Tani Adewumi Secures IM Title At 14, Aims For Grandmaster Next
On the road to the grandmaster title, IM-elect Tani Adewumi has only one stop left. In round five of the tournament NYC Chess Norms Spring 2025, the 14-year-old crossed 2400 by live rating and thus completed the final requirement for the international master title. He already has four IM norms. Once the title is confirmed by the FIDE Council, Adewumi will have the second-highest title in chess.
[Updated on April 1]: Adewumi won the tournament despite losses in round six and nine, after he had already clinched the title.
Standings After 9 Rounds
It's been five years since the New York Times's original piece about Adewumi, when he won his section of the New York State Scholastic Primary Championship shortly after learning how the pieces moved. He lived at a homeless shelter in Manhattan with his family at the time, and his story gathered massive national attention. Thanks to a gofundme.com page, his family raised over $250,000 (way more than the initial goal of $50,000) and moved out of the shelter.
The Nigerian-American teenager published a book about his journey the same year, titled My Name Is Tani . . . and I Believe in Miracles. Several celebrities, including former U.S. President Bill Clinton, have met with and cheered for him along the way.
He has battled with the best players in New York City, like IM Levy Rozman, whom he defeated in the clip below.
Adewumi also participated alongside the world's best players, including number-one GM Magnus Carlsen, in the 2024 FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championships in New York. He scored 7/13 in the Rapid and 7/13 in Blitz, outperforming his rating in both.
He earned the national master title in 2021 (beating this author in the last game of the tournament). He then became a FIDE Master in 2022 and broke the 2300-rating threshold at the same tournament he earned his first IM norm, at age 11. Adewumi earned three norms in New York round-robin tournaments and one more at the 15th annual Southwest Class Championship, a super-Swiss.
It's been a while since his last norm, which he earned over a year ago. Since then he'd oscillated around the 2350 rating mark. Once, he hit 2386 but then immediately dropped 70 points. On Saturday night, he finally crossed the threshold.
Early on, he expressed the strong desire to earn the grandmaster title, and it is now the next target in his crosshairs. Adewumi will have to earn three grandmaster norms and cross the 2500-rating barrier. Two African Americans have achieved the milestone before: GMs Maurice Ashley and Brewington Hardaway.
It's enough to hit the rating requirement during a tournament, so on Saturday night Adewumi crossed 2400 when he defeated GM Oliver Barbosa. He'd won four out of his first five games, with just one draw.
Tani has reached the 2400 rating requirement for the IM title, and he already has the norms under his belt!
— chess24 (@chess24com) March 30, 2025
He needs 7/9 to earn a grandmaster norm. https://t.co/LyayC1ks8L pic.twitter.com/SBPZd7JDXG
That win against Barbosa was a tough battle, as Adewumi had just 30 seconds left for the rest of the game (plus a 30-second increment) against his opponent's nearly seven minutes. When Barbosa went for a counter-attack against the white king, though, it fell short and it was Adewumi who crashed through.
His game from round one against the aggressive IM Josiah Stearman was also a nice defensive effort. Adewumi was well prepared, as he hadn't spent any time thinking until move 19. When his opponent threw the kitchen sink, he defended with razor-sharp accuracy.
Adewumi went on two score 1.5 points in the last four rounds. If he had gained one more point to finish on 7/9, he would have also earned his first grandmaster norm.
Tani's father, Kayode, responded to an email for comment with the following:
The Adewumi family is deeply grateful to God for His mercy. He has been with us from the very beginning, even when we were living in a homeless shelter. We trust that He will guide Tanitoluwa to reach the Grandmaster level soon. We feel truly blessed to have God by our side. Thank you to everyone, near and far, for the love and support you continually show my son.
Tani wrote that "The IM title means a lot as it is my next step in my GM journey and "I didn't really celebrate when I crossed 2400 or even after the tournament, because the job is not done yet." Asked if he surprised himself by jumping over 2400 so quickly in one event, he wrote: "I played my best chess and got a great result after the 5th round and God helped me in all 
".
... the job is not done yet.
—Tani Adewumi
Adewumi is a ChessKid ambassador and has hosted his own show, Tani Time, on the website. ChessKid has covered his ascent in articles like this one. Most recently, he participated in the latest episode of Kids vs. Stars in a simultaneous exhibition against GM Daniel Naroditsky. A young student of chess himself, he inspires other kids to improve their game as well.
Chess.com has reached out to Adewumi's father and will add reactions from Tani and his family when received. The tournament is still ongoing.
Previous Coverage:
- Tani Adewumi Wins His 1st National Championship
- Tennis Legend Roger Federer Encounters Chess Prodigy Tani
- 12-Year-Old Master Tani Adewumi Granted Asylum in U.S.
- Tani Adewumi Earns Second IM Norm, Strives For Youngest GM Record
- Tani Adewumi Makes New Headlines Becoming National Master At 10
