The Chess Mind

Here's the quote again (first posted here):

Chess masters do not talk as much of sore behinds as cyclists in a six-day race but, except for that, there are certain similarities when it comes to eloquence after an unexpectedly bad showing in the spurt for points. One of the most popular excuses is "a cold". It is convenient and undefined, may mean this or that, often, it means nothing at all.

Who said it, and what was the context? The answer, as reader Jeff Scott correctly replied, is Bent Larsen, from his much praised but comparatively little-known Larsen's Selected Games of Chess. The book has been out of print for a long time, but many who are familiar with it put it on a par with the much-beloved autobiographical work The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal.

Now to the context. Larsen's comment prefaced his game with Eliskases from the 1958 tournament in Mar del Plata. Here's how he continues:

It is good to have such an explanation ready, so I have hesitated to bring my game against Eliskases and its story to the knowledge of a broader public. However, the fact remains that it is a good game, something to show and to brag about.

It was an exciting game where both players were under heavy attack. The one which Eliskases had to ward off will be seen from the moves, the one against myself was conducted with great violence by a tremendous army of bacteria.

The weather in Mar del Plata in March, the Argentine autumn, is like first-class Danish summer weather, but one day suddenly we were served cold and rain, and I had not been dressed for it. On the next day when I had to play Eliskases I coughed incessantly, and I needed every one of the big supply of handkerchiefs in my pockets...

This extended quotation gives a glimpse into Larsen's writing style, especially his wit and self-confidence. Larsen, for those who aren't so familiar with him, was one of the world's best players in the 1960s and 1970s. He was a world championship candidate on four times, and prior to his drubbing at Fischer's hands in 1971, many thought he had a reasonable shot at the highest title. He was also viewed as maverick chess thinker, somewhat like Morozevich today. Definitely one of the great players of chess history whom all fans should know about.

Finally, the game: that can be replayed here.