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Simon Kim Williams
S Williams 
Simon relaxes in Bobby Fischer's favorite chair in Reykjavik.
Photo: Stuart Conquest, courtesy of GingerGM.com.
 

Number of games in database: 1,663
Years covered: 1993 to 2025
Last FIDE rating: 2451 (2497 rapid, 2444 blitz)
Highest rating achieved in database: 2550
Overall record: +702 -429 =479 (58.5%)*
   * Overall winning percentage = (wins+draws/2) / total games in the database. 53 exhibition games, blitz/rapid, odds games, etc. are excluded from this statistic.

MOST PLAYED OPENINGS
With the White pieces:
 English (116) 
    A16 A10 A11 A18 A13
 Queen's Gambit Declined (81) 
    D37 D31 D38 D35 D39
 King's Indian (79) 
    E70 E73 E76 E92 E61
 Slav (54) 
    D15 D10 D17 D14 D11
 English, 1 c4 e5 (51) 
    A29 A27 A28 A21 A26
 Queen's Pawn Game (50) 
    A45 D02 E10 A46 A40
With the Black pieces:
 French Defense (240) 
    C05 C02 C18 C01 C11
 Dutch Defense (158) 
    A96 A84 A91 A90 A97
 Sicilian (134) 
    B70 B51 B22 B25 B40
 French Tarrasch (81) 
    C05 C03 C04
 Queen's Pawn Game (57) 
    A40 A46 D02 E00 A50
 French Winawer (54) 
    C18 C16 C15 C17 C19
Repertoire Explorer

NOTABLE GAMES: [what is this?]
   Wojtaszek vs S Williams, 2011 0-1
   I Sokolov vs S Williams, 2006 0-1
   S Williams vs M Simons, 1999 1-0
   S Williams vs M Hebden, 2006 1-0
   J Gallagher vs S Williams, 2001 0-1
   D Dumitrache vs S Williams, 2003 0-1
   S Williams vs Z Zhao, 1999 1-0
   S Williams vs D Guthrie, 2017 1-0
   S Williams vs A Rakhmangulova, 2023 1-0
   Y Afek vs S Williams, 2008 0-1

NOTABLE TOURNAMENTS: [what is this?]
   Sunningdale International Masters-D (2011)
   London Chess Classic Open (2010)
   British Championship (2004)
   British Championship (2009)
   Hastings 2008/09 (2009)
   Hastings 2019/20 (2019)
   British Championship (2015)
   British Championship (2014)
   Reykjavik Open (2009)
   British Championship (2010)
   British Championship (2000)
   British Championship (2013)
   Reykjavik Open (2011)
   Hastings 2009/10 (2009)
   Reykjavik Open (2013)

GAME COLLECTIONS: [what is this?]
   Williams' Killer Dutch (From Pawn and Fred) by kenilworthian
   Williams' Killer Dutch (From Pawn and Fred) by doug27
   Williams' Killer Dutch (From Pawn and Fred) by Par72g
   99 Williams' Killer Dutch by Pawn N Hand Jack by fredthebear
   Listen to Dutch Classical Music by fredthebear
   Dutch defense - classical by heuel
   The Dutch Defense by Patca63
   Wiliams' Killer Dutch by Pawn N Hand
   1999 World Junior chess championship by gauer
   the killer Dutch by adelicategenius
   Classical Dutch by LittleKibitzer
   Classical Dutch by kenilworthian
   French defense - advance by heuel
   Opening repertoire key games by JoseTigranTalFischer

RECENT GAMES:
   🏆 Reykjavik Open
   M Petersen vs S Williams (Apr-15-25) 1/2-1/2
   S Williams vs E Roubert (Apr-14-25) 1-0
   F Borne vs S Williams (Apr-13-25) 1-0
   S Williams vs P Das (Apr-13-25) 1/2-1/2
   W Golis vs S Williams (Apr-12-25) 1/2-1/2

Search Sacrifice Explorer for Simon Kim Williams
Search Google for Simon Kim Williams
FIDE player card for Simon Kim Williams

SIMON KIM WILLIAMS
(born Nov-30-1979, 45 years old) United Kingdom

[what is this?]

IM (1997); GM (2007).

Early years

Simon learned to play chess at the age of 6 and received his first FIDE rating at the age of 12, when he weighed in at 2255. He played in numerous British, European and World Youth and Junior events between 1993 when he placed 16th in the European U14 Championship and 1998 and 1999 when he competed in the World Junior Championships as an International Master.

Championships

Simon has been a regular participant in many British events in the last two decades since 1993. He first played in the British Championship in 1993 when he was 13 years old and has competed in every British Championship since then (apart from 1996 and 2006). His best results have been =2nd behind Jonathan Rowson in the British Championship (2004) =3rd in British Championship (2008) behind Keith Arkell and Stuart C Conquest, and =2nd in British Championship (2009), half point behind David Howell alongside Mark Hebden. He also played in the immensely powerful European Individual Championships in 2005, 2006 and 2007, his best result being in 2006 when he placed =10th.

Standard Tournaments

Simon won the following tournaments outright:

• the category 3 round robin Richmond Chess in Second in 1995, a full point ahead of Aaron Summerscale

• Surrey Open 2006;

• Caterham Open 2008;

• Amersham International 2009 (England) ahead of Arkell and Hebden;

• Swiss Championship 2009;

• 2011 Surrey Open; and

• e2e4 Sunningdale Open 2011;

He was =1st at the following events:

• First Saturday IM in April 1995;

• the category 3 Newport invitational in 1998 alongside Richard A Bates

• with Karl C C Mah at the category 3 Smith and Williamson Young Masters held in 1999;

• =1st with Brian Kelly at the Hampstead IM in 1999;

• =1st Swarzach Open 2004 in Austria;

• =1st Sunningdale Open 2010;

• =1st alongside Gawain Jones at 2010 London Classic Open 2010; and

• =1st at the e2e4 Sunningdale Easter International 2014 Premier.

Other good results include:

• =2nd at the Southend Open 2000 in London behind Mark Ferguson

• 2nd at the category 7 First Saturday GM in September 2002;

• =5th at the 2003-04 Hastings Challengers;

• =5th with 7/10 at Hastings Masters 2005-06;

• =2nd Swiss Championship Open 2008 behind Mikhail Vitalyevich Ulibin

• =4th Hastings Masters 2008-09;

• =2nd London Classic Open with 7/9, a point behind Jon Ludvig Hammer

Team Events

One of Simon’s earliest major team events was playing top board for England in the 1995 Children’s Olympiad, helping his team to place 4th. In 1996, he became a regular fixture in the Four Nations Chess League (4NCL - involving clubs competing from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland), and has competed in this annual event every year since then, up to and including the 4NCL (2012/13). He had his first taste of the European big league in 2006 when he played board 3 for the Hilsmark Kingfisher in the European Club Cup (2006). He also played top board for the Jutes of Kent team at the European Club Cup (2012). He represented England in the Four Nations Chess Challenge of 2008, winning team silver in the competition that included Latvia, Norway and Sweden, and in the 17th European Team Championship (2009) when he played board 4.

Invitations to play in European national leagues flowed after he had won his Grandmaster title in 2007, and he has played in the Swiss Team Championship (2010), the Bundesliga South (2010-2012), the French Nationale since 2005, the French Top 12 in 2011 and 2013, and in the Icelandic Team Championship since 2011.

Simon also played board 3 for London City in the World Cities Team Championship (2012), winning through to the Round of 16 after winning through the first round against Al Ain, Lund City and Dhaka. In the Round of 16, London City bowed out to Athens.

Chessgames Challenge

English Grandmaster Simon Williams accepted an invitation to play against a World Team comprising members of chessgames.com: Chessgames Challenge: S Williams vs The World, 2013. The game began on 16 September 2013 and finished on 19 January 2014, when Williams resigned.

Other

Simon is the author of numerous chess books including Play The Classical Dutch; Improve Your Attacking Chess;. How To Crush Your Chess Opponents; The New Sicilian Dragon; How To Win At Chess – Quickly!; Dangerous Weapons: The Dutch; Attacking Chess: The French: A Dynamic Repertoire for Black; SOS – Secrets of Opening Surprises 13 – Chapter 3 – The Williams Anti-Grünfeld Variation; and Secrets of Opening Surprises 14 – Chapter 4 – Kings Gambit: Tartakower Variation.

He also produced a range of instructional DVDs for a wide range of players that want to improve their chess. These DVDs include titles such as The Killer Dutch; The Killer French Part 1 (2010); The Killer French Part 2 (2010); Play Like Tal (2011); The Killer Dragon Part 1 (2011); and The Killer Dragon Part 2 (2011).

Simon studied philosophy and cognitive studies at Sussex University and taught chess in Surrey schools, including Cranleigh Prep, Cranleigh Main, St. Peters Farnham, St. Polycarps Farnham, William Cobbett Farnham and St. Thomas Guildford.

He is also a chess coach.

Website

http://www.gingergm.com/

Wikipedia article: Simon Williams (chess player)

Last updated: 2019-07-21 06:22:25

Try our new games table.

 page 1 of 67; games 1-25 of 1,663  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
1. S Williams vs B Leonard  1-0271993EU-ch U14A27 English, Three Knights System
2. G Surplys vs S Williams  1-0701993EU-ch U14C11 French
3. P Hopper vs S Williams  ½-½521993EU-ch U14C01 French, Exchange
4. S Williams vs Y Hadas  0-1631993EU-ch U14A16 English
5. M Hrivnak vs S Williams  0-1351993EU-ch U14A96 Dutch, Classical Variation
6. T Mifsud vs S Williams  1-0501993EU-ch U14C11 French
7. T Moroder vs S Williams  0-1441993EU-ch U14A07 King's Indian Attack
8. S Williams vs R Antoniewski  ½-½501993EU-ch U14A13 English
9. S Williams vs L Csizmadia  0-1461993EU-ch U14A13 English
10. C McNab vs S Williams  1-0401993British ChampionshipA10 English
11. R Bates vs S Williams 0-1391993British ChampionshipA99 Dutch, Ilyin-Genevsky Variation with b3
12. S Williams vs A Summerscale  0-1401993British ChampionshipA11 English, Caro-Kann Defensive System
13. F N Stephenson vs S Williams  ½-½801993British ChampionshipA80 Dutch
14. T Wall vs S Williams 1-0441993British ChampionshipC05 French, Tarrasch
15. S Williams vs A Hunt  0-1441993British ChampionshipA10 English
16. V Koshy vs S Williams  0-133199317th Lloyds Bank Masters OpenA10 English
17. S Williams vs D King 0-124199317th Lloyds Bank Masters OpenA10 English
18. N Rutter vs S Williams  0-137199317th Lloyds Bank Masters OpenC01 French, Exchange
19. S Williams vs R Har-Zvi  0-134199317th Lloyds Bank Masters OpenA16 English
20. T Spanton vs S Williams 1-019199317th Lloyds Bank Masters OpenC11 French
21. D Bisby vs S Williams  ½-½18199317th Lloyds Bank Masters OpenA96 Dutch, Classical Variation
22. M Dilley vs S Williams 0-130199317th Lloyds Bank Masters OpenA40 Queen's Pawn Game
23. S Williams vs K Murugan  0-126199317th Lloyds Bank Masters OpenA13 English
24. N Pert vs S Williams  1-0801994Aberdeen opA96 Dutch, Classical Variation
25. S Williams vs J S Walton 1-0641994Aberdeen opA16 English
 page 1 of 67; games 1-25 of 1,663  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | Williams wins | Williams loses  

Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 6 OF 7 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Jun-10-18  sorrowstealer: noticed that ,his 'hissing'accent not so pleasant to hear.
Nov-05-18  PhilFeeley: It's getting difficult to trust Williams' analysis these days. He doesn't do well when he plays in tournaments anymore. Is his teaching (2 recent videos on the new Chessbase 186, plus all those on his own site) just for amateurs?
Nov-05-18
Premium Chessgames Member
  perfidious: If Williams were to suddenly have several outstanding performances, would his analysis thereby gain some degree of trustworthiness?

Reading this back is utterly risible.

Seems to that the man can still play a little--rather better than this humble commentator!

Nov-17-18
Premium Chessgames Member
  Domdaniel: <perf> You're quite right, as usual. The tendency on this site to criticize certain very strong players continues, and is as absurd as ever.

The 'critics', fortified by their tame engines, seem genuinely not to understand quite how far behind the GM level they are.

Nov-18-18
Premium Chessgames Member
  perfidious: <Dom>, in 1994 I was playing in Philadelphia and someone I knew from home had a copy of Fritz 2, which (I believe) was just a floppy disk or two. It occurred to me just how useful this could be to players, but never gave it much thought. This was at a time when Deep Blue was playing blitz events with top players and more than holding its own, a period which did not last overlong.
Nov-30-18
Premium Chessgames Member
  OhioChessFan: Best wishes on your birthday.
Feb-07-19
Premium Chessgames Member
  Penguincw: ♔ Quote of the Day ♔

< "I believe that it is best to know a 'dubious' opening really well, rather than a 'good' opening only slightly." >

--- Simon Williams

Jul-20-19  spingo: He's going to jail!!
Jul-20-19  I Like Fish: spingo...
can it not be...
a little more frivolous...
Jul-21-19  spingo: He has been running a company called SKW Investments which unlawfully cashes in people's pensions.
Jul-21-19
Premium Chessgames Member
  MissScarlett: The (London) Times, July 20th 2019:

<Simon Kim Williams become a chess grandmaster at 27 and quickly developed into one of Britain’s best players. Today he is ranked 25th in England, according to Fide, the world chess federation. An associate of Mr Williams, Gary Quillan, is ranked a few places below him and made headlines last year when he beat Daniil Dubov, one of Russia’s top grandmasters.

Mr Quillan and Mr Williams were involved in a more controversial sideline, however. Companies set up by the pair marketed a multimillion-pound pension liberation scheme that promised Britons early access to their pension pots. Simon Kim Williams provided loans as part of a pension liberation schemeSimon Kim Williams provided loans as part of a pension liberation scheme. It is unlawful to gain access to your pension before the age of 55. Investors in such schemes run the risk of huge tax charges from HM Revenue & Customs.>

See: https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopi...

G Quillan vs D Dubov, 2018

Jul-21-19  hashtag: Simon <#Scam> Williams https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/...
Jul-21-19
Premium Chessgames Member
  MissScarlett: Oh so judgmental! I'm sure that in due course - as with the case of Max Dlugy (Garry Kasparov (kibitz #16835)) - this affair will all prove to be merely a misunderstanding, and every trace of it will be summarily expurgated from the player's page.
Jul-21-19  Captain Hindsight: <I Like Fish> A fish rots from the head down.
Jul-28-19
Premium Chessgames Member
  Dionysius1: Does it? How come? I would have thought the guts would rot quicker.
Jul-28-19
Premium Chessgames Member
  keypusher: Dionysus1

You’re apparently right in reality, but wrong metaphorically.

https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings...

Sep-01-19  spingo:
"For a fish he does staunch
From his eyelids to his haunch."

A fish's eyelids are the two lachrymal sacs located above saltwater fishes' eyes

Oct-19-19  polecateddy: Perhaps the net is slowly closing in. His partner in crime, IM Gary Quillan was just banned from being a company director for 12 years. The Ginger GM could be next for the chop! https://www.ftadviser.com/pensions/...
Oct-25-19  smendel: Polecateddy: I read that too. So disappointing -- Williams was one of my favourite vloggers.
Dec-16-19  polecateddy: Part of a longer statement released today by Simon Williams’; ‘It is disappointing that some people who do not know me and have no knowledge of the situation have repeatedly and publicly attacked me here and elsewhere, creating outlandish conclusions based on faulty, missing or entirely erroneous knowledge. I made a mistake, and now I am trying to carry on by making positive contributions within the world of chess and in both my personal and professional life.’
Jul-04-20  Rubberneck: Been watching Simon’s lectures/videos about openings in Chess.com (I’m HiYaNorton on that site). He has helped me tremendously in that he is thorough & simplifies what could be a total mystery to this prodigal grandpa. Check him out. The Ginger GM is captivating to say the least.
Aug-20-21
Premium Chessgames Member
  OhioChessFan: Been watching a couple of his speed run videos on YouTube. Really good stuff. Clear, simple explanations for what's going on.
Aug-20-21
Premium Chessgames Member
  OhioChessFan: "Premature attackulation is a problem many adults have."
Aug-20-21  Bartleby: Simon Williams is my favorite chess vlogger, streamer, whatever you want to call it. A great combination of chess, boozing, irreverence and pedagogical commentating on various themes during a game. He's a creative and inspiring attacker, very much in similar vein to British GM Julian M Hodgson before him, and similarly explores off-the-beaten path opening terra incognita, whilst also willing to play very sharp & highly theoretical Dragons/Nadjorfs on the black side.

Great teacher too, and makes a lot of ideas more accessible in an engaging way a lot of stronger GMs lack. I bought a number of his teaching vids, including a couple of his "Dee Vee Dees," as fans cheekily call them.

Love his "Title Tuesday" streams, and he also has a boatload of free content just published on his YouTube channel. He made me a classical Dutch and Budapest player for life, and he has interesting ideas on the venerable Philidor...though I still can't bring myself to play the French. Sorry Simon!

Aug-20-21
Premium Chessgames Member
  MissScarlett: His voice grates after a while….like about 10 seconds….Americans probably think he sounds like Dick Van Dyke in <Mary Poppins>.
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