At eight-years-old, Tanitoluwa Adewumi was already a ‘Champion’ after winning the K-3 New York State Chess Championship after playing the game for only one year.

The Nigerian-born schoolboy, who began playing the game just to pass the time whilst sitting in his father’s shop in Abuja, was beating all before him from the get-go.

It was after his father, Kayode, who ran a print shop in his homeland and accountant mother, Oluwatoyin, took him and his brother, Adesina Austin, immigrated to the United States – having (being Christians) sought religious asylum amid the political turmoil being undertaken back home by the Boko Haram organisation.

Whilst being homeless in a foreign country, his parents making it one of their priorities to maintain the education of their children, Tani was enrolled into an elementary school and, as during his early days there, he was introduced to a chess club by one of the teachers and in 2018 he played in his first tournament.

In 2019 Tani competed in the Annual New York State Scholarship Championships where he was graded eighth out of 74 competitors – with a large number of whom were from well-to-do families and could afford private tuition.

His youthful, aggressive style of play would get learned academics making scientific studies of his application to the game.

Leading YouTube chess stream ‘agadmator’ took time to publish and analyse his game.

Legendary former World Champion, Garry Kasporaov, heaped massive praise on the achievement by a refugee immigrant in America.

And, back in his native Nigeria, Abike Dabiri, the Senior Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora to the president, Muhammad Buhari, called Tani; “a pride of the nation”.

Back in the US, he was getting attention throughout, which includes invites to meet former president Bill Clinton and being interviewed on some of the country’s leading broadcasting organisations – all keen to find out more about the enigma that is Tanitoluwa Adewumi.

Furthermore, he was getting funding support – the likes of which would set him, and his family, up educationally and wellbeing-wise from then on.

A total in excess of $254,000 was raised, with offers of accommodation, for him and his family, on-going education, chess books and even cars were pouring in - in droves.

There is now even a trust called the ‘Tanitoluwa Adewumi Foundation’ which is set up to help other children who are in similar situations to him.

With the ambition to becoming the youngest ever chess Grandmaster, three of Hollywood’s leading film companies are trying to outbid each other for the rights to tell his story.

His autobiography; ‘My Name Is Tani’, is already out in book stores.