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Tani Adewumi fled Nigeria at age 6. He lived in a homeless shelter at age 7. He became a chess champion in the U.S. at age 8. The Adewumis welcomed me into their lives wholeheartedly via zoom. Here is their wonderful story
@espn: https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/29195851/from-homeless-refugee-chess-prodigy-9-year-old-dreams-becoming-youngest-grandmaster
@espn: https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/29195851/from-homeless-refugee-chess-prodigy-9-year-old-dreams-becoming-youngest-grandmaster
Tani is wise beyond his years, & he said something that completely stopped me in my tracks: "In chess, it doesn't matter if you're black or white; if you attack and defend well, you have an equal chance of winning - & that's what's so beautiful about it." https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/29195851/from-homeless-refugee-chess-prodigy-9-year-old-dreams-becoming-youngest-grandmaster
The family faced repeated attack by members of Boko Haram. It all started in December 2016: https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/29195851/from-homeless-refugee-chess-prodigy-9-year-old-dreams-becoming-youngest-grandmaster
When they settled into a homeless shelter in Manhattan and Tani began going to school, he learned chess during a class session. His coach had asked him to finish 50 chess puzzles that week. Tani finished 500. Then, he began memorizing 19th century matches.
Then, he up and won the NY State championship. A @gofundme page was set up to raise money to get them out of the shelter. It raised $260,000. Then, a donor offered to pay their rent for a year. They were out of the homeless shelter. Then, Bill Clinton wanted to meet Tani.
Soon, @paramountnet @Trevornoah are making a movie out of their lives.
This is a story of a chess prodigy. This is also a story of immigration, courage, perseverance & untiring optimism. I poured my heart into this story, I hope you spend some time on it https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/29195851/from-homeless-refugee-chess-prodigy-9-year-old-dreams-becoming-youngest-grandmaster
This is a story of a chess prodigy. This is also a story of immigration, courage, perseverance & untiring optimism. I poured my heart into this story, I hope you spend some time on it https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/29195851/from-homeless-refugee-chess-prodigy-9-year-old-dreams-becoming-youngest-grandmaster
Thank you SO much @arthsusie for your thoughtfulness and care with this story, you make every story I write so much better. Thank you @JenaJ34 for being patient and kind and positive through the process. You guys are the best.
One of the big challenges of reporting such a nuanced, complicated story filled with details was not being able to do it in person. I wanted so badly to visit their home, spend time with them. But, we had to settle for zoom and FaceTime. https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/29195851/from-homeless-refugee-chess-prodigy-9-year-old-dreams-becoming-youngest-grandmaster
