A victory story: from Christian refugee to homeless to chess champion

The kindness of a teacher has led to a formerly homeless 10-year-old boy celebrating a chess championship and a new home.

Tanitoluwa Adewumi, more commonly known by his nickname “Tani”, has become one of the youngest official Chess National Masters with a score of 2223. 

In 2017, Tani and his family fled their home country of Nigeria after being persecuted as Christians. They ended up in Manhattan where they started off in a homeless shelter. That is where Tani was introduced to chess for the first time. 

Tani's father Kayode Adewumi gives all the glory of this amazing feat and where they are as a family, to God. 

"It can only be God! Tanitoluwa Adewumi (Tani) features again in New York Times on his achievements as he became Chess National Master at age 10," posted Adewumi to his Facebook page. 

When Tani initially was living in the shelter, a local pastor helped enroll him in the elementary school nearby. 

According to Good News Network, Tani's teacher also taught a chess club at the school. When Tani could not afford to pay the program fees, his teacher Russell Makofsky waived the costs and welcomed the youngster into the club. 

The same teacher was kind enough to set up a GoFundMe for the whole family, and because of this, the Adewumi family get into their own home in Conneticut. 

Tani is the first competitor ever to win a state championship on his first try.