Queen of Katwe's gambit still in play for Uganda's slum chess players

BBC ^ | 06/29/2025 | Wycliffe Muia

[BenLurkin]

A famous chess club in a slum of Uganda's capital that became the focus of the Hollywood movie Queen of Katwe is still producing champions - but faces a daily struggle to survive.

Run by chess coach Robert Katende, played by actor David Oyelowo in the Disney film released in 2016, he still believes that despite financial struggles he is managing to change children's lives for the better through chess.

"We use chess as a teaching tool. To identify the potential of the learners and guide them to their destiny," Mr Katende told the BBC on a visit to his SomChess Academy in Katwe, a poor neighbourhood of Kampala.

Shortly after graduating as a civil engineer, he first began volunteering in Katwe as a football coach before deciding on chess - starting up with a single chessboard in 2004 and a determination to help.

Within a year nine-year-old Phiona Mutesi, who had dropped out of school, joined up - and went on to become a chess prodigy.

She took the title of national women's junior champion three times, competed in several prestigious international chess Olympiads and by the age of 16 was given the title Woman Candidate Master by the World Chess Federation.

It was her remarkable story that was told in the film, with Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong'o playing her mother.

Mr Katende says her success came from resilience and determination - and shows the truly transformative power of chess.

"Apart from winning school scholarships, this game has taught me how to strategise and plan ahead, and it instils discipline and patience" [said] Patricia Kawuma, two-time national junior chess champion.

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TOPICS: Sports
KEYWORDS: chess

[JusPasenThru]

I would kick her ass.

[KarlInOhio]

He, Ms Mutesi and the chess champion's mother had been promised a sizable share of any Disney profits - 67%, he says.

But he was told by the corporation that after investing about $15m (£11m) into the drama, directed by Mira Nair, it had only made back $10m.

Chess teacher vs. Hollywood accountants. It doesn't take an international grandmaster to tell who will win that game.

The only movies that make a profit are those that completely surprise the accountants so they weren't able to load the production down with a thousand and one different charges from the studio. Never, ever accept a profit share of a movie. Cash up front or share of the gross only.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

“..taught me how to strategise and plan ahead, and it instils discipline and patience”

Excellent life skills!

[ChinaGotTheGoodsOnClinton]

I was really excited to see there is an actual movie about this...So I went out and looked it it.

It is from DISNEY of all places.

So to me that signifies that it is chuck full of woke BS so that looks like a chess movie that I won’t be seeing..

[alternatives?]

How come they have women’s chess versus men’s chess?

[ansel12]

Reading the reviews, it sounds like a good movie that was difficult to market and was handled badly but that was well made, I think I’ll watch it.

Some African movies are interesting, both movies made about Africa and those made by Africans, “Beasts of no Nation” is fantastic and a lot of the low budget African made movies are similar to the Australian movies of the 60s and 70s, low budget but always interesting and worth watching and seeming to give you a glimpse of life there and of the people.

[Retrofitted]

“Commenting on one of her games from the 2010 Olympiad, British chess journalist John Saunders wrote that ‘Phiona’s present playing standard is that of a modest but competent club player but, placed in the context of her environmental and educational deprivation, her achievement in reaching such a level has been awe-inspiring.’”

No comment.

[OKSooner]

“Yeah, she’s pretty good for a

well, you know... one of those people...”