Chess guru Tunde Onakoya celebrates as adopted son wins in US

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Chess guru Tunde Onakoya celebrates as adopted son wins in US

By Henry Oduah

Nigeria’s celebrated chess champion and founder of the Chess in Slums initiative, Tunde Onakoya, has shared a deeply emotional story about two brothers he adopted after their mother passed away — and how one of them has now become a chess champion in the United States.

Onakoya, renowned for using chess as a tool to uplift underprivileged children, recounted how he first met Jamiu and Ayomide in 2018. At the time, the boys lived in the slums of Majidun, Ikorodu, Lagos.

“In 2018, I met Jamiu,” he wrote on social media. “He was a curious kid, brilliant and full of light. At the time, he was working as a roadside mechanic… I invited him and his brother Ayomide to our weekend chess academy.”

Onakoya wrote that as he grew closer to the boys, he visited their home. There, he met their mother — a kind woman who had lost her leg in an accident while scavenging for plastic bottles to provide for her children.

“That’s my mum, he said,” Onakoya recalled. “She was never taken to the hospital as there was no money to sort the medical bills,” Onakoya said. Her husband had abandoned her as soon as Jamiu was born, so they never met their father.”

In 2019, their mother’s health deteriorated. Onakoya recalled her final, heartfelt plea: “She cried and asked me to take care of her boys if anything happened to her.”

Two weeks later, she passed away.

“That day, I became a father,” Onakoya said. “They moved in with me. We got them back in school. Jamiu became a chess champion and is currently completing his university education. I’ve watched him grow into a remarkable young man. His brother Ayomide, a track and field star, is in his final secondary school year.”

Today, my heart is overwhelmed with a joy words can barely hold. I think the time is finally right to share this story…

In 2018, I met Jamiu. He was a curious kid, brilliant and full of light. At the time, he was working as a roadside mechanic in the slums of Majidun, Ikorodu.… pic.twitter.com/7iR3zoluGG

— Tunde Onakoya (@Tunde_OD) April 7, 2025

Now, seven years later, Jamiu has reached a remarkable milestone. Onakoya proudly revealed that Jamiu won the ICN Chess Championship in New York, defeating over 200 USCF-rated players and earning a $500 scholarship.

“Today, my heart is overwhelmed with joy words can barely hold,” Onakoya wrote. “I fought back tears today because I am immensely proud of you. Mama Jamiu, your boys are doing well. I kept my promise. I always will.”

The post Chess guru Tunde Onakoya celebrates as adopted son wins in US appeared first on Vanguard News.

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