Phiona Mutesi

Phiona Mutesi at the Women in the World Conference

Phiona Mutesi (born c. 1996) is a Ugandan chess champion[1][2] born in Katwe, the largest of eight slums in Kampala. Mutesi went on to become one of the first titled female players in Ugandan chess history as well as the subject of a 2012 book and the 2016 film The Queen of Katwe.

Background

Mutesi grew up in the Ugandan neighbourhood of Katwe. When she was roughly three years old, her father died of AIDS.[1] Her older sister, Julia, subsequently died of unknown causes. By age nine, Mutesi dropped out of school when her family could no longer afford to send her.[1]

Living day to day, Mutesi sold maize in the Katwe street market, following her brother one day and discovering a project run by Sports Outreach Institute, a religious (Christian) and sports mission. In an after-school program run by Robert Katende, Mutesi began playing chess.[3]

Mutesi later returned to school, sitting in 2010 for her primary exam and studying at a Universal Junior school in Makindye, Kampala.[4] She continued her secondary education at St. Mbuga vocational school.

Championships

In 2010, Mutesi played six rounds on board 2 and one round on board one for Uganda at the 39th Chess Olympiad, scoring 1.5 points from the seven,[5] and as of 2012 she was a three-time junior girls' champion of Uganda.[6]

In 2012 Mutesi and Ivy Amoko were accorded Woman Candidate Master (WCM) titles as a result of their scores at the 40th Chess Olympiad, making them the first titled female players in Ugandan chess history.[7][8][9]

Also in 2012 Mutesi became the first female player to win the Open Category of the National Junior Chess Championship in Uganda.[10] In 2013 she again played in the Championship and won the Under 20 Girls Category but not the Open Category.[11] In 2014 Mutesi played in the 41st Chess Olympiad, on the Ugandan women's team.[12]

Media

In 2006 a short documentary film was made about Phiona Mutesi by Silent Images[13] and is available on YouTube.[14] (See External links section.) This documentary was used by Sports Outreach to get Disney interested in making a film about Mutesi's story, which came out in 2016.[13]

In 2012 a book was published about Mutesi titled The Queen of Katwe: A Story of Life, Chess, and One Extraordinary Girl's Dream of Becoming a Grandmaster, by Tim Crothers.[15]

Walt Disney Pictures optioned the rights to the book and began work on the film in 2012.[14]

The 2016 film, Queen of Katwe, stars Lupita Nyong'o and David Oyelowo. Mutesi is portrayed by Madina Nalwanga. Phiona Mutesi attended premieres of the film in Toronto, Canada (September 10),[16] Hollywood, California (September 20),[17] and Kampala, Uganda (October 1).[18]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Tim Crothers (28 August 2016). "Chess queen of Africa". The Guardian.
  2. ↑ Reeves Wiedeman (7 January 2013). "The Talk of the Town: Up Life's Ladder: Prodigy". The New Yorker. 88 (42): 20–21.
  3. ↑ Tim Crothers (4 January 2011). "Game of her life". ESPN.
  4. ↑ "Uganda’s ‘Queen of Katwe’ got her start at this slum chess school". Washington Post, Julian Hattem October 6, 2016.
  5. ↑ Herzog, Heinz (9 October 2010). "39th Olympiad Khanty-Mansiysk 2010 Women tournament". Tournament Database. Chess-Tournament-Results-Server. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  6. ↑ "Phiona Mutesi To Speak at Philly All-Girls Chess Workshop". United States Chess Federation. 2012-11-29.
  7. ↑
  8. ↑ Corry, Phillip (September 10, 2012). "Wanyama becomes Uganda's sixth FIDE Master at World Chess OIympiad". Kawowo Sports News. Archived from the original on 2012-09-14.
  9. ↑ Mutesi, Amoko set to become Candidate Masters
  10. ↑ Stephen Kisuze. "MUTESI WINS 2012 NATIONAL JUNIOR CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP". fide.com.
  11. ↑ Corry, Phillip (2013). "Martin Musiime wins City Tyres National Junior Chess Championship". Kawowo Sports.
  12. ↑ Phillip Corry. "Uganda beats Puerto Rico at World Chess Olympiad". kawowo.com.
  13. 1 2 Minchin, Marty (October 24, 2016). "'Queen of Katwe' based on 2006 film shot by Matthews nonprofit". The Charlotte Observer.
  14. 1 2 Josh Levs, CNN (10 December 2012). "From slum life to Disney film: Ugandan teen chess star 'the ultimate underdog'". CNN.
  15. ↑ Tim Crothers (6 September 2016). The Queen of Katwe: One Girl's Triumphant Path to Becoming a Chess Champion. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-5011-2718-2.
  16. ↑ "Phiona Mutesi". tribute.ca. Tribute Entertainment Media Group. September 10, 2016. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  17. ↑ Hattem, Julian (October 6, 2016). "Uganda's 'Queen of Katwe' got her start at this slum chess school". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  18. ↑ O'Hagan, Michael (October 1, 2016). "Ugandan premiere of girl's slum-to-chess-champ story". Modern Ghana. Retrieved October 17, 2016.

External links

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