Larry Melvyn Evans (March 22, 1932 – November 15, 2010) was an American chess grandmaster, author, and journalist. He was born in New York City and won the U.S. Championship five times, the U.S. Open Chess Championship four times, and represented the United States in eight Chess Olympiads due to his deeply analytical knowledge of chess.
Evans was considered one of the most profound thinkers of chess. His educational contribution to chess has been significant; he has written hundreds of chess magazine articles and maintained a syndicated newspaper column. He has authored, co-authored, or edited around two dozen books about chess.
A commencing peak on his chess career came in 1951 when he first won the U.S. Championship. Later in 1957, he won it second time before scoring U.S. Championships again in 1961-62, 1967–68, and 1980. Evans also won the U.S. Open Chess Championships in 1951, 1952, 1954, and 1971.
Besides individual championships, Evans also took part in team tournaments. He became a significant player in U.S Chess Olympiad teams in 1950, 1958, 1964, 1966, 1968, 1970, 1974, and 1976. He won the 1969 Capablanca Memorial in Havana.
Relating to his writing, he was an editor of Chess Life magazine, and his comprehensive writing on various aspects of chess has been well acknowledged and awarded by Chess Journalists of America.
He died in 2010 at the age of 78 from complications following gallbladder surgery.