Young Nigerian kid becomes US chess master at 10 years old, sets outstanding record

Tanitoluwa Adewumi, a young Nigerian child, set a remarkable record by becoming the 28th youngest National Chess Master in the United States after defeating all rivals and earning more than the necessary 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.

Tanitoluwa and his family were able to start a GoFundMe account after he won the National Chess Championship, and Americans who were in awe of his talent donated $254,000 to it.

The money from the fund allowed them to relocate to a better place to live and offered Tanitoluwa the chance to become one of the game of chess’s quickest rising stars. Tanitoluwa received a chess rating of 2,223 at the US National Chess Championship.

Tanitoluwa beat the benchmark of 2,200 points needed to be named champion by 3 points.

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