The moment Tunde Onakoya hit the 60-hour mark and set a new world record for longest chess marathon
Eko Hot Blog reports that it was a dancing and singing galore at New York’s iconic Times Square in the early hours of Saturday as Nigerian chess master Tunde Onakoya completed an ambitious challenge to break the record for the longest chess marathon.
Onakoya set a new record of 60 hours at exactly 4:30am (Nigerian time) on Saturday morning to the utmost excitement of his watching compatriots (Watch the moment here).
The chess genius began the attempt at 4:30pm on Thursday evening and aimed to break the existing record of playing for 56 consecutive hours.
Not only that, he aimed to set a new record of playing for 58 consecutive hours and surpassing the world record, recognised by Guinness World records, of 56 hours, nine minutes, and 37 seconds, which was set by Norwegian duo Hallvard Haug Flatebø and Sjur Ferkingstad in 2018.
The moment Tunde Onakoya hit the 58-hour mark in his attempt to set a new world record for longest chess marathon
Instead, Onakoya decided to surprise himself and went beyond his target. After hitting the targeted 58 hours of play, he decided to set a new target of 60 hours which he achieved.
Besides being an attempt to set a new world record, the chess marathon was planned to raise $1m (£805,000) for charity.
As of 5:47am on Saturday morning, the attempt had raised $99,183.36.
The money, Onakoya says, will support chess education for millions of children.
After he set a new record, there were wild scenes at the venue of the game as Nigerians who had come to support their compatriot jumped and screamed in excitement.
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