Much has been made over the last few years of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ chess prowess and her past achievements as “the British girls under-14 champion.” Lazy comparisons and low-hanging terminology have proved too tempting for hacks to resist…
Reeves has gone on about it herself. As it turns out, those same hacks haven’t bothered actually checking whether Reeves ever was a “champion” chess player. Scour the archives and the results of official championship tournaments are available to see. Reeves did indeed play in the British Under 14 championship. She came 26th…
So – not a champion. Reeves was beaten by the actual British Under 14 Champion, the composer Emily Howard. Incidentally Rachel’s sister Ellie came 17th in the Under-12s tournament at the same time…
Whoever first said she was a champion would have been thinking of a different tournament – which wouldn’t be the officially recognised one. Go back to previous years in British Chess Championship records and you can see that in the Under 13s Championship Rachel came 29th. She came 19th in the Under 12s in 1990. Ask any child chess prodigy and they’ll tell you that playing in a championship and winning a Championship title aren’t quite the same thing…
Hacks might have to check themselves next time they wax lyrical on the Chancellor’s chess chops. Her moves in the Treasury might prove more patzer than pro…
Douglas Alexander – a friend of Starmer’s – was asked on Sky News if the PM will be in post at the next election. He wasn’t so sure himself:
“I think he will. There are no certainties but of course I think he will lead and I think he should because, frankly, on the biggest call in this parliament he’s exercised the right judgment, which is to keep us out of someone else’s war.”
