Tanitoluwa Adewumi is an 8 year-old refugee who is living in a homeless shelter in New York City while his asylum application is pending. Last weekend, he beat the odds to be crowned the state’s chess champion of his age group after he won the state tournament for kids in kindergarten through the third grade.

Tanitoluwa, who goes by the nickname Tani, and his family fled Nigeria back in 2017 after the violence there got so bad that they feared for their lives. As Christians, they were living under constant threat of being killed by Boko Haram, a terrorist group that targets Christians in atrocious attacks. Since fleeing, the family has been living in homeless shelter while they wait to see if their asylum application will be approved, and his father has been making ends meet for them by working as an Uber driver and in real estate.

Tani plays chess at his elementary school and he practices every night. Though he could not afford the fee to join the chess club at his school, they made an acceptation for him after his mother emailed the school and said that he was eager to play.

The boy loves chess so much that he also goes to a free, three-hour practice session in Harlem every Saturday to master his game.

Tani said that his goal is to become the youngest chess master “ever.” Russ Makofsy, who runs the chess club that he plays in, said that he is shocked at how good he’s gotten in such little time. He’s also launched a GoFundMe for Tani’s family to help them.

“One year to get to this level, to climb a mountain and be the best of the best, without family resources,” Russ said. “I’ve never seen it.”

The GoFundMe has already far exceeded it’s $50,000 goal, as over $193,000 has been raised.