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‘I’ve Constantly Fought Back Tears’- Onakoya Confesses Food Poisoning During Chess-a-thon
- Tunde Onakoya, the new Guinness World Record holder in chess admits he endured food poisoning.
- He set the record despite health challenges, including intense vomiting and stomach pain.
- Onakoya has gained recognition in Nigeria for initiating the Chess in Slums project.
Eko Hot Blog reports that Tunde Onakoya, the new Guinness World Record holder for the longest unbeaten chess marathon, has verified that he experienced food poisoning during his record-breaking chess marathon.
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Onakoya commenced his 58-hour quest to break the Guinness World record for the longest unbeaten chess marathon on Wednesday, April 17 at 10 am in Times Square, New York.
The marathon concluded at approximately 12:40 am (04:40 GMT) on Saturday. The Nigerian chess master undertook the marathon with the hope of raising $1 million for children’s education across Africa through the record attempt.
He had initially aimed to play the royal game for 58 hours but continued until he reached 60 hours at about 12:40 am (04:40 GMT) on Saturday, surpassing the previous chess marathon record of 56 hours, nine minutes, and 37 seconds achieved in 2018 by Norwegians Hallvard Haug Flatebo and Sjur Ferkingstad.
Prof Yemi Osinbajo hosted Tunde in a Chess game
Despite encountering health challenges during the marathon, including intense vomiting and stomach pain, Onakoya remained steadfast.
When given the choice to quit, he stated, “I will play on for the dreams of millions of children.” His determination has garnered widespread support, with online well-wishers and onlookers at the scene cheering him on.
For every hour of the game played, Onakoya and his opponent were allowed only a five-minute break.
In his post on his X handle, the 29-year-old wrote that he suffered food poisoning that prevented him from eating.
“Catching up on social media now and I’ve constantly fought back tears,” he tweeted.
Tunde Onakoya vs US opponent
“Love you guys very much. I’ll do a proper post when I get the right words to express all of the emotions I feel right now.
“Let me delve into this jollof rice for now. It’s my first meal in almost four days. I had food poisoning during the marathon so I couldn’t eat anything at all, just water.”
Onakoya gained recognition in Nigeria when he initiated the Chess in Slums project in 2018 in Ikorodu, on the outskirts of Lagos.
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The initiative provides a learning space for often-marginalized young people, many of whom are not in school and contribute to supporting their families, to learn and play chess.
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