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The Nigerian refugee became the 28th youngest person in the U.S. to earn the title.
Published 16 hours ago
Written by Paul Meara
Tanitoluwa “Tani” Adewumi became the 28th youngest person in the country to achieve the title of National Chess Master on May 1.
Per the U.S. Chess Federation, the 10-year-old achieved the highest ranking in chess after he and his family fled Nigeria and moved out of a New York City homeless shelter. During an interview with
NPR, Tani said, I was very happy that I won and that I got the title. I really love that I finally got it.
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A 10-year-old refugee named Tani Adewumi has just earned an elite ranking in the world of chess, winning the title of National Chess Master.
Just a few years ago, little Tani had a very uncertain future as a refugee whose homeless family had fled to the U.S. to escape from an Islamic terrorist death threat in Nigeria.
Now, he has just won all four of his matches at the Fairfield County Chess Club Championship tournament in Connecticut. The U.S. Chess Federation says that victory on May 1st earned him the title of chess master , making him the 28th youngest person to achieve that high ranking.
Tanitoluwa Adewumi,10, from New York City, is America s newest national chess master. | Facebook/Kayode Adewumi
Tanitoluwa Adewumi, a once-homeless Christian refugee in New York City who fled persecution with his family from Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram in Nigeria, is now America’s newest national chess master at the age of 10. And he and his family are thanking God for the achievement.
“Our God has done it again today. Tanitoluwa won Chess Club of Fairfield Connecticut championship,” the prodigy’s father, Kayode Adewumi, announced earlier this month in a post on Facebook showing his son, affectionately called Tani, gleefully holding two trophies. Earning that win on May 1 gave the 10-year-old his newest chess ranking.
Tanitoluwa Adewumi overcomes homelessness to become chess master
His family has gotten young Adewumi a coach to help him reach his goal of becoming youngest chess grandmaster ever.
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Tanitoluwa Adewumi, at 10 years old, has become America’s newest national chess master, the 28th youngest person to achieve the status, according to the U.S. Chess Federation.
However, one of the most inspirational aspects of Adewumi’s story is that he once lived in a homeless shelter. His family left northern Nigeria in 2017 and, upon moving to New York, lived in the Manhattan-based shelter, and the boy learned to play chess at school.