Karpov, but lifetime minus scores against them. On a percentage basis, his best score against a World Champion was with Max Euwe. Larsen and Euwe met over the board only once, at the Munich Olympiad in 1958; the game ended in a draw. From the early 1970s, he divided his year between Las Palmas and Buenos Aires, with his Argentinian-born wife. He suffered from diabetes and died in 2010 from a cerebral haemorrhage.

Bent Larsen (handballer)

For the Danish Chess Grandmaster, see Bent Larsen.

Bent Larsen (born July 13, 1954) is a former Danish handball player who competed in the 1976 Summer Olympics.

He played his club handball with Aalborg HK, and was the top goalscorer of the club in the 1978, 1979, 1980 and 1982 Danish Handball League seasons. In 1976 he was part of the Denmark national handball team which finished eighth in the Olympic tournament. He played all six matches and scored 32 goals. Former Danish rekord holder in Javelin throw of 78.32 (1975), five time Danish Champion and bronzemedalist at the European Junior Championship 1973.

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