Simon Kim Williams, also known as GingerGM, is a British Grandmaster who has made significant contributions to the chess world as a player, commentator, and author. He is known for his innovative and aggressive playing style, and his books and videos often focus on unorthodox opening ideas and attacking strategies.
Born in 1979, Williams started playing chess around the age of 6, his father, a strong chess player himself, taught him many of the openings Simon still uses, like the Dutch Defense. He received his first FIDE rating of 2255 when he was 14. He finished 7th in the 1997 European Under 20 Championship and finished 2nd in the Smith and Williamson Young Masters tournament of 1998.
He finished earning his Grandmaster norms in 2006, but he was not classified as a Grandmaster until he cracked the 2500 rating which happened 2 years later at the Hastings Tournament of 2008.
One of Williams' most notable achievements was winning a game with the Hammerschlag opening toward the end of the British Chess Championship in 1999.
What is the Hammerschalg? That opening starts with 1. f3 e5 2. Kf2.
Williams has placed 2nd in the British Championships, a tie for first in the Southend Chess Congress and the London Chess Classic as well as outright winning the British Blitz Championship.
Williams is also a well-respected commentator. He has provided live commentary for major chess events, including the Gibraltar Chess Festival, Isle of Man, and a number of online tournaments for Chessbase and Chess.com.
In addition, Williams has authored several highly regarded chess books, including "The Killer Dutch" and "Play the Classical Dutch." He is credited with 11 books, 9 chess coaching DVDs - including a course on Mikail Tal, his favorite player.
Why is he his favorite player? Quote - “Because he was a lunatic.”
He is a frequent guest in online video courses on iChess.net and Chessable as well as his own social media presence, primarily on Youtube.
He has branded himself as ‘GingerGM’ on social media due to his fiery hair and beard color to his 80,000+ Youtube subscribers and 30,000+ Twitch followers. As GingerGM, he has helped popularize the concept of ‘Harry the H-Pawn’ referring to the flank pawn and how disruptive it can be to opponent positions - a concept also frequently used by Alpha Zero. He has names for the other pawns including - Arry (with an a), Barry the b -pawn, Charlie the c-pawn, Derek the d-pawn, Eddie the e-pawn, Freddie the f-pawn, and Garry the g-pawn. Each has their own purpose from attacking to the restriction of your opponent.
Overall, Simon Williams is a highly accomplished and respected figure in the chess world. His successes as a player, commentator, and author have made significant contributions to the game, and he continues to be a major presence in the chess community.
Today, we are going to the 2017 Four Nations Chess League.
Simon Williams versus Peter Sowray.
Now, if we’re ready… let’s begin.
1. d4 g6 2. e4 d6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. f4 a6 5. Nf3 b5 6. Bd3 Nd7
7. a4 b4 8. Ne2 a5 9. O-O Ngf6 10. e5 Nd5 11. Ng5 h6 12. Ne6
fxe6 13. Bxg6+ Kf8 14. Ng3 Kg8 15. Qh5 Rh7 16. Bxh7+ Kxh7
17. f5 Nf8 18. Qf7 Nd7 19. Bxh6 Qg8 20. Qg6+ Kh8 21. fxe6 Nf8
22. Bxg7+ Qxg7 23. Rxf8+ Qxf8 24. Rf1 1-0
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