Simon Williams – The Ginger GM
Simon Williams, better known online as Ginger_GM, is a British chess Grandmaster, commentator and high-energy streamer whose games look suspiciously like they were fuelled by a double espresso and a packet of firecrackers. A creative attacking player and natural entertainer, Williams has built a global following by proving that serious chess and a sense of humour can happily share the same board.
A titled professional with the official rank of Grandmaster, Simon made his name over-the-board as a dangerous attacking player. Online, he has become one of the most recognisable personalities in chess, mixing instructive content with stories, jokes, and the occasional heartfelt rant about “boring positional players.”
Streaming, Style and the Attack-At-All-Costs Philosophy
As a streamer, Ginger_GM is known for his fearless approach to complex middlegames, especially at faster time controls. While he is extremely strong in blitz and bullet, his preferred time control appears to be Rapid, where there is just enough time to calculate a brilliancy, but not quite enough to talk yourself out of it.
Williams’ style is defined by:
- Relentless kingside attacks, often launched the moment he can legally push a pawn two squares.
- Unorthodox openings that drag opponents into unfamiliar territory.
- A refusal to give up, reflected in a remarkable comeback ability and a high win-rate even after material sacrifices.
His games frequently reach rich endgames as well, showing that beneath the chaos there is deep practical understanding and endgame technique.
Opening Repertoire – Welcome to the Chaos Lab
Simon Williams has never been shy about his love of offbeat, aggressive systems. If there is an opening that lets you castle long and hurl the g-pawn down the board, chances are he has played it, streamed it, and written a course on it.
Some of the openings most closely associated with Ginger_GM across his online games include:
- Australian Defense – An offbeat weapon he has used in thousands of blitz and rapid games, often leading to sharp, unbalanced positions. Australian Defense
- Amazon Attack & Amazon Attack: Siberian Attack – Hyper-aggressive systems where development is less important than pointing everything at the enemy king. Amazon Attack Amazon Attack: Siberian Attack
- Czech Defense and Dutch Defense – Solid yet combative setups that fit his love of dynamic pawn structures and kingside chances. Czech Defense Dutch Defense
- Amar Gambit and other rare systems – Openings that most opponents have never seen outside a puzzle rush session. Amar Gambit
- Classic mainstays like the Sicilian Defense and French Defense, usually handled with more aggression than their textbook reputations suggest. Sicilian Defense French Defense
His enthusiasm for these openings has helped popularise many of them among club players, who are delighted to discover that “play for mate” can be a semi-respectable life philosophy.
Online Battles and Rivalries
Williams’ enormous body of games online reads like a who’s who of contemporary internet chess. He has faced legions of regular opponents, turning some usernames into recurring characters in the GingerGM universe.
Among the players he has tangled with most often are:
- chessshop – A long-running rivalry with dozens of decisive results and only a sprinkling of draws. Konstantin Kodinets
- danielrensch – Many entertaining clashes with commentator and presenter Daniel Rensch, often featuring wild tactics and mutual time scrambles. Daniel Rensch
- Regular sparring partners like schroedingerstiger, witik and korbul, all of whom have had front-row seats to the full GingerGM attacking repertoire.
Over the years, Simon has played tens of thousands of blitz games online, keeping up a fighting spirit and a roughly 50–50 score even against strong opposition. He is notorious for turning lost positions into wins, and sometimes winning positions into heart-breaking tragedies — all excellent content for his viewers.
Rapid Specialist – When the Clock Is Just Right
Although his blitz career online is massive, the data behind Ginger_GM’s games suggests that Rapid is where he truly feels at home. With more time on the clock, his imaginative ideas have space to breathe, and his opponents have more time to regret accepting his gambits.
In rapid play he leans especially hard on dynamic systems like the Australian Defense and the Amazon Attack complexes, achieving excellent scores with them over many years of online play.
You can explore his strength over time in Rapid with this embedded chart:
A Sample GingerGM-Style Attack
While no single game can capture the full chaos of a typical Simon Williams attack, the following miniature placeholder gives a flavour of the kind of kingside storm his fans come to see:
In real games, the tactics are more sound (usually), but the spirit is the same: pieces flying toward the enemy king, pawns storming forward, and commentary that’s as sharp as the moves.
Teaching, Entertainment and Legacy
Beyond his results, Simon Williams’ biggest impact on chess is arguably educational. Through books, courses, and especially his streams, he has inspired thousands of players to:
- Embrace aggressive, imaginative chess instead of playing for sterile equality.
- Experiment with lesser-known openings and build their own fighting repertoires.
- Enjoy the game, even when the position (and the clock) are both on fire.
His trademark blend of concrete calculation, narrative explanation, and self-deprecating humour makes advanced ideas accessible to club players. Viewers do not just see how a Grandmaster calculates; they hear the internal monologue, from early confidence to late panic.
The Ginger GM Today
Still active as a Grandmaster, streamer, and content creator, Ginger_GM remains one of the most distinctive voices in modern chess. Whether he is unleashing the Dutch Defense, resurrecting forgotten gambits, or explaining why pushing the h-pawn “just feels right,” Simon Williams continues to show that high-level chess can be both instructive and outrageously fun.
For fans of attacking chess, creative openings, and commentary with a healthy dose of personality, Simon Williams is essential viewing — a Grandmaster who proves that the best way to learn is often to light the board on fire and see what survives.