Phiona Mutesi

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Phiona Mutesi (2013)

Phiona Mutesi (* 1996 ) is a Ugandan chess player .

Life

Phiona Mutesi grew up in Katwe, a slum on the outskirts of the Ugandan capital Kampala . When she was three years old, her father died of AIDS , and shortly afterwards her older sister Julia died of an unknown cause. Her mother couldn't raise the money for school, so she could n't read or write .

Career

One day in 2005, when Phiona was around nine years old, she was walking the streets of the slum begging for something to eat. Here she met Robert Katende, a then 28-year-old missionary and chess teacher who worked for the US Charity Sports Outreach Institute. He made her an offer that she would get something to eat if she agreed to receive a chess lesson from him . Phiona agreed and received the promised bowl of posho , a cereal porridge . From that day on, Phiona walked the four and a half miles from her hut to Katende's Church, where the clergyman provided slum children with a hot meal and taught many of them to play chess. There were just seven chess boards there, and some of the missing pieces had to be replaced with items they found in the trash. Katende quickly recognized Phiona's enormous talent and began to promote her in a targeted manner.

A bowl of posho was the incentive for Phiona to start playing chess

At the age of eleven Phiona was able to win the junior championships in her country for the first time and won this title two more times in the following years. At the age of 15 she became the national champion of Uganda and also took part in international competitions. She first took part in the Chess Olympiad in 2010 in Khanty-Mansiysk , Russia . She played there on the second board of the Ugandan women's national team. She was the only player on her team who wasn't working or studying. With the prize money of 130 pounds she won, she paid her school fees and bought a hair extension. She offered the rest to Katende, who refused and convinced her to buy four mattresses and a four-bunk bed so that Phiona and her family would not have to continue sleeping on tattered mattresses on the floor. At the Chess Olympiads in Istanbul in 2012 , in Tromsø in 2014 and in Baku in 2016 , she was also part of the Ugandan women's selection. In Istanbul it reached 50% (4.5 points from 9 games), ye that the title of Candidate Master Women (Woman Candidate Master) was awarded.

Phiona later said to her biographer Tim Crothers, looking back on her career as a chess professional: "In the beginning, chess was just a bowl of porridge for me." In the end, chess also gave her the opportunity to go back to school. Phiona has now not only learned to read and write, but also English. Her next goal is to study and become a doctor. For her sponsor Robert Katende, the success of his talented student is a confirmation of his project: "Chess teaches you to assess situations, make decisions, solve problems, see every challenge as an opportunity - and if possible not to give up. The discipline that Patience ... everything that has to do with life can be found in this game. " After graduating from school, Mutesi plans to become a chess grandmaster .

reception

The American author and sports journalist Tim Crothers was so impressed by Phiona's life that, in addition to an article in ESPN magazine, he also wrote the book The Chess Girl - The Amazing Way of Phiona Mutesi (original title The Queen of Katwe ), which was written about her childhood and reported her unexpected career.

In 2011, cameraman Keith Furr shot and published the short film The Queen of Katwe - A Short Documentary about Phiona Mutesi . During the filming he was accompanied by Tim Crothers and David Johnson.

The Indian director Mira Nair portrayed Phiona Mutesi in the biopic Queen of Katwe . The film is based on the book by Crothers and celebrated its world premiere at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival . The film was released in US cinemas on September 23, 2016.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Katja Mitic-Pigorsch: Ugandan illiterate becomes chess master In: DIE WELT, December 25, 2012.
  2. ↑ a b c Xan Rice: Ugandan girl, Phiona Mutesi leads chess revolution from the slums In: The Guardian, February 18, 2011.
  3. ↑ She experienced childhood in one of the poorest regions In: ww2documentaryblog.wordpress.com, April 1, 2016.
  4. ↑ a b The chess girl - The amazing path of Phiona Mutesi In: randomhouse.de. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
  5. ↑ Phiona Mutesis results at the women's chess Olympiads In: olimpbase.org. Retrieved August 7, 2016. (English)
  6. ↑ Das Genie von der Straße In: geo.de, March 13, 2017.
  7. ^ The Queen of Katwe - A Short Documentary about Phiona Mutesi In: allafrica.com. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
  8. ↑ Phiona Mutesi In: queenofkatwe.com. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
  9. ↑ The Queen of Katwe In: espn.com. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
  10. ↑ The Queen of Katwe In: moviepilot.de. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
personal data
SURNAME Mutesi, Phiona
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Ugandan chess player
DATE OF BIRTH 1996