Hans Olav Lahlum – In Distress:

On Monday, July 3, Norwegian chess player Håkon Bentsen died suddenly.

Maldensen is only 43 years old.

– He is a good chess friend. He was the epitome of a matchmaker who kept the chess community going. Despite being a strong actor, he spent a lot of time organizing competitions for children and adults to participate and play, Hans-Olav Lahlum tells Duckbladet.

On his way home from work, Bentsen suddenly collapsed due to heart failure.

– It’s a shame and a shock. It’s a pretty brutal way. Gone in minutes. It’s thought provoking, Lahlum continues.

Bentsson’s family is familiar with Dagbladet’s coverage.

Skill

In a post on Facebook, Lahlum wrote a tribute to her former chess partner.

Lahlum writes that as a chess player, Bentsen was a great talent who could undoubtedly have progressed further if he had spent time playing more matches, analyzed his own games and worked more on his own opening skills.

However:

– Life is more than evaluations and results. Haakon enjoyed playing chess as a social and relatively relaxed pastime, explains Lahl, known as a chess expert on TV.

He describes Bentson as a man who puts others before himself.

– There was a medicine in his pocket. It shows that he had known for some time that he was at high risk of heart attack. Håkon kept that determination to himself until the end, not wanting to upset his family or close friends.

Mood spreader

Bentsen was for many years the best chess player in Central Norway. He was also well liked for his sense of humor.

Lahl also revealed a funny story.

– In conversations with Håkon the tone of the conversation is consistently pointed, informal and lacking in self-congratulations. In a conversation with the slightly older Tor Wetle Hoem, a driving force at Molde SK for many years, Håkon lightly self-deprecatingly remarked, “I’m a bad loser.”

– Tor Wedley repeats “I’m a bad hitter” after which Haegon immediately says “It’s better that it happens so rarely!” He replied.