Larry Christiansen
 Christiansen at the 2002 U.S. Chess Championships in Seattle, Washington | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Larry Mark Christiansen June 27, 1956 Riverside, California, U.S. |
| Chess career | |
| Country | United States |
| Title | Grandmaster (1977) |
| FIDE rating | 2563 (August 2026) |
| Peak rating | 2625 (July 1992) |
| Peak ranking | No. 21 (July 1992) |
Larry Mark Christiansen (born June 27, 1956) is an American chess player of Danish ancestry. He was awarded the title Grandmaster by FIDE in 1977. Christiansen was the U.S. champion in 1980, 1983, and 2002. He competed in the FIDE World Championship in 1998 and 2002, and in the FIDE World Cup in 2013.
Early life
[edit]Christiansen grew up in Riverside, California, United States. In 1971, he became the first junior high-school student to win the National High School Championship. He went on to win three invitational U.S. Junior Championships in 1973, 1974, and 1975.[1]
Chess career
[edit]In 1977, at age 21, he became a grandmaster without first having been an international master.[2] In one of his greatest tournament finishes, Christiansen tied for first place with Anatoly Karpov at Linares 1981.[3]
Christiansen has won the United States Chess Championship three times, in 1980, 1983, and 2002.[4] He won the 2001 Canadian Open Chess Championship. He also won Curaçao 2008[5] and the Bermuda Open 2011.[6]
Christiansen played on the United States teams in the Chess Olympiad in 1980, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1996 and 2002.[7] He won the team silver medal in 1990 and the team bronze in 1982, 1984, 1986 and 1996.[8]
Christiansen describes his playing style as "aggressive-tactical", and he lists his favorite opening as the Sämisch King's Indian.
Personal life
[edit]Christiansen is married to Natasha Christiansen, an attorney, and lives in Massachusetts.[4][7]
Notable games
[edit]- Larry Christiansen vs. Chessmaster 9000 (September 2002), annotated at GameKnot:
Books
[edit]- Christiansen, Larry (2000). Storming the Barricades. Gambit Publications. ISBN 978-1-901983-25-8.
- Christiansen, Larry (2004). Rocking the Ramparts. Batsford. ISBN 0-7134-8776-3
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ Byrne, Robert (September 16, 1975). "Chess: Christiansen Grows Up to the Relief of the Juniors". The New York Times. p. 38. Retrieved August 12, 2026.
- ↑ Byrne, Robert (February 24, 1976). "Chess: Byrne and Christiansen Take the Top 2 Places in the Sun". The New York Times. p. 32. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
- ↑ Byrne, Robert (March 22, 1981). "Chess; A Coup for Christiansen". The New York Times. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
- 1 2 Douglas, Geoffrey (November 1, 2002). "The Champion Nobody Knows". Yankee. 66 (9): 63.
- ↑ "Curacao 2008 - Larry Christiansen Wins!". Chessvine.com. August 7, 2008. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
- ↑ "Larry Christiansen Wins Bermuda Open". Chess Life Online. US Chess. February 16, 2011. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
- 1 2 Schulz, André (June 27, 2026). "Larry Christiansen: 70 Years, a Lifetime in Chess". ChessBase. Retrieved August 12, 2026.
- ↑ Wojciech Bartelski. "OlimpBase Men's Chess Olympiads Larry Christiansen". Olimpbase.org. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Larry Christiansen at Wikimedia Commons- Larry Christiansen rating card at FIDE
- Larry Christiansen player profile and games at Chessgames.com
- Larry Christiansen Chess Olympiad record at OlimpBase.org
- Larry M. Christiansen FIDE rating history at OlimpBase.org
- Larry M. Christiansen rating and tournament record at US Chess Federation
- Larry Mark Christiansen chess games at 365Chess.com
- worldchessnetwork.com
- biography Archived January 22, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
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