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. In 1977, at age 21, he became a grandmaster without first having been an international master. Christiansen tied for first place with Anatoly Karpov at Linares 1981. He won the 2001 Canadian Open Chess Championship. He also won Curaçao 2008[1] and the Bermuda Open 2011.[2]
Christiansen played on the United States teams in the Chess Olympiad in 1980, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1996 and 2002. He won the team silver medal in 1990 and the team bronze in 1982, 1984, 1986 and 1996.[3]
Christiansen describes his playing style as "aggressive-tactical", and he lists his favorite opening as the Sämisch King's Indian.
Notable games
Larry Christiansen vs. Chessmaster 9000 (September 2002), annotated at GameKnot:
