Queen of Katwe

one girl's triumphant path to becoming a chess champion

Tim Crothers

$22.99

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Scribe Publications
31 October 2016

Biography; Chess

Based on 'The Queen of Katwe', a finalist for a National Magazine Award and included in Dave Eggers' The Best American Nonrequired Reading, this is the true story of a female prodigy from the Ugandan slum of Katwe.

This is the true story of a female prodigy from the Ugandan slum of Katwe.

Phiona Mutesi sleeps in a mud hut with her mother and siblings, and struggles to find a meal each day. She is also one of the best chess players in the world.

One day in 2005, while searching for food, nine-year-old Phiona and her brother met Robert Katende, a refugee who had also grown up in the slums. Robert had an improbable aspiration- to empower Katwe's kids through chess - a game so foreign that there was no word for it in their native language. At first the children came each day for the free porridge, but many grew to love chess, a game that - as in their daily lives - meant navigating obstacles. One talented young girl stood out- Phiona.

By the age of 11, Phiona was Uganda's junior champion; at 15 she was the national champion. In 2010, she travelled to Siberia to compete in the Chess Olympiad, the world's most prestigious team-chess event.

Phiona's dream is to become a chess grandmaster. But to reach that goal, she must grapple with life in one of the world's most unstable countries - a place where girls are taught to be mothers, not dreamers, and the threats of AIDS, kidnapping, and starvation loom constantly.

Like Katherine Boo's Behind the Beautiful Forevers and Gayle Tzemach Lemmon's The Dressmaker of Khair Khana, this is an intimate and heart-rending portrait of human life on the urban fringes in the 21st century.

By: Tim Crothers
Imprint: Scribe Publications
Country of Publication: Australia
Dimensions: Height: 196mm, Width: 129mm, Spine: 22mm
Weight: 220g
ISBN: 9781925321791
ISBN 10: 1925321797
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 31 October 2016
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Reviews for Queen of Katwe: one girl's triumphant path to becoming a chess champion

A moving and universal story of the power of potential and the wonder of perseverance. This story will inspire you - and will make you wonder how many more Phionas there are among us.' - Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, NYT-bestselling author of The Dressmaker of Khair Khana; '[A] story of a young woman's triumph over the unimaginably cruel fortune ... would pierce a heart of stone.'- Hillary Jordan, NYT-bestselling author of Mudbound and When She Woke; 'Almost too uplifting to believe ... Crothers tells Phiona Mutesi's story in a crisp, reportorial style, but it's nearly impossible to read without a strong emotional response ... Inspiring.'- Booklist; 'An extraordinary account of one young woman's exceptional achievement. It is also a lament for this world in which only a tiny number of incredibly fortunate and exceptionally determined children have any chance of escaping the dehumanising poverty that prevails in Katwe and places like it.'- NPR