The Queen of Katwe Gambit still in a game for the Uganda chess players in Uganda

A well -known chess club in the hips of Uganda's capital, which has become the focus of the Hollywood movie Queen of Katwe, still produces champions – but is confronted with a daily struggle for survival.

Leaded by chess coach Robert Karende, played by actor David Oyelovo in the movie “Disney”, published in 2016, he still believes that despite the financial struggles he manages to change the life of the children to better through chess.

“We use chess as a teaching tool. To identify the potential of students and to direct them to their fate,” G -N Karede told the BBC on a visit to its Somchess academy in the tips, a poor neighborhood of the Campal.

Shortly after he graduated as a civil engineer, he first began voluntarily in the kats as a football coach before deciding on a chess – to start with a chessboard in 2004 and determination to help.

Within a year, nine-year-old Fiona Mutasi, who gave up school, joined up and continued to become a hassle of chess.

She took the title three times the national junior champion for junior women, competed in several prestigious international chess Olympiads and, by the age of 16, received a master of the candidate for a woman from the World Chess Federation.

It was her remarkable story told in the movie, as Oscar winner Lupita Nyongo plays her mother.

Catende says that her success came from sustainability and determination – and shows really the transformative power of Shah.

In addition, it continues to be the inspiration for many Mr Karende players, including 18-year-old Patricia Kauma.

“In addition to winning school scholarships, this game has taught me how to pass a passion and plan forward, and it is placing discipline and patience,” said two -time national chess chess chess champion to the BBC.

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

The money and sponsorship of the awards allowed her to pay for her own school fees, as well as for those of her brothers and sisters.

D -N Karede says more than 4,000 children have gone through his programs in the last two decades, some of which are ultimately doctors, engineers and lawyers.

His big impetus came after a book, published in 2012 by journalist Tim Kroths, for Da -Jia Mutasi caught Disney's eye.

When the film company decided to move forward and turn the book into a movie, she gave him a one -time grant of $ 50,000 (£ 36,000).

This allowed him to buy a property in a tank to headquarters in his academy and where he also led the Robert Karende initiative.

He managed to expand his chess club from sessions to sessions within the Ugandan prisons – to the poor neighborhoods in neighboring Kenya and Rwanda, as well as those in countries to Angola, Botswana, Camero and Malawi.

More than 2500 children and about 800 prisoners are currently in his programs that help them develop and make critical decisions, he says.

“Chess is a metaphor for life. There are challenges and surprises everywhere, but if you look carefully, you can find your way,” I told me the 43-year-old.

“A bad movement in chess means you will lose exactly the same with life.”

There is one move that the coach who worked on the movie “Queen of Katve” as a senior history consultant and trained the actors in his chess scenes did not predict.

Walt Disney made a loss of the movie – and this had consequences for growing chess projects.

He, D -Ja Mutes and the mother of chess chess, promised a significant share of all kinds of Disney's profits – 67%, he says.

But from his corporation it was said that after investing about $ 15 million (11 million pounds) in the drama directed by Mira Nir, she made only $ 10 million.

“The loss put me in a bad place because people think I hid some money,” said G -n Karende.

“Many people think I am a rich Hollywood chess trainer after the movie, but the difficult truth is that we will still take advantage of his profits.”

However, he says he is not bitter, as the film publishes his chess programs, attracting both local and international partners.

“If Disney hadn't made the movie, we wouldn't be where we were; I don't think we would be famous – and many other people have appeared on board to support our philosophy,” he said.

The glory of G -Ja Mutesi helped her win a scholarship at the Northwestern University in the United States in 2017 and now she works in Canada as a business analyst and is able to support her mother, who moved to their home village in front of Campal.

But the mission of G -N Karede faces huge financial challenges, as most of its partners have fallen after the coronavirus pandemic.

“We had to reduce operations and close some training centers. Before Covid, I had 14 employees, but now we have eight. I'm afraid we can release more staff due to financial restrictions,” he said.

Thousands of his players in Uganda should only be picked up for 120 chess boards due to lack of funds.

The current chess champion in Uganda, the 19 -year -old Giovanni Caszy – one of the Karede Proteges – has also been hit.

Karede's chess initiative is heading to his school and the teenager is able to reincarnate some well -wishers for additional chess training – but last year he missed an international tournament as he could not raise $ 400 for his air ticket.

“But I don't give up on chess, the game stimulates my mind and made me be very good at mathematics. It makes me think like a computer,” the young man told the BBC.

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

“We hope they will contact me if they break,” he said, adding that then the profits could start entering.