Tani Wins US Cadet Championship!
FM Tani Adewumi, best known for his ChessKid show Tani vs. the World and his appearances in ChessKid Stars vs. Streamers, has won the 2024 U.S. Cadet Championship! The competition was held in Chicago, Illinois on June 20-24, 2024. The U.S. Cadet Championship is an annual invitational event with the top eight American players under 16 competing in a Round Robin, where every player plays each other once.
Newly minted U.S. Cadet Champion! (Photo courtesy Kayode Adewumi)
This year’s lineup included:
FM Erick Zhao
FM Issac Wang
FM Ryan Sun
FM Zoey Tang
FM Eric Liu
IM Bach Ngo
IM Ryo Chen
and of course… Tani!
Let's take a look at some of Tani's best moves in the tournament!
Round 1: IM Bach Ngo vs. FM Tani Adewumi
Tani was able to pull off a stunning round 1 victory against IM Bach Ngo with a space advantage in the middlegame and a tactic that takes advantage of white’s passive pieces. Can you spot it?
Answer: Re8! skewers the queen and knight, putting black in a winning position. If Qxd4, Rxe1+ Kh2 Rh1#!
Round 4: FM Issac Wang vs. FM Tani Adewumi
To continue his lead in the tournament with a perfect 4 out of 4 points, Tani needed to execute a 2 rooks vs. queen situation in an endgame. He was able to take advantage of his opponent’s weak king and the queen being too far away to help. How can black break through white’s defense and secure a perfect score in the tournament?
Answer: Nxg3! Nxg3 Rxh4+ is a sacrifice, removing the defender of the h-pawn, opening up white's king.
Tani showed his dominance throughout the event, making it to the last round with 5 out of 6 points. No one else was close enough to take first place from him, with the second place player having only 3.5 out of 6 points!
Even if he lost in the last round against FM Ryan Sun, Tani would still take home the crown. But Tani won anyway, ending the tournament undefeated with two draws and five wins. Can you find the tactic that secures the U.S. Cadet Championship’s first place title?
Round 7: FM Tani Adewumi vs. FM Ryan Sun
Answer: Qf7+! Kh8 Ng6+ forces black to sacrifice their queen.
Tani's remarkable skill and outstanding performance in the tournament rewarded him with his first ever National title! Congratulations Tani!
We can't wait to see what Tani's next big accomplishment will be! If you'd like to learn more about FM Tani Adewumi, play against the Tani bot on ChessKid, or see his great win defeating GM Hikaru Nakamura, check out his bio here!