Sergio Mariotti is an Italian chess grandmaster and author. He was born on May 10, 1946 in Florence, Italy. He earned his International Master title in 1970 and became Italy's first chess grandmaster in 1974. This was the first time an Italian held such a title since the 15th century.
Mariotti's chess career started in the late 1960s, where he ranked highly in multiple tournaments around Italy and Europe. He won the Italian Championship in 1969 and 1971. In 1972, he represented Italy in the Skopje Chess Olympiad, where he won the second-board prize with a score of 12/15.
His biggest success in international tournaments came when he won the Capablanca Memorial (1982) in Havana, and the prestigious Lone Pine International (1976) in California. He also achieved a second-place in Wijk aan Zee (1978), one of the strongest chess tournaments in the world.
Mariotti's participation in competitive chess has declined since the 1980s due to a devasting eye disease. Despite limited vision, he has remained active in the Italian and international chess world as an author, teacher and organiser. He wrote "Manuale degli scacchi" in 1990 and "Cento partite a tema" in 1992. Both were published in Italy. He is known for his skills in endgame composition and analysis, and contributed many articles to chess magazines in Italy and abroad.