Our Chess Champion Has a Home

Some much needed good news.

Updating this thread:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100211930811

Our Chess Champion Has a Home

The 8-year-old refugee who last week was thrilled to have a trophy suddenly has so much more.

By Nicholas Kristof

Opinion Columnist

March 23, 2019

"Tanitoluwa Adewumi, age 8, skidded around the empty apartment, laughing excitedly, then leapt onto his dad’s back. “I have a home!” he said in wonderment. “I have a home!”

A week ago, the boy was homeless, studying chess moves while lying on the floor of a shelter in Manhattan. Now Tani, as he is known, has a home, a six-figure bank account, scholarship offers from three elite private schools and an invitation to meet President Bill Clinton.

“I think I am still dreaming,” said Tani’s dad, Kayode Adewumi. “I hope I don’t wake up.”

I wrote in my column last weekend about Tani as a reminder of the principle that talent is universal, even if opportunity is not. A Nigerian refugee who had learned chess only a bit more than a year earlier, he had just defeated kids from elite private schools to win the New York state chess championship for his age group. He lugged a trophy nearly as big as he is back to the homeless shelter.

Now the story gets even better."

READ MORE!

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/23/opinion/sunday/homeless-chess-champion-tani.html?emc=edit_th_190324&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=469281980324