Homeless Nigerian becomes a chess master in America at the age of 10

A New York Times columnist, Nicholas Kristof, revealed the development via a thread on his Twitter handle, stating that Tani who is a 10-year-old 5th grader has won a championship and had officially become a Chess Master.

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! pic.twitter.com/mbDCAGiFHb

— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) May 2, 2021

In 2019, Adewunmi, whose family had left Nigeria for the United State over the Boko Haram crisis, made the headlines after winning the 2019 New York chess championship while living in a homeless center on religious asylum.

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.