Queen Catweight Gambit is still playing for the chess players of Uganda

A well -known chess club in the slum of the Uganda capital, which has become the focus of Queen Hollywood Cat, still produces champions – but faces daily struggle for survival.

He manages chess coach Robert Catend, played by actor David Oylovo in Disney’s film, released in 2016, he still believes that despite the financial struggle, he manages to change the lives of children for the better through chess.

“We use chess as a tool for teaching. To determine the potential of the students and send them to their destiny,” Mr. Katenda said in the BBC when visiting his Academy Somchez in a cath, a bad area of ​​Clas.

Shortly after the end of the engineer, he first began to voluntarily engage in the cat as a football coach before deciding on chess – to launch from a single chessboard in 2004 and a determination to help.

During the year, nine-year-old Fiona Mutesei, who abandoned the school, was joined by a checkered prodigy.

She welcomed the title of national champion of women -inningers three times, competed in several prestigious international chess Olympiads, and by 16 years she received a titular woman -master of the World Chess Federation.

It was her wonderful story that was told in the film when the winner of the Oscar played her mother.

Mr. Cababen says her success came out of sustainability and determination – and shows a truly transformation force of chess.

It also remains inspired for many Mr. Catend players, including 18-year-old Patricia Kawum.

“In addition to the scholarships that win the school, this game has taught me strategizing and planning forward, and it is a discipline and patience,” said the two-time BBC National Junior Chess Champion.

She also represented Uganda in two international tournaments and made money by winning chess competitions.

Prize money and sponsorship supported her to pay for her own school fees, as well as for her siblings.

Mr. Catende has said that over 4,000 children have passed their programs over the past two decades, and some have become doctors, engineers and lawyers.

His great incentive came after a book published in 2012 by journalists Tim Cerotes about Mrs. Mutey, Disney came to the eye.

When the film company decided to go forward and make a book in the movie, she gave it a one -time grant of $ 50,000 (36,000 pounds).

This allowed him to buy real estate at the cat’s headquarters and where he also pursues Robert Catende’s initiative.

He managed to extend his chess club with a caulk for classes in Ugandin prisons – and to slums in neighboring Kenya and Rwanda, as well as those who are in the countries, to Angola, Botswana, Cameroon and Malawi.

Currently, his programs contain more than 2500 children and about 800 prisoners who help them develop and make critical decisions, he says.

“Chess is a metaphor of life. There are problems and surprises everywhere, but if you look closely, you can find opportunities, you can find your way,” the 43-year-old guy told me.

“The bad step in chess means that you will lose your life.”

There is one step that the coach who worked on the movie Queen Katwa as a senior plot consultant, and did not predict the actors in his chess scenes.

Walt Disney has made a movie loss – and it had the consequences for its overgrown chess projects.

He, Mrs. Mutey and mother -in -the -art champion, received a promise of a significant share of any Disney’s income – 67%, he says.

But the corporation told him that after investing about $ 15 million ($ 11 million), director Mira Naire, she made only $ 10 million.

“The loss put me in a bad place because people think I hid the money,” Mr. Katenda said.

“Many think that I am a wealthy chess coach after the film after the film, but the difficult truth is that we still have to use his income.”

However, he says not bitter when the movie has announced its chess programs, attracting both local and international partners.

“If Disney did not make a movie, we wouldn’t be where we are; I don’t think we will be known – and many other people came on board to support our philosophy,” he said.

Ms Metsei’s glory helped her win the scholarship at the North Western University in the United States in 2017, and she is now working in Canada as a business -analyst and can support her mother who returned to her home village outside Clas.

But Mr. Catende’s mission faces huge financial problems as most of his partners have fallen from the coroner pandemic.

“We had to increase operations and close some training centers. Before I had 14 employees, but now we have eight. I am afraid we can release more employees from the financial restrictions,” he said.

Thousands of its Uganda players should only fight for 120 chess boards.

Uganda’s current junior chess champion, 19 -year -old Jovan Cososi – one of Mr. Catende protesters – was also amazed.

The Katende chess initiative pays for his training, and the teenager was able to periodically overcome the craudfund from some friendly chess training classes – but last year he missed the international tournament because he could not raise $ 400 for his air ticket.

“But I do not give up chess, the game stimulates my mind, and it made me be very good in math. It makes me think like a computer,” said the BBC young man.

D -Catund is equally optimistic, saying it can be a long game when it comes to Disney.

“Hopefully, they will get to me if they will even break,” he said, adding that the profits could start then.