"The most important thing that women do in the slums is to produce kids, and that's all"
Imagine living in a slum in Uganda, where every day is a struggle to survive. No money to buy clothes, nor enough food to eat, and no house to live inside. Phiona Mutesi spent the better part of her early childhood sleeping on the streets. She grew up in the Ugandan slum of Katwe. When she was about three, her father died of AIDS and shortly afterward her older sister Juliet died of an unknown cause. In her own words, 'The most important thing that women do in the slums is to produce kids, and that's all. I wanted a better life.' Things didn't improve much for her as she had to drop out of school, and the future was getting darker by the day. But all that changed on the day she learnt chess.
"The most important thing that women do in the slums is to produce kids, and that's all"
The most important thing that women do in the slums is to produce kids, and that's all. That's the most they do. I didn't want my life to be like that of my mother. I wanted mine to be at least better than that. —Phiona Mutesi (Elo: 1622, Team Uganda)
Imagine living in a slum in Uganda, where every day is a struggle to survive. No money to buy clothes, nor enough food to eat, and no house to live inside. Phiona Mutesi spent the better part of her early childhood sleeping on the streets. She grew up in the Ugandan slum of Katwe. When she was about three, her father died of AIDS and shortly afterward her older sister Juliet died of an unknown cause. When Mutesi was about nine she had already dropped out of school because her family could not afford it.
And then, she discovered a small corner of her slum, where children were playing a game that she had never seen before — the game of chess, and that changed her life, forever. A game that is played on a 12x12 inch board has carried her around the world. Sometimes, royalty isn't born; it is found, in the bleakest place, in the deepest shadow.
Chess is life
Today, Phiona Mutesi is 20 years old and rated 1622, and is the junior champion of Uganda. She has already played for her country in a handful of Olympiads, including Baku 2016.
In the match against Tunisia, Mutesi playing on the second board looks to be under pressure on the queenside. But she had already figured out a solution to all her problems.
Take your time to find how Phiona Mutesi, just as she has in her real life, solved all her problems on the chessboard.
[Site "ChessBase"]
[Date "2016.09.06"]
[Round "5.4"]
[White "Mutesi, Phiona"]
[Black "Miladi, Amen"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "1622"]
[BlackElo "1491"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "7r/5pk1/q3p1p1/2n1P1N1/1p1p1P2/2bP2Q1/r1b1B1PP/1R3RNK w - - 0 36"]
[PlyCount "9"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2003.06.08"]
[WhiteTeam "Uganda"]
[BlackTeam "Tunisia"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "UGA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "TUN"]
[WhiteClock "0:30:54"]
[BlackClock "0:01:35"]
is winning quicker.} fxg6 38. Rf7+ Kg8 39. Qf4 Qa8 40. Qf6 $18) 37... Nxe6 38.
Rxf7+ Kg8 39. Rf6 Rxe2 40. Nxe6 1-0
She played on the second board for her team and scored 2.0/2, but she could not compete in more than two games as she had to leave for the premier of the film Queen of Katwe, that is based on her own life story.
The film not only describes the story of her rise from the slums of Uganda to a national icon but also of the people who have played a crucial role in the journey.
Indian Connection
Mira Nair was born in Odisha, India, and educated at Delhi University and at Harvard. Her debut feature film, 'Salaam Bombay!', was nominated for an Academy Award (Oscars) for Best Foreign Language Film in 1988. Read her IMDB bio here.
Trailer and Release Dates
Read more about Phiona here. How has Chess changed your life? Comment and let us know...
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