George Osborne the chess player

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John Swain
Posts: 508
Joined: Sun Jun 20, 2010 10:35 pm
Location: Nottingham

George Osborne the chess player

Post by John Swain » Tue Mar 01, 2016 1:36 pm

Today's The Times carries an article on pp.8-9 entitled "Scaremonger General is chess club chum of chancellor". It refers to Matthew Gould, who it seems has been head-hunted by George Osborne and is apparently entrusted with the job of bringing together government documents backing staying in the EU. It says that Gould "is a close and long-time friend of George Osborne ... The two men have known each other since both were members of their school's chess club." A little later, it refers to the school as St Paul's.

St Paul's in the 1980s was the top school in the country for chess, winning the National Schools title in 1981, 1982, 1985, 1988, 1989 and 1990.

Does anyone know how strong George Osborne is/was as a chess player (or Matthew Gould for that matter)?

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JustinHorton
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Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 10:06 am
Location: Somewhere you're not

Re: George Osborne the chess player

Post by JustinHorton » Tue Mar 01, 2016 1:46 pm

"Do you play chess?"
"Yes, but I prefer a game with a better chance of cheating."

Nick Burrows
Posts: 1946
Joined: Sat Aug 14, 2010 12:15 pm

Re: George Osborne the chess player

Post by Nick Burrows » Tue Mar 01, 2016 2:44 pm

There are some games where he plays 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Be3 - also known as The Wankers gambit

Gordon Cadden
Posts: 490
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2011 4:57 pm

Re: George Osborne the chess player

Post by Gordon Cadden » Tue Mar 01, 2016 4:53 pm

Reminds me of that infamous book, "Steve Davies Plays Chess".

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