The Chess Queen of Africa : Account Intro : -context : release of the film based on a book / a striking biography : a girl from one of the poorest places in Africa who became a chess champion Or : latest OG, team refugee : story of success through sports / here, similar context of poverty and change through "sports" -Source + author : went to Katwe to meet Phiona, the narrator of the story and a witness / a protagonist ; author of a book about this meeting -Topic : Phiona's life / a rags-to riches story I-Information about Phiona & her mentor, Robert Katende (life stories) Robert : no idea when he was born / illegitimate child -mother too young to raise him / was raised by his grandmother lived with him mum in the slum before she died (a chaotic childhood) became someone /accomplished something thanks to sports, football football coach / some children didn't like football so he funded a chess club Phiona : was born in Katwe (a huge slum in the capital city in Uganda) no idea when she was born either (about 20 years ago) nearly died twice when she was a child (malaria) her father (Aids) and older sister(unknown disease) died when she was 3 dropped out of school at the age of 9 / when she started playing chess, could neither read nor write ( she was illiterate) poor living conditions throughout her childhood (in a 9-square-meter shack) her brother led her to chess ; quickly became Uganda's champion II-How chess changed Phiona’s life : -discoveries /trips: went to Sudan and Russia for tournaments first hotel night, first personal bed, first chosen meal, first shower, first flight =modern comfort / lifestyle (what we take for granted) was defeated by a grandmaster = encouraging for her also discovered that Katwe was like a prison for her
-living standard : she doesn't live in the slum anymore ; still living in Uganda, but in a new home / earned money thanks to the book and the movie Currently studying in a boarding school (last year in high school) ; she is about to graduate -ambitions : wants to go to Harvard because in Uganda, no one can train her to a higher level in the aim of becoming a grandmaster
Transition : What are the main points of the article? What was the author’s objective in writing this article? - Everyone has to take their chances ; one's background doesn't define a person; objective : to inspire others ; inform about an African girl who has an exceptional talent Commentary : Adichie’s idea : “If I had not grown up in Nigeria, and if all I knew about Africa were from popular images, I too would think that Africa was a place of beautiful landscapes, beautiful animals, and incomprehensible people, fighting senseless wars, dying of poverty and Aids, unable to speak for themselves, and waiting to be saved by a kind, white foreigner” Does this apply to Queen of Katwe or this article, or the author ? yes ‘Dying of aids and poverty’ : Phiona's father / sister Poverty : Phiona herself almost died twice/ the coach was badly injured / all slum kids ‘unable to speak for themselves’ : illeteracy -international chess community is "Western" : has to go to the US to become a grandmaster - the author of the book is an American author, who tells somebody else's story, a person who had never learned to speak for herself -focused on the slums/ not representative of Uganda : gives one version of the country as a poor, crime-ridden place
no - the coach is neither white nor foreign, also a slum kid - the story is rather balanced, a wide range of information -not about the natural resources /landscapes of Africa : only about people - shows Phiona is now making her own decisions - a positive story of success - Phiona was an inspiration for US children, who had never played chess (roles reversed : she brought something to the US, she was the teacher) - the movie team is rather diverse and representative of the people pictured in the story (not a typical US production ?)
