A young Nigerian Kid by the name Tanitoluwa Adewumi has set an outstanding record of being the 28th youngest National Chess Master in the United States after beating all other competitors to bag more than the required 2200 points.
Tanitoluwa who is just 10 years old fled from Nigeria with his parent to the United States in 2017, lived in a homeless shelter located in New York City, United States.
The family flew to Dallas, Texas on a tourist visa they had previously secured. Shortly after, they moved to New York City, where a local pastor connected them with a homeless shelter. It was there that Tanitoluwa saw a chessboard for the first time.
“I thought, why not go for it? I liked the way the pieces moved, and how anything can happen at any moment,” Tani said. Just one year after he started playing chess, the brilliant Tanitoluwa won the United States National State chess championship, gaining him wide attention in the country.
Following his victory at the National Chess championship, Tanitoluwa and his family were able to launch a GoFundme account that garnered $254,000 from US citizens who were amazed by his brilliance.
The fund helped them move to a better home where they currently reside and gave Tanitoluwa the opportunity of becoming one of the chess world’s fastest rising stars. At the United States National Chess competition, Tanitoluwa earned a chess rating of 2,223.
The required points to be awarded champion is 2,200 which Tanitoluwa smashed with 3 points to spare.
Now, a grandmaster coach teaches Tani two or three times a week, according to a May 10 update on the GoFundMe page. But travel costs are still a challenge, and when Tani is invited to tournaments abroad, he often can’t go “while his immigration case is pending for fear he might not be allowed back into the United States.”
But his love of chess is “as strong as ever,” the page said.
“Tani’s talent has continued to blossom through hard work,” the U.S. Chess Federation said.
Tani has also since become an author.
His book, “My Name Is Tani … and I Believe in Miracles: The Amazing True Story of One Boy’s Journey from Refugee to Chess Champion,” tells the story of his family fleeing Boko Haram and coming to the U.S., where his father became a dishwasher and Uber driver and his mother cleaned buildings, according to the book’s summary.
“Eight-year-old Tani jumped into his new life with courage and perseverance – and an unusual mind for chess,” the book says. “After joining the chess club in his public school, Tani practiced his game for hours in the evenings at the shelter. And less than a year after he learned to play, Tani won the New York state chess championship.”
But Tani isn’t done yet. He’s set his sights on becoming the youngest grandmaster. According to International Chess Federation, he has two years to accomplish this: Sergey Karjakin, the current record-holder, achieved that status at 12 years and seven months.
On his GoFundMe page, people have left messages thanking Tani for inspiring them and encouraging him to continue to rise in the chess world.
“Tani’s story has touched so many, inspired us to be better, to love more, to try harder, and has tapped into the good that exists in all of us,” the GoFundMe page said.
