Chess champ Phiona Mutesi
Ugandan chess prodigy Phiona Mutesi stops by Friday to chat about her journey from the slums of Katwe to becoming an international chess star.
At 9, Mutesi learned chess, through the Sports Outreach Institute.
Welcome to SportsNation! On Friday, chess prodigy Phiona Mutesi stops by to chat about her journey from the slums of Katwe, Uganda to becoming a Woman Candidate Master in chess. The book "The Queen of Katwe" by Tim Crothers tells her story in depth.
Mutesi is believed to be 16, but no official birth records exist in Katwe. Her reality in Katwe is that about half of teenaged girls are mothers and her father died from AIDS when she was around 3 years old.
Through chess, Mutesi has won three Uganda women's junior championships, one national championship and made two appearances at the Chess Olympiads, where the world's greatest players compete. Her first Olympiad experience was chronicled by Crothers in his ESPN The Magazine story, which was the catalyst for the book.
Send your questions now and join Mutesi Friday at 10 a.m. ET!
More Special Guests: Previous chats | SportsNation
CHAT LINEUP
Friday, December 07
- 10:00 AMChess champ Phiona Mutesi Live chat page »
- 11:00 AMNHL with Pierre LeBrun
- 11:15 AMFantasy's Stephania Bell
- 12:00 PMHornsNation's Sean Adams
- 12:00 PMBoxing with Dan Rafael
- 12:00 PMKnicks with Ian Begley
- 1:00 PMNFL with Pat Yasinskas
- 1:00 PMNittanyNation's Moyer
- 2:00 PMHuskyNation's Mason Kelley
- 2:00 PMJets with Rich Cimini
- 3:00 PMGeauxTigerNation's Laney
- 3:00 PMCowboys with Calvin Watkins
- 4:00 PMChuck Mindenhall on MMA
FROM BUZZMASTER'S DESK
Kobe Bryant hit the 30,000 point mark in his career, something only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain have done. It got me to thinking, is there anything I've done that well 30,000 times?
OVERHEARD
“Matt, who benefits from the long break more, Alabama or Notre Dame? Why?
” -- Mark B. (Los Angeles)
“Mark, it's essentially the same for both, but I'll say Alabama just because Nick Saban has been through this a couple of times before and has had success each time, so he probably has a better feel for this.
” -- Matt Fortuna, Notre Dame blogger
SportsNation
JUST BOOKED!
Chess Champ Phiona Mutesi!
Phiona Mutesi's journey has taken her from the slums of Uganda to a championship level chess player. She chats on Friday. Send questions! »
FEATURED CHAT TRANSCRIPTS!
-
- Gabby Douglas
- The teen gymnastics gold medalist is having a blast post-London Games.
-
- Craig Custance
- The players/owners-only meeting is a huge moment in the NHL's lockout.
-
- Michael Wilbon
- The Lakers' problems run deeper than just having Steve Nash on the sidelines.
-
- Dick Vitale
- 20 years later, Dick Vitale still keeps the memories of his friend Jimmy V fresh.