A refugee boy who became a chess champion
♔♕♖♗♘♙♚♛♜♝♞♟
Read and listen to the story and do the activities below.
People travel and move around the world, but unfortunately not only for vacation. According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, there are more than 80 million people in the world who had to forcibly leave their homes and find a new place to live.
This is the story of Tanitoluwa Adewumi, a boy who was born in Nigeria, lives now in New York, and is a chess prodigy.
Tani, as his friends and family call him, was born in a Christian family on September 3rd, 2010. His father ran a print shop and his mother was an accountant. After several terrorist attacks on Christians in his country, his parents decided they had to leave their jobs, home, and country to go to the USA seeking religious asylum.
When Tani and his family first arrived in the USA in 2018, a Christian pastor found a homeless shelter for them. Then, he was enrolled in an elementary school and there he started to play chess.
Weeks later, Tani was very enthusiastic about the game and wanted to join the chess club, but his family did not have the money to pay for it. Afterward, his mom, who did not speak or write English yet, managed to communicate with the chess club, telling them about Tani’s interest, their refugee condition, and inability to pay the club fees.
The Chess School Director accepted Tani after he learned about his talent and his refugee condition. After less than a year of practice, in March 2019, Tani won the New York Chess Tournament for children his age. Everybody was surprised to see a refugee boy, with no home, beating other children with private teachers and in the best conditions.
His story called everyone’s attention and after his triumph, he was interviewed by different newspapers, radio stations, and TV networks. Next, a lot of people started calling to offer support. His family was offered an apartment, legal help, and job opportunities.
The writer Craig Borlase helped Tani and his parents to write a book about their story which was finally published in January 2020. Tani wants to be the youngest grandmaster and inspire other people to fight for their dreams. However, Tani also wants to be a pilot when he grows up.
Read some extracts from the story, look at the options, and write the connector/ sequencer that corresponds in each statement.
| a) Finally |
| b) Then/later/afterwards |
| c) After |
| d) Then/later/afterwards |
| e) Then/later/afterwards |
| f) Second/Then/later/afterwards |
| g) First |
Put the words in the right order.
refugees in the world.
the year he was born.
the year he went to the USA.
the year he won the championship.
the year his book was published.
Complete the ideas. You only need one word.