The Queen of Katwe : One Girl's Triumphant Path to Becoming a Chess Champion
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Overview
The "astonishing" (The New York Times Book Review) and inspirational true story of Phiona Mutesi--a teenage chess prodigy from the slums of Uganda--also a major motion picture starring Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong'o and David Oyelowo. 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 chess-board 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" (NPR) and "riveting" (New York Post) book that shows how "Phiona's story transcends the limitations of the chessboard" (Robert Hess, US Grandmaster).
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Details
- ISBN-13: 9781501127182
- ISBN-10: 1501127187
- Publisher: Scribner Book Company
- Publish Date: September 2016
- Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
- Shipping Weight: 0.5 pounds
- Page Count: 256
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