Smith - Rolf Martens : Chess Genius - Maoist - Rebel

Rolf Martens: Chess Genius – Maoist – Rebel by Axel Smith. This hardcover book is written with a lot of knowledge about, feeling for and love for the unique chess player Rolf Martens was.

Few people in Swedish chess have had such a mythological status as the man of rebellion or resistance. Martens’ life is really made for being documented, and this well-written and well-researched book illustrates his many sides and peculiarities, both on and off the chessboard. Rolf Martens’ unusual life has earned him a bit of a cult status in chess circles, which is why this book is very welcome.

In 1967, 25-year-old Rolf Martens won the Swedish Championship playing faster than anyone before. In the Student World Championship he defeated one of the world’s ten best players, and at the end of the year he became the first Swede to make an IM-norm. Efim Geller said: “If Martens comes to Moscow, he will become one of the best players in the world.” A few years later, he had quit playing to pursue political activism on the far left. It became his vocation for the rest of his life. When Martens’ desire for chess returned, it was as an analyst. He founded the Ultra Hypermodern Counter Attack School and has produced more openings than perhaps any other player in history. Rolf Martens – Chess genius, Maoist and rebel is his life story, but also a book for anyone who wants to use his openings.