8-Year-Old Homeless Nigerian Refugee Crowned New York Chess Champion

AP tom gannam
AP Photo/Tom Gannam

There’s an infinite number of strategies and moves that one can employ to win at chess. And, as we saw this past weekend, there’s a wide variety of people who can have success employing those strategies and using them to win.

Enter, Tanitoluwa Adewumi.

“Tani,” as he is known, is an 8-year-old Nigerian refugee who lives in a Manhattan homeless shelter with his family. Despite having only learned to play chess a year ago, he won the kindergartner through third grade chess championship in New York last weekend. Not only did Tani win the championship, he did so with an undefeated record.

According to the Hill:

The Adewumis, including Tani, his parents and older brother, reportedly arrived in New York after fleeing Nigeria in 2017 due to fear of terror attacks from the group Boko Haram.

Tani learned chess with his classmates at New York’s P.S. 116, and joined the school’s chess club. The club’s organizer waived the fees for Tani because of his family’s financial situation. Though he started out as the lowest-rated member of the club, he quickly improved and is now bringing his school statewide recognition, according to the newspaper.

P.S. 116’s principal, Jane Hsu, told the Times that Tani’s win is ‘an inspiring example of how life’s challenges do not define a person,’ and credited the third-grader’s supportive parents despite being homeless.

The Adewumis have applied for asylum, and are reportedly set for an immigration hearing in August. The hearing will take place just three months after Tani competes at the elementary national chess championship.

 Russ Makofsky, who runs the chess club that Tani plays in, has launched a GoFundMe to support the Adewumis.

Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter @themightygwinn

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