Uganda Chess Championships 2013 Begin Saturday
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
The Uganda National Chess Championship 2013 begins this Saturday at Pope Paul Memorial Hotel in Rubaga. Top seed Harold Wanyama is expected to play strong with competition from Zabasajja Memorial Champion Haruna Nsubuga, Elijah Emojong, Bob Bibasa and Grace Nsubuga among others. Defending champion Arthur Ssegwanyi is likely to miss the event due to personal reasons.
The finals of the Uganda National Chess Championship will only attract players with international chess ratings and the top six unrated chess players from the first phase of the qualifiers. These include Aaron Kanaabi who won the first phase, Rajab Kamoga, Raphael Buti, Jordan Teeba, Benjamin Mukumbya and Richard Buyinza.
In the women's category, defending Champion Grace Kigeni is expected to face competition from Chess Olympiad team-mate Goretti Angolikin, Christine Namaganda, Stella Babirye and Joy Kabengano among others. Phiona Mutesi who is still in the US may not participate in the event. A minimum of nine games will be played in the FIDE rated event that will help players without international rating to acquire them and those with ratings to improve on them.
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Labels: elijah emojong, goretti angolikin, grace kigeni, harold wanyama, haruna nsubuga, phiona mutesi, uganda chess championships 2013
Mutesi Chess Tour: Inspiration all the Way
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
Local children create a living chess game at Lambert's Point Community Center in Norfolk Thursday afternoon, April 11, 2013 watched by chess prodigy Phiona Mutesi of Uganda.The game was hosted by the Norfolk Initiative for Chess Excellence and ODU art students. (Bill Tiernan | The Virginian-Pilot)
Sarah Hutchins has written a nice report on Phiona Mutesi's visit to Norfolk. Phiona's chess tours are inspiring everyone around the world, but hopefully more so in Uganda, her home country. You can read all Chess Blog posts on Phiona Mutesi at this Chess Blog link.
Here is what Hutchins writes: It was hunger that drove Phiona Mutesi to chess. And it was chess that drove the 17-year-old Ugandan everywhere else.
Mutesi, a rising female chess star, was in town Thursday, sharing with students at three area schools her story of overcoming poverty with perseverance. Mutesi grew up in the slums of Kampala. She was 3 when her father died of AIDS. A few years later, she dropped out of school to help her mother. She saw her first chess game while following her brother in pursuit of something to eat.
She started playing the game and slowly began to beat the boys. In 2010, she competed in the World Chess Olympiad in Russia. She has also won the Women's Junior Chess Championship of Uganda multiple times. The mouths of several Booker T. Washington students hung open in amazement when Mutesi told them how young she was.
"Dang," said a girl sitting near the chess champion.
During her visit, Mutesi rarely talked chess strategy. The high school students, some of whom play on the school's chess team, got wide-eyed when she told them she played Garry Kasparov, one of the greatest players of all time.
Read more »Labels: Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk, Garry Kasparov, phiona mutesi, queen of katwe
Uganda Chess Talent Phiona Mutesi Meets Garry Kasparov - Video
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013Hi everyone,
Chess Blog had recently posted that Uganda chess talent Phiona Mutesi would be meeting billionaire Bill Gates, former world chess champion Garry Kasparov and chat show superstar Oprah Winfrey. Here is the Daily Beast video of Phiona Mutesi getting to play Garry Kasparov. You can read all previous Chess Blog posts on Phiona Mutesi at this link.
Labels: Chess video, Garry Kasparov, phiona mutesi
Candidate Chess Master Phiona Mutesi to Play Kasparov, Meet Oprah
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013Hi everyone,
Chess Candidate Master Phiona Mutesi, is in the United States of America as a participant at the 2013 Women in the World Summit 'Stories and Solutions' that is running from April 4-6 in New York City. Besides her participation at the Summit, Mutesi is also scheduled to play a chess game with former World Chess champion, Garry Kasparov of Russia later today at 4 pm. She will also have an interaction with Oprah Winfrey.
Mutesi's invitation to the Summit at which she is expected to speak alongside her guardian Robert Katende follows revelation of her moving life story from the streets and slums in Katwe to becoming a Chess Candidate Master and representing the country at two consecutive World Chess Olympiads in Russia and Turkey. (Read all other Chess Blog posts on Phiona Mutesi here.)
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Labels: chess candidate master, gary kasparov, oprah winfrey, phiona mutesi
Uganda Chess Talent Phiona Mutesi Invited for Chess Game with Bill Gates
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
Uganda's chess talent Phiona Mutesi has a special invitation for a game of chess! The invitation comes from none other than American billionaire Bill Gates. The yet unscheduled game was secured on a recent visit by Mutesi and her guardian Robert Katende to the US to promote a book about her life by American writer Tim Crothers, according to a report in New Vision.
The book, titled “The Queen of Katwe: a story of life, chess, and one extraordinary girl’s dream of becoming a grandmaster” has thrown Uganda’s chess fraternity in the international limelight, with CNN and BBC interested in Uganda’s chess whiz-kid.
Previous Chess Blog posts on Phiona Mutesi
“Bill Gates was impressed with the book and articles about Phiona Mutesi. He approached her benefactor, Katende and asked for a game with her as she toured the US,” highly placed sources in the Uganda Chess Federation (UCF) told theNew Vision Sport.
“He offered to have the game anytime she returns to the US, but an exact time and date have not yet been secured. Money for the air tickets has not been secured either.”
Mutesi, grew up in the slums of Katwe after her father died. The senior three students at St. Mbuga Vocational soon after, but, found a new lease of life through playing chess under the Sports Outreach Ministries, a Ugandan sports development outfit.
At 16 years, Mutesi has represented Uganda at the Istanbul Chess Olympiad in 2012 where she earned the title of Woman Candidate Master (WCM) as she continues to strive for the Grand Master (GM) title. Bill Gates is said to have keen interest in chess, despite his overwhelming successful business interests in Microsoft.
Disney, a movie company, has bought the rights to the book, and is said to have started work on a movie to supplement a documentary currently running on You Tube.
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Labels: bill gates, phiona mutesi, uganda chess
Uganda Chess Star might Inspire Film
Hi everyone,
Is there a film being planned on Phiona Mutesi - The heroine of the book 'Queen of Katwe' by Tim Crothers? News reports originating from India suggest that Indian director Mira Nair - a resident of Uganda - intends to film Mutesi's story. Nair has made films that have earned critical acclaim - Monsoon Wedding, Kamasutra and The Reluctant Fundamentalist.
Queen of Katwe tells the story of a teenage girl Phiona Mutesi who becomes a chess champion, overcoming the harshest circumstances in the slums of Katwe in Kampala, Uganda. The book itself is based on an award-winning ESPN magazine article by Tim Crothers on the chess prodigy who was one among a group of kids who learnt chess using bottlecaps and a cardboard sheet. Phiona went on to compete at the prestigious Chess Olympiad, and now aims to be a Grandmaster.
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Labels: mira nair, phiona mutesi, queen of katwe, tim crothers
Be Chess Inspired: Read the Story of Queen of Katwe
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
Phiona Mutesi featured in the book "The Queen of Katwe" is inspiring young chess audiences wherever she goes across the US. Her heart-warming story is also inspiring positive media coverage for the many benefits of chess... in Phiona's case giving her hope that can change reality.
A beautiful feature on CNN this weekend:
She grew up in one of the poorest spots on earth. She couldn't read or write. As a child, she scrounged for food each day for herself, her mother, and her brother. But a chance encounter with a chess coach turned her into a rising international chess star, the subject of a book -- and the protagonist in a future Disney movie. Ugandan teenager Phiona Mutesi is "the ultimate underdog," her biographer says.
Below is the CNN video. You can watch the ESPN video at this link on the Queen of Katwe.
You can read all Chess Blog posts on Phiona here. Don't you want to read Phiona Mutesi's inspiring story/biography? The book is now available as part of a special holiday deal at uschess.org. Click on the photo below to order your copy now.
And, another nice photo!
Don't forget to tell us what you think!
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
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Labels: Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk, phiona mutesi, queen of katwe, tim crothers
Ugandan Chess Star Phiona Mutesi - ESPN Video
Phiona Mutesi's Remarkable Story: From Uganda Slums to Chess Olympiad!
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
Phiona Mutesi - the teenager from the slums of Uganda and her progress as a chess champion is now chronicled in an interesting new book by the sport journalist who first wrote an article about the phenom!
Tim Crothers spotted Phiona Mutesi and knew there was an amazing story there. On one hand is Mutesi's daily struggle for food. On the other is her goal of becoming a “grandmaster” so she could improve her life.
Tim Crothers, a former Sports Illustrated senior writer who also occasionally writes for The News & Observer and Charlotte Observer, is the author of the recently released 'The Queen of Katwe'. The feature was a National Magazine Award finalist and has been optioned by Disney films. Crothers gave an interesting interview to Senior Sports Editor Gary Schwab of the Charlotte Observer.
Q. The Queen of Katwe developed out of an article you wrote for ESPN The Magazine. Where did the original idea come from?
After a speaking engagement in March of 2010, a man in the audience approached me and said he had a good story idea for me. As a journalist, it’s my job to hear him out. I know that 999 times out of 1,000 that situation leads to a story about his Uncle Ned catching a big fish. But the other time it becomes a book.
Q. What intrigued you about the story of Phiona Mutesi?
What writer doesn’t enjoy writing about the underdog? Phiona is the ultimate underdog. An illiterate Ugandan girl from the slums who dreams of becoming a chess “grandmaster.” You can’t make that up. You don’t have to have a natural passion for Africa or chess to be inspired by what this courageous young girl is accomplishing.
Read more »Labels: Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk, dirk jan ten geuzendam, gary schwab, phiona mutesi, queen of katwe, tim crothers
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