Larsen Wins in Orense

Bent Larsen emerged as the winner of the fourth Orense International Tournament, held from 16 January to 2 February. The Danish grandmaster confirmed his status as the favourite in a field containing numerous well-known grandmasters and international masters.

Larsen's victory was based on his usual fighting approach. He played for a win in almost every round, accepted considerable risks and was able to impose his original style in positions of very different kinds. Although he suffered defeats against Cardoso and the young Spanish player Jose Carlos Hernando, his large number of victories gave him a clear advantage in the final classification.

Hernando's success against Larsen was one of the outstanding results of the tournament and confirmed the excellent impression made by the young Spaniard. His performance showed that he was capable of competing on equal terms with players of the highest class. The result was especially valuable because it was achieved against the eventual winner.

The tournament also included Ljubojevic, Quinteros, Andersson, Gheorghiu, Lombardy, Bellon, Diez del Corral, Keene, Pomar, Durao, Tarjan, Guillermo Garcia and Orestes Rodriguez. The strength and variety of this field made the event one of the most attractive tournaments then being staged in Spain.

Larsen's final score was 9½ points. His combination of ambition, resourcefulness and practical strength proved decisive. Even when his positions were not objectively favourable, he continually created problems for his opponents and forced them to find difficult moves.

The organisation once again functioned efficiently, and the tournament attracted considerable attention. Orense had now become an event capable of bringing together leading players from Europe and the Americas while also giving Spanish masters and promising younger players an opportunity to face them.

Source: "Jaque" No. 3/1975