IM Tani Adewumi
Bio
IM Tanitoluwa Emmanuel Adewumi (known as Tani Adewumi) is a Nigerian-born American international master. Adewumi made headlines when he won the 2019 New York State K-3 Chess Championship (the group for children between kindergarten and third grade) while living in a homeless shelter. Adewumi's family had fled Nigeria after receiving death threats from religious extremists and took refuge in New York in 2017. After The New York Times published his story, Adewumi became an international star and multiple people stepped in to help the young player thrive.
A chess prodigy, Adewumi quickly soared. In 2021, his rating increased from the 1700s to the 2100s. Adewumi became a national master and, just a few months later, earned his FIDE master title. His inspiring story continues to inspire people from all over the world, and multiple national and international media outlets picked up on his story. Below you can see one of Adewumi's early television appearances:
Adewumi became an international master in 2025. In July, he scored 11/13 to win the Biel Chess Festival Blitz tournament by a full point ahead of GM Mikhail Kobalia and FM Christian Gloeckler.
