'This extraordinary story will stop you and make you want to count your blessings! It confirms how the strength of the human spirit and determination can prevail. No, Phiona succeeding at chess, like the fight to become great athletes for so many impoverished people around the world, has been a game for her life.'-Robert Hess, U.S. 'Phiona's story transcends the limitations of the chessboard-her life not confined to the miniature pieces that her hand glides from her side of the board to attack her opponent's king. 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). But to reach that goal, she must grapple with everyday life in one of the world's most unstable countries. 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.

By the age of eleven Phiona was her country's junior champion, and at fifteen, the national champion. Of these kids, one girl stood out as an immense talent: Phiona. 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. Laying a chess-board in the dirt, Robert began to teach. 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. The 'astonishing' (The New York Times Book Review) and 'inspirational' (Shelf Awareness) true story of Phiona Mutesi-a teenage chess prodigy from the slums of Uganda.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. Now a major motion picture starring Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong'o and David Oyelowo, directed by Mira Nair.

The queen of katwe by tim crothers