Former US President, Bill Clinton, has congratulated the eight-year-old Nigerian boy, Tanitoluwa Adewunmi, who was recently crowned chess champion for his age group in US.
Adewumi won the state tournament from kindergarten through third grade after reportedly fleeing Boko Haram attacks in Nigeria.
The boy and his family left Nigeria in 2017 to seek asylum in the US. They have been living in a homeless shelter ever since while their application for asylum pends.
Mr Clinton, in a tweet on Tuesday, invited the chess champion and his parents to his office for personal introduction.
“’Refugees enrich our nation and talent is universal, even if opportunity is not.’ This story made me smile. Tanitoluwa, you exemplify a winning spirit – in chess and in life. And kudos to your hardworking parents. You all should stop by my office in Harlem; I’d love to meet you,” Clinton wrote.
The boy is now rated 1587 and rising fast. He is being compared with the world’s best player, Magnus Carlsen, who stands at 2845.
Tani, as he is fondly called, only began playing chess in 2017 after his family arrived in the US.
Tani and his siblings were enrolled in local elementary schools after touching down on US soil.
It did not take long before he discovered the chess club.
Though his parents could not afford the fee for the club, his mother, Oluwatoyin, wrote to the club that her son was eager to participate.
Young Tani practices every night with his father’s laptop.
The club then waived the fees to encourage him to attend a free, three-hour practice session every Saturday.
Tani told the New York Times that he now wants to be the youngest grandmaster ever.
