Game of Her Life by Tim Crothers - Essay Example

Game of Her Life by Tim Crothers Tim Crothers follows Phiona Mutesi, a 14 year-old chess prodigy from a slum in Uganda, to deliver this inspiring story Game of Her Life, which centers on inspiration from chess. Phiona Mutesi had never heard of chess before, and as fate would have it, pangs of hunger lead her to a game that she says, “Is a lot like my life” (Crothers 157). In this regard, she plays and uses chess to help her solve the problems in her life due to her insecure environment. Hunger led Phiona to a rickety church where she saw children of her age playing with pieces on tattered boards.

In effect, this collapsing church became her solace from the conditions at Katwe. Three national championships in a row and six years after setting foot in Agape Church, Phiona has become a sensation to the extent of “juggling three matches and dominating them” (Crothers 156). In addition, her face gives no clue that she was leaving to Russia for the Chess Olympiad, which is a world unbeknown. Evidently, Phiona has overcome various odds to achieve her status. In this case, “Phiona Mutesi is the ultimate underdog.

To be African is to be an underdog in the world. To be a Ugandan is to be an undergone in Africa. To be from Katwe is to be an underdog in Uganda. And finally, to be female is to be an underdog Katwe” (Crothers 157). Although she has all these odds against her, Phiona goes about her business of playing chess the best way she knows the moment she enters the competition arena in Khanty-Mansiysk, Siberia. In conclusion, Tim Crothers’ Game of Her Life is an interesting and inspiring read. In this regard, Crothers immersion into Phiona’s life delivers a profound insight into Phiona’s life based upon the two worlds that she inhabits.

Indeed, Crothers spent time in Uganda with Phiona and flew with the Ugandan chess team Russia. In this case, he becomes a part of Phiona’s life and hence the insightful piece of work full of inspiration as the central theme. Work Cited Crothers, Tim. “Game of Her Life.” The Best American NonRequired Reading 2011. Ed. Dave Eggers. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011. Print.