Grandmaster Simul & Lecture with GM Samy Shoker
Tuesday, August 11, 2026, 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Entry fee: $50
City Creek Chess is excited to announce that our club will be hosting a Simul exhibition and lecture with International Chess Grandmaster and the World Chess Boxing Association’s (WCBA) European Middleweight Champion, GM Samy Shoker!
GM Samy Shoker is a French/Egyptian International chess Grandmaster who is currently ranked fourth overall in Egypt. He is also co-author of the book, “The Fianchetto Solution”, a book that teaches flexible opening system for both Black and White pieces. GM Samy Shoker is also a middle school teacher in San Diego, CA, but when he’s not teaching or playing chess, he is training to retain his title as the WCBA European Middleweight Champion in the wild sport of Chess Boxing!
GM Samy Shoker will be in Utah to give a 30-minute lecture on chess improvement, what has helped him, and how he ties his chess training with boxing. The lecture will be followed by a chess “Simul” exhibition, where GM Samy Shoker will play a game of chess against EVERY participant of the lecture, all at once!
How our Simul works:
Samy will play as white on every board, will make their move at the first participant’s board, then move to the next board. The participant will wait to make their move until Samy returns to see the participant move. Once Samy returns to the board, the participant will reply with their move, Samy will then make his move, and move to the next board. This process repeats until every game is over.
If you would like to take part in this rare opportunity to both hear from and challenge GM Samy Shoker, see below for details & registration:
Event Details:
When: August 11, 2026 @ 6 p.m.
**UPDATE** Where: 11851 Shady Acres Ct, Riverton, UT 84065 (Parking is available across the street and available at: 2812 W 11800 S, South Jordan, UT 84095)
**UPDATE** Number of seats: 30 seats available!
Schedule:
6:00 p.m. – Check-in/register and be assigned a seat number.
6:30 p.m. – Lecture from GM Samy Shoker begins
7:00 p.m. – Simul against GM Samy Shoker begins
Registration Details:
Currently registered: GM Simul & Lecture w/ GM Samy Shoker Sheet
Click here to register: GM Simul/Lecture Registration Form
Entry Fee: $50 ($60 after August 8, 2026)
Payment options:
Guaranteed Seat – Sign up now and pay early on Venmo, and this will guarantee you a seat for the event. If you choose this option,
Reserve Seat – Sign up now, but pay in-person, and this will reserve a seat if one is available, and entry fee will remain at $50 dollars for reserving a seat!
Day-Of/Onsite – You may still be able to buy a seat for the event, but only if seats are available
Additional notes:
Backup venue – In the rare event of a funeral requiring the venue, we will need to move our event to a backup venue. This venue will have a limit of 30 players. If this is the case, then we will do the following:
– Guaranteed seats will be cut off at 30 players; refunds will be issued to players after 30 players
– Reserved seating now be a first-come-first-serve waitlist. Reserved seats will be notified that we will be moving to the backup venue to give them a chance to guarantee their seat. Players who are on this waitlist might not have a chance to participate.
– Onsite registration will not be an option once we have 30 guaranteed seats. If we have some openings, you might not have a chance to participate.
No recording during lecture – Photos and video before the lecture or after is permitted, but recording the lecture is not permitted. City Creek Chess will be taking photos during this time. Anyone who is found to be recording during the lecture might be warned or asked to leave with no refund.
GM Samy Shoker is a French/Egyptian International chess Grandmaster who is currently ranked fourth overall in Egypt. He is also co-author of the book, “The Fianchetto Solution”, a book that teaches flexible opening system for both Black and White pieces. GM Samy Shoker is also a middle school teacher in San Diego, CA, but when he’s not teaching or playing chess, he is training to retain his title as the WCBA European Middleweight Champion in the wild sport of Chess Boxing!
GM Samy Shoker will be in Utah to give a 30-minute lecture on chess improvement, what has helped him, and how he ties his chess training with boxing. The lecture will be followed by a chess “Simul” exhibition, where GM Samy Shoker will play a game of chess against EVERY participant of the lecture, all at once!
How our Simul works:
Samy will play as white on every board, will make their move at the first participant’s board, then move to the next board. The participant will wait to make their move until Samy returns to see the participant move. Once Samy returns to the board, the participant will reply with their move, Samy will then make his move, and move to the next board. This process repeats until every game is over.
If you would like to take part in this rare opportunity to both hear from and challenge GM Samy Shoker, see below for details & registration:
Event Details:
When: August 11, 2026 @ 6 p.m.
**UPDATE** Where: 11851 Shady Acres Ct, Riverton, UT 84065 (Parking is available across the street and available at: 2812 W 11800 S, South Jordan, UT 84095)
**UPDATE** Number of seats: 30 seats available!
Schedule:
6:00 p.m. – Check-in/register and be assigned a seat number.
6:30 p.m. – Lecture from GM Samy Shoker begins
7:00 p.m. – Simul against GM Samy Shoker begins
Registration Details:
Currently registered: GM Simul & Lecture w/ GM Samy Shoker Sheet
Click here to register: GM Simul/Lecture Registration Form
Entry Fee: $50 ($60 after August 8, 2026)
Payment options:
Guaranteed Seat – Sign up now and pay early on Venmo, and this will guarantee you a seat for the event. If you choose this option,
Reserve Seat – Sign up now, but pay in-person, and this will reserve a seat if one is available, and entry fee will remain at $50 dollars for reserving a seat!
Day-Of/Onsite – You may still be able to buy a seat for the event, but only if seats are available
Additional notes:
Backup venue – In the rare event of a funeral requiring the venue, we will need to move our event to a backup venue. This venue will have a limit of 30 players. If this is the case, then we will do the following:
– Guaranteed seats will be cut off at 30 players; refunds will be issued to players after 30 players
– Reserved seating now be a first-come-first-serve waitlist. Reserved seats will be notified that we will be moving to the backup venue to give them a chance to guarantee their seat. Players who are on this waitlist might not have a chance to participate.
– Onsite registration will not be an option once we have 30 guaranteed seats. If we have some openings, you might not have a chance to participate.
No recording during lecture – Photos and video before the lecture or after is permitted, but recording the lecture is not permitted. City Creek Chess will be taking photos during this time. Anyone who is found to be recording during the lecture might be warned or asked to leave with no refund.