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| © Courtesy HarperCollins Tani Adewumi, whose family fled Nigeria, became a competitive chess player after his family moved to New York. He has written a book, which publishes in April, about his experiences. |
By Lela Nargi, The Washington Post
Nine-year-old Tani Adewumi doesn’t remember being interested in many games for the first few years of his life. That changed when his older brother, Austin, showed him how to play chess
“I liked it because he taught me,” Tani said of Austin, who is now 16.
Playing on a homemade board at their house in the West African country of Nigeria, with cutout paper pieces, Tani and Austin’s games may not have met official chess regulations. But they paved the way for Tani to become a chess champion.
In 2017, Tani and his brother and their parents fled their home country. A terrorist group called Boko Haram was threatening the family. The Adewumis eventually wound up in New York City, where they lived in a homeless shelter. It was safe there, but their rooms were small and dark, and the shelter had a lot of rules.
Nine-year-old Tani Adewumi doesn’t remember being interested in many games for the first few years of his life. That changed when his older brother, Austin, showed him how to play chess
“I liked it because he taught me,” Tani said of Austin, who is now 16.
Playing on a homemade board at their house in the West African country of Nigeria, with cutout paper pieces, Tani and Austin’s games may not have met official chess regulations. But they paved the way for Tani to become a chess champion.
In 2017, Tani and his brother and their parents fled their home country. A terrorist group called Boko Haram was threatening the family. The Adewumis eventually wound up in New York City, where they lived in a homeless shelter. It was safe there, but their rooms were small and dark, and the shelter had a lot of rules.
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| © Courtesy HarperCollins Tani sits with his mom, Oluwatoyin, his dad, Kayode, and his brother, Austin. The family came to the United States because of a threat in Nigeria from a terrorist group called Boko Haram. |
There was a bright spot to all this, though. P.S. 116, Tani’s new school, offered chess lessons. Tani wasn’t too excited about them at first; they weren’t like the chess he played with Austin.
“You might lose when you start and think, ‘This game is bad,’ ” Tani says. “But if you focus, you will start to understand and stick with it.”
Tani stuck with it long enough to be invited to join a chess club. He then got good enough to compete at tournaments.
In 2019, he beat 73 other young players in his division to win the New York State chess championship. As cool as that was, the championship also got people interested in his story. After Tani was interviewed for the New York
“You might lose when you start and think, ‘This game is bad,’ ” Tani says. “But if you focus, you will start to understand and stick with it.”
Tani stuck with it long enough to be invited to join a chess club. He then got good enough to compete at tournaments.
In 2019, he beat 73 other young players in his division to win the New York State chess championship. As cool as that was, the championship also got people interested in his story. After Tani was interviewed for the New York
Times about his win, people started donating money to help his parents. Soon they moved into their own apartment. And in April, Tani’s book about his life, called “My Name Is Tani . . . and I Believe in Miracles,” will be published.
Tani now has a chess rating of 2,059; that means he’s getting close to the master rating of about 2,200. To get there, he’ll continue to play chess seven days a week, for as many as 3½ hours a day. He can do a lot of his practice on a computer or by reading books. So having to stay home from school and chess club because of the coronavirus pandemic isn’t slowing him down.
What does he like to do aside from play chess?
“Sleep,” Tani says.
He also likes to read Geronimo Stilton books and play Word Search on his mom’s smartphone. He likes Nigerian food most, especially the country’s national dish, jollof rice, which is made with tomatoes and spices. But while living in New York, he’s become a fan of Chinese fried rice.
“It’s not like jollof rice at all, but it tastes good,” he says.
Tani is happy to report that he and Austin still play chess — although a few things have changed. They now have a real board and pieces. And Austin almost always loses to his little brother.
Tani now has a chess rating of 2,059; that means he’s getting close to the master rating of about 2,200. To get there, he’ll continue to play chess seven days a week, for as many as 3½ hours a day. He can do a lot of his practice on a computer or by reading books. So having to stay home from school and chess club because of the coronavirus pandemic isn’t slowing him down.
What does he like to do aside from play chess?
“Sleep,” Tani says.
He also likes to read Geronimo Stilton books and play Word Search on his mom’s smartphone. He likes Nigerian food most, especially the country’s national dish, jollof rice, which is made with tomatoes and spices. But while living in New York, he’s become a fan of Chinese fried rice.
“It’s not like jollof rice at all, but it tastes good,” he says.
Tani is happy to report that he and Austin still play chess — although a few things have changed. They now have a real board and pieces. And Austin almost always loses to his little brother.
Learn how to play
Are you interested in learning to play chess? Tani says these are the most important parts of the game:
Thinking: Focus on your own moves, which moves your opponent might make, and “how to do your own plan,” Tani says.
Strategy: Figuring out what your plan is going to be is everything. All those hours of playing chess games on the computer and reading chess books can really help.
Calculating: According to Tani, “You need to learn to ‘see’ what your opponent’s ideas are.”
Most of all, says Tani, “If you love this game 100 percent, you are going to be good at it.”
Thinking: Focus on your own moves, which moves your opponent might make, and “how to do your own plan,” Tani says.
Strategy: Figuring out what your plan is going to be is everything. All those hours of playing chess games on the computer and reading chess books can really help.
Calculating: According to Tani, “You need to learn to ‘see’ what your opponent’s ideas are.”
Most of all, says Tani, “If you love this game 100 percent, you are going to be good at it.”
