PODCAST EP125: Simon ‘Ginger GM’ Williams

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CHESSBOXING FESTIVAL – Watch Simon Williams fights for the WCBA British Heavyweight Title this July: https://rb.gy/qtmd4h

CBN catches up with Grandmaster Simon Williams about his upcoming chessboxing fight with Matt ‘Minotaur’ Coldwell.

For the second time on a podcast Gavin is ripped for zooming with an empty trophy cabinet in the background. If you want to hear his podcast with Gethin Jones head over to Average Sports Club. Maybe it’s because all of Gavin’s belts simply don’t fit into the cabinet.

Simon is calling from Godalming, a picturesque Hobbit style village just outside London. Simon isn’t able to run due to a dodgy knee so he is swimming for fitness. His pal Aldo is putting him through his paces, plus some one-on-one training by the village bandstand. He has also been doing some sparring in a local Mai Thai gym where he upset a facially tattooed female fighter who stormed out of the club.

Simon got into combat sports after watching Karate Kid in the 90s, has done some semi-contact kickboxing but chessboxing is the first time he has taken on a full contact bout. Chess-wise, Simon is a well known personality in the sport and has made a career out of chess, becoming a grandmaster when he was 28 years old. He is one of only a handful of GMs active in the UK and has been British speed chess and rapid chess champion. Outside his playing career he is a popular YouTuber going under the name of ‘Ginger GM’, you can take a look at his channel HERE.

Simon became famous (at least on Wikipedia!) when playing the Hammershlag opening in the British Chess Championships in 1999 as a nineteen year old. He took a bet the night before whilst drinking in the night club ‘Quids Inn’ that he would open with the Hammershlag, one of the worst possible openings available. Incredibly Simon went on to win the game despite that fact his opponent knew about the bet and had prepared for the opening. Could it be as disrespectful as Karl Ouch doing press ups in the ring?

Find out what Simon thinks of his opponent Matt Coldwell? The pod contrasts Matt’s bout against Dashiell Shaw as compared to David Jarmany. Simon is giving nothing away when he says that he expects Matt to avoid playing chess and come at him in the boxing. Will Matt throw in some wildcard moves to off balance the chess with the hope of avoiding an attritional game?

Simon isn’t the first grandmaster to compete in chessboxing, two years ago GM Ahman Hamilton took on IM Lawrence Trent in LA, winning by technical knockout. Simon has worked with both chess players and is also good friends with Lawrence. The pod reflects on how the bout went and the surprising result. You can listen to an interview with IM Lawrence Trent in episode 106 of this podcast.

Will Simon be fighting under the moniker ‘Ginger GM’ or will he re-invent himself for the fight? Also, find out Simon’s favourite chocolate bar – one of the best answers we’ve had on the podcast!

Image by Pawel Gawronski

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