The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has described the success of Tanitoluwa Adewunmi, an eight -year old Nigerian Chess champion in U. S. as a pride to the nation.
Dabiri-Erewa said this in a statement by her Special Assistant on Media Affairs, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, on Monday in Abuja.
The Presidential Aide said the feat performed by the young Tanitoluwa in the Chess tournament was unparalleled and unique.
“The young Nigeria diasporan recently won the New York State Chess championship for his age bracket.
“To this, former U.S President, Bill Clinton, has congratulated the eight-year-old Nigerian chess champion, Tanitoluwa Adewunmi and also invited him and his parents to his office for personal introduction,” she said.
Abike Dabiri-Erewa, who expressed pleasure over the young boy’s remarkable feat, said Tanitoluwa should be celebrated and encouraged to serve as role model for his peers.
She said the outwitting of other children by Adewunmi in the Chess tournament in U.S. showed that irrespective of age, determination and focus would earn one the desired goal.
Dabiri-Erewa expressed determination to arrange a meeting with Tanitoluwa and his parents to serve as an encouragement to other young Nigerians, especially in the diaspora.
Adewunmi had won seven chess trophies including the state tournament, where he outwitted other children.
The young chess champion’s family is taking asylum in a homeless shelter in Manhattan after they fled the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria since 2018.
He went undefeated at the state tournament, outwitting children from elite private schools with private chess tutors.
Adewunmi’s rating is now 1587 and rising fast and he is being compared with the world’s best player, Magnus Carlsen, who stands at 2845.
He placed first in the New York State Scholastic Championships tournament for kindergarten through third grade, a remarkable win for anyone.
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