The Queen of Katwe

Tim Crothers

One day in 2005 while searching for food nine-year-old Ugandan Phiona Mutesi followed her brother to a dusty veranda where she met Robert Katende.

Katende a war refugee turned missionary had an improbable dream: to empower kids in the Katwe slum through chess - a game so foreign there is no word for it in their native language. Laying a chess­board in the dirt Robert began to teach. At first children came for a free bowl of porridge but many grew to love the game that - like their daily lives - requires persevering against great obstacles. Of these kids one girl stood out as an immense talent: Phiona.

By the age of eleven Phiona was her country's junior champion and at fifteen the national champion. Now a Woman Candidate Master - the first female titled player in her country's history - Phiona dreams of becoming a Grandmaster the most elite level in chess. But to reach that goal she must grapple with everyday life in one of the world's most unstable coun­tries. The Queen of Katwe is a remarkable and inspirational book that shows how 'Phiona's story transcends the limitations of the chessboard' (Robert Hess US Grandmaster).