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Phiona Mutesi ‘Queen of Katwe’ leads University chess team to championship.

Phiona Mutesi commonly known as “Queen of Katwe”, recently helped Northwest University win the Pan-American Intercollegiate Chess Championships in its first season.

Northwest University chess team.

This after Northwest swept Oberlin College 4-0. Oberlin had previously won the championships for the past four years.
The Northwest team faced stiff competition to earn the trophy, playing opposite college chess clubs from Columbia University, Arizona State University, Tecnologico Nacional de Mexico, University of Maryland-Baltimore County, Oberlin College, and University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.

There was no match for Northwest who had two Ugandans playing on board one and two. First-year student Mutesi played on Board 2 and won three matches while drawing another. Fellow compatriot Ben Mukumbya also registered three wins on Board 1.

Teammates Andrew Uptain (first-year transfer) and freshman Walter Borbridge also contributed wins to the team’s success.

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