Rachel Reeves between a rook and a hard place after chess row

As an opening gambit astatine PMQs, Kemi Badenoch attacked Labour's knight, the premier minister, implicit his Treasury queen, Rachel Reeves.

"We present cognize the achromatic spread was fake, the chancellor's publication was fake, her CV was fake - adjacent her chess claims are made up," said the Tory leader.

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"She doesn't beryllium successful the Treasury; she belongs successful la-la land."

Chess claims made up? Where did that attacking determination from Kemi travel from? Hasn't the chancellor told america for years that she was a nationalist chess champion successful 1993?

Indeed she has. "I americium - I was - a geek. I played chess. I was the British girls' under-14 champion," she declared proudly successful a 2023 interrogation with The Guardian.

She posted a video showing her playing chess successful parliament and earlier past week's fund posed for photos with a chessboard.

But her chess champion assertion has been disputed by a erstwhile inferior champion, Alex Edmans, who has accused her of misrepresenting her credentials.

"Her assertion was rather specific," Edmans, present a prof of concern astatine the London Business School, told Ali Fortescue connected the Politics Hub connected Sky News.

"She said she was the British girls' under-14 champion. There was 1 lawsuit that tin spell connected that title, which is the British Championship. And successful the twelvemonth that she claimed, it was Emily Howard who won that rubric instead.

"She did so triumph a rather antithetic title. There was a British Women's Chess Association championship, but that's a much insignificant title. I've won titles similar the British squad title, but that's not the same.

"Just similar moving a marathon successful London is not the aforesaid arsenic the London Marathon, determination was 1 lawsuit which is precise prestigious, which is the British Championship.

"So the quality is not whether she was a bully oregon atrocious chess player. That shouldn't beryllium the criterion for a chancellor. But if you weren't the British champion, you shouldn't marque that statement."

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Oh dear! So now, on with allegations of plagiarism, a dodgy CV and "lying" - according to Ms Badenoch - astir the nation's finances, the chancellor is betwixt a rook and a hard place.

Or is she? "This communicative is implicit nonsense," a Treasury mate told Sky News. No connection from the No.10 knight, Sir Keir Starmer, oregon his Downing Street ranks, however.

Emily Howard, arsenic it happens, is present an accomplished composer, having graduated from the chessboard to the keyboard.

The chancellor's opponents, meanwhile, assertion her fund blunders means the Treasury queen has present go a pawn, determination for the taking.

But since Rachel Reeves did so triumph a chess title, conscionable not the 1 she claimed, her supporters importune she tin justifiably assertion to person been a champion.

So it's excessively soon for Kemi Badenoch and the Conservatives to assertion checkmate. The quality remains a stalemate. For now.