Tani Adewumi, the Nigerian refugee in the US who secured the NY State chess championship in 2019, has now won yet another competition to officially become a national chess master at 10.
Tani Adewumi is only 10 years old but he has just become a Chess National Master with a rating of 2223.
Nicholas Kristof, a columnist for New York Times who was one of Adewumi’s early admirers, confirmed the latest feat on Sunday.
It was gathered that the game the 5th grader played to snag the national title was that of the Chess Club of Fairfield County (CCFC). It was earlier billed to hold on May 1, with Adewumi listed as one of the players to compete.
It is an incredible achievement for anyone at that age, but made even more stunning by the story of the Nigerian refugee and his family.
Tani first made headlines when he won the New York State chess championship at the age of 8, after playing the game for only a year, while living with his refugee family in a homeless shelter.
According to the US chess federation, the national chess master title is for any player who reaches a “2200 rating”.
The US body overseeing chess competitions adds: “Less than one percent of rated players hold the title. An Original Life Master is a National Master who played 300 games with a rating of over 2200” points amassed from games.
Nicholas Kristof shared on social media the triumphant news of Tani’s latest win.
“Here’s a joyful update: Tani just won another championship, in Fairfield, CT, and is now (as a 10-year-old fifth grader) a Chess National Master with a rating of 2223”, Kristof posted on Facebook.
“In ‘Tightrope’, we wrote that Tani exemplifies the principle that ‘talent is universal, but opportunity is not’.
“He was able to soar because his homeless shelter was in a school district with a chess program, and the teacher realised that his family didn’t have resources and waived the chess club fees. We need more of that!”
Tani and his family fled Nigeria in 2017, fearing they would become the target of Boko Haram terrorists. The family obtained asylum and lived in a homeless shelter in Manhattan. During that time, the boy learned how to play chess at school.
The school chess coach saw the child’s potential and approached his family about joining the chess program. Fees were waived for Tani to join the club.
The young chess player went on to win several trophies and his story attracted attention globally.
A GoFundMe page had been set up for him and a total of $254,448 was raised in his name, which helped the chess prodigy and his family to move into an apartment.
Trevor Noah, South African TV host, was thereafter tapped to produce a movie which was to be adapted from three then-yet-to-be published books on how his family escaped terrorism to seek asylum in the US, against all odds.