10-year-old Nigerian refugee becomes National Chess Master in the US

A 10-year-old Nigerian refugee in the US identified as Tani Adewumi is officially the National Chess Master.

Tani fled with his family from Nigeria to the US during the Boko Haram crisis. Afterward, he came into the limelight in 2019 after winning the 2019 New York Chess Championship while living in a homeless center on religious asylum.

However, Tani’s success has been consistent as it was announced earlier in the year that he was set to compete in the Chess Club of Fairfield County (CCFC).

The competition was held on May 1 and Tani won the national title.

Nicholas Kristof, a columnist for New York Times, confirmed Tani’s latest feat on Twitter.

Here’s what he tweeted;

Remember Tani Adewumi, the Nigerian refugee kid I wrote about 2 years ago who won the NY State chess championship while in a homeless shelter? Now well housed (thanks to you readers!), he just won a championship and is officially a National Chess Master as a 10-yr-old 5th grader!