The year was 2019. It was the semifinals of the 52nd Annual New York State Scholastic Championships (kindergarten-3rd grade division). Eight year old Tanitoluwa Adewumi was playing aggressively - till the fourth game.
Then Tani made a move that stunned his coach Shawn Martinez, his opponent, and the onlookers. He sacrificed his bishop - purposely - for a pawn!
That was a risk that made coach Martinez confused. Tani’s sacrifice of the bishop seemed a blunder, but young Tani knew what he was getting at.
The eight-year-old had his lesson on the legendary Paul Morphy and his 19th century game clear in his mind. He knew that if he could lure his opponent with the bishop, he could win the game.
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By the time his opponent realized the bait, Tani was on his way to the championship with an immaculate record!
When Martinez later fed the position into an automated chess engine for analysis, it confirmed that the sacrifice of the bishop was the strongest move the player could afford in Tani’s situation! It was something most players wouldn’t have dared to attempt.
The move was aggressively brave and bold.
But being aggressively brave is a lesson that life taught little Tani in his homeland in Nigeria.
From Homeless to Chess Champion
Tanitoluwa Adewumi made national headlines in 2019 when won the K-3 New York State Chess Championship for his age group – hardly a year after he had his first chess lesson.
Tani had left northern Nigeria, his homeland in 2017 to flee from the violent attacks on Christian families by Boko Haram. Tani’s family sought religious asylum in the U.S. and like the other refugees, their life in the new country began in a shelter for the homeless in Manhattan.
A local pastor from Queens, Philip Falayi, helped them with accommodation and also introduced them to the New York City Department of Homeless Services. With the pastor’s help Tani also joined a local elementary school.
It was at the school that Tani’s fascination for chess began. When one of his teachers, Russell Makofsky, introduced chess to his class, Tani was drawn to the game like metal to the magnet. The teacher, who was also in charge of the chess club at the school, went lenient with Tani’s program fees and helped him join the club.
It was hardly a year since Tani began a new life with his parents and brother in a homeless shelter in New York after fleeing Nigeria. And when he arrived he could hardly differ between a pawn and a rook. And by March 2019, the eight-year-old became the state champion. As his chess teacher Makofsky remarked, it was rather strange for any kid, let alone one who is homeless.
New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, who himself is the son of a refugee, published an article on Tani that brought the young refugee boy worldwide attention. Kristoff’s articles on Tani helped raise a whopping US$254,000 under the family’s fundraiser GoFundMe, helping them move to better lodging.
Soon after his title win, Tani visited the Saint Louis Chess Club (Missouri) where the U.S Chess Championship was being held. Little Tani had the opportunity to engage in a friendly 5-minutes-each blitz game with some of the grandmasters including Hikaru Nakamura, Jennifer Yu and Fabiano Caruana.
Young Tani is obsessed with chess. He reads books on chess, studies famous chess masters, and loves playing chess games online. Tani stated that he practises chess daily for 10 0r 11 hours, after school.
The ability of his brain to think 20 moves ahead on an 8-by-8 chessboard amazes even his own coach Martinez who believes that the boy is wired for greater conquers.
Today Tani is coached by a grandmaster. Tani cannot travel outside the United States for tournaments as his immigration case is still pending. The young champion dreams of becoming the world’s youngest grandmaster.
I Believe in Miracles...
On 14th April 2020, Tani’s biography was published. The book is titled, "My Name Is Tani... And I believe in Miracles - The Amazing True Story of One Boy's Journey from Refugee to Chess Champion".
It narrates the story of the refugee boy’s escape from the hands of Boko Haram, the struggles of his early days in the United States and his journey from nothingness to crowning glory.
The 10-year-old who became America’s newest Chess Master on 1st May 2021 with an impressive rating of 2223 (one needs 2200 Elo rating to win the master title), is the 28th youngest person to gain the title as per the U.S. Chess Federation.
Currently, in international chess, 9 year old IM Abhi Mishra, holds the title. For Adewumi, his master title came earlier than his prodigy predecessors like GM Ray Robson (11 years, 2 months, 28 days), GM Fabiano Caruana (10 years, 11 months, 29 days), and IM Carissa Yip (11 years, 5 months, 18 days).
To get to his crown, young Tani had to cross three hurdles : beat two experts, one master as well as an international master, as per the Chess Federation.
As columnist Kristof tweeted, Tani is a reminder that more than talent, the right opportunity nourishes a prodigy.
Read more about the recent attempts from the master minds of the chess world to prune young talents.
Winding Up
Tani has beautifully ascertained that in the game of chess, nothing else matters: neither your skin colour, race, religion nor roots. Coach Martinez puts it wisely, “chess honours intelligence, character and how much you invest in it.”
For the ancient board game, black or white is all about where you place your piece - the squares you advance through. All those who get their feet firm in attack and defense, and at times, sacrifice bravely, stand equal chances of winning!
And as Tani observes, that is what makes chess so beautiful.