‘We’re raising sports stars!’

Inspired by the movie Queen of Katwe starring Academy award-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o, where she plays a young Ugandan girl whose life changes after she learns to play chess, Ofentse joined the school’s chess club in 2018. A year later, the eight year old had already earned her place in the Commonwealth Chess Championships in India and the World Cadet Chess Championships in China, both held in 2019. This made her the first chess player from her school, Charterhouse Primary, to be selected to represent South Africa in the China competition.

‘In China, where she was nominated as captain of the U8 team, she won three games and drew one. In the same year, she won all her games at the Inter Regional Chess Tournament and won four out of five games at the Joburg Open Chess Tournament. She also qualified for the Joburg Metro U10 girls A-team, which played at the South African Junior Chess Championships.

‘We’re really proud of Ofentse’s performance and achievements. She’s surprised us