Diepsloot chess players treated to inspirational film
MAGALIESSIG – Read about how young chess players were motivated and inspired to continue playing this intellectual game...
Spreading joy was the order of the day as 30 schoolchildren, who are from two Diepsloot schools and are enrolled in the Tsogo Sun Moves for Life Chess Academy, were recently treated to a screening of the film, Queen of Katwe at Movies@Monte in Montecasino.
The chess players enjoyed the film which is about 10-year-old Phiona Mutesi from Kampala, Uganda, whose life is completely changed by chess.
Read Delivering happiness to Diepsloot schoolchildren
The children from Reshomile and Muzomuhle primary schools, as well as six teachers from the respective schools, were treated to the film as part of Montecasino’s commitment to keeping them inspired to play chess.
The Tsogo Sun Moves for Life Chess Academy operates nationally in 57 schools with about 24 000 participating schoolchildren, 569 educators and 22 tutors from local communities. The programme in Diepsloot is sponsored by Montecasino and accommodates 3 791 school-goers from five different local primary schools.
“Queen of Katwe tells the story of the life of a young girl who lives in a slum in Katwe and is taught to play chess by a local missionary,” said Glenn Joseph, the general manager of Montecasino.
“She goes on to become a woman candidate master after an exceptional performance at the World Chess Olympiads, totally against the odds. We wanted to inspire the children in our chess programme to work hard at their chess and to dream big.”
Joseph added that the children were thrilled with the exciting outing and all insisted that they would devote greater attention and energy to their chess classes.
“Chess can make a difference to the cognitive and analytical abilities of youngsters through the mental discipline required in the game,” said Joseph. He concluded that the academy links chess principles to life skills, mathematics, science and language and works towards impacting the educational performance of as many children as possible by unlocking their full mental and social capabilities.
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