Structure

Queen of Katwe is divided into a prologue and three sections. The three sections are named after the three stages of a chess game: Opening, Middlegame, and Endgame. As such, the structure of a chess game is mirrored in the structure of the book itself. Chess serves as a template for this story both structurally and narratively.

The Prologue plunges readers into the middle of the story with Phiona's trip to Russia. The prologue foreshadows her chess success and some of the opportunities it provides her. It also combines regular narrative prose with excerpts from Phiona's diary. These diary entries provide structural context by including the date of events, but they also serve to develop Phiona's character as she recounts her story in her own voice. The prologue is somewhat unique in this way since the rest of the book as a whole will only include one...