Simon Williams (chess player)

Simon Kim Williams is an English chess grandmaster and author who is best known under the pseudonym and Chess Server Nickname "GingerGM".

Early career
In 1993, he received his first international FIDE rating of 2255. During the same year he finished seventh in the European Under-14 Championship. Williams regularly participated in youth tournaments throughout the 1990s, finishing seventh in the 1997 European Under-20 Championship and finishing second in the Smith and Williamson Young Masters in 1998.

Grandmaster
He became a Grandmaster in 2008, achieving the final norm at the Hastings International Chess Congress 2005/2006 and the 2500+ rating at Hastings 2007/2008. His peak rating so far is 2550, achieved in November 2009. In 2009, he organised the Big Slick International in Purley, London, which comprised an invitational GM tournament and FIDE Rated Open.

National performance
In 2003, he finished seventh at the British Chess Championship. Williams later improved his performance in the tournament, finishing equal second in 2009.

International performance
In 2009, Williams finished equal first at the Southend Chess Congress all-play-all tournament.

He was joint winner with Gawain Jones of the London Chess Classic FIDE Rated Open in December 2010, with a rating performance of 2690.

Blitz and rapidplay
In 2005, he won the British Blitz Championship.

Chess commentary
Williams works as a chess commentator at tournaments and through online streaming. Most notably, he has provided official commentary at the Gibraltar Chess Festival alongside Irina Krush, Elisabeth Pähtz in 2016 and Jovanka Houska in 2017 and 2018. He has covered a number of other tournaments for ChessBase and Chess.com. Williams also maintains a YouTube channel where he uploads blitz chess games with commentary as well as analysis of his previous games. He has also given commentary on the Chess.com Isle of Man tournament.

Chess publication company
In 2008, he founded a chess media publishing company called "GingerGM" with International Master Simon Ansell. The company produces print books, ebooks and DVDs.

Pension company
Williams was director of the company SKW Investments, which was implicated by HM Revenue and Customs in a pension liberation scheme. Williams said his role was "purely administrative", that he "did not understand the responsibilities required" and that he regretted involvement. The Deputy Pensions Ombudsman ordered him to repay roughly £700,000 into the scheme.

DVDs

 * Williams, Simon (2017). The London System with 2.Bf4 (DVD). Hamburg: Chessbase.
 * Williams, Simon (2017). The London System with 2.Bf4 (DVD). Hamburg: Chessbase.
 * Williams, Simon (2017). The London System with 2.Bf4 (DVD). Hamburg: Chessbase.
 * Williams, Simon (2017). The London System with 2.Bf4 (DVD). Hamburg: Chessbase.
 * Williams, Simon (2017). The London System with 2.Bf4 (DVD). Hamburg: Chessbase.
 * Williams, Simon (2017). The London System with 2.Bf4 (DVD). Hamburg: Chessbase.
 * Williams, Simon (2017). The London System with 2.Bf4 (DVD). Hamburg: Chessbase.
 * Williams, Simon (2017). The London System with 2.Bf4 (DVD). Hamburg: Chessbase.
 * Williams, Simon (2017). The London System with 2.Bf4 (DVD). Hamburg: Chessbase.
 * Williams, Simon (2017). The London System with 2.Bf4 (DVD). Hamburg: Chessbase.

Other publications

 * The Jobava London System (2019) on Chessable.
 * The Killer Dutch Rebooted (2019) on Chessable.
 * The Iron English: Botvinnik Variation (2020) on Chessable, co-authored with IM Richard Palliser.
 * The Black Lion (2020) on Chessable
 * Grandmaster Gambits 1. e4 Part 1 (2021) on Chessable, co-authored with IM Richard Palliser.
 * Grandmaster Gambits 1. e4 Part 2: Aggressive Lines (2021) on Chessable, co-authored with IM Richard Palliser.
 * Best of British (2021) on Chessable, co-authored with IM Richard Palliser.
 * The Best Chess Moves of All Time (2021) on Chessable, co-authored with Alex Belsley.
 * The Killer Colle-Zuckertort System (2022) on Chessable, co-authored with IM Richard Palliser.
 * The Harry Attack: Fighting Kingside Fianchettos after 1.d4 (2022) on Chessable, co-authored with IM Richard Palliser.
 * The British Grand Prix Attack (2022) on Chessable, co-authored with IM Richard Palliser.
 * Lifetime Repertoires: Modern Reti - Part 1 (2023) on Chessable, co-authored with IM Richard Palliser.
 * The Killer Barry Attack (2023) on Chessable, co-authored with IM Richard Palliser

Checkmate Show
In 2017, Williams filmed a show named Checkmate. It followed a tournament with some notable competitors, Namely Richard Rapport, Ju Wenjun, Arkadij Naiditsch, and Nigel Short.