Tunde Onakoya during his attempt for a place in Guinness World Records
Eko Hot Blog reports that Nigerian chess master Tunde Onakoya has 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 under the beaming lights of New York’s iconic Times Square.
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.
The moment Tunde Onakoya hit the 58-hour mark in his attempt to set a new world record for longest chess marathon
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.
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.
The moment Tunde Onakoya hit the 60-hour mark and set a new world record for longest chess marathon
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.
The Nigerian community in New York celebrating Tunde Onakoya’s feat
Before “Congratulations Tunde” started trending at No. 1 in Nigeria on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Saturday morning, hundreds of supporters had shown up to cheer on the chess master, including Nigerian Afrobeats stars Davido and Adekunle Gold.
Back home in Nigeria, people are throwing their support behind Onakoya as they watch him try to conquer the record on Twitch, a video-streaming service.
Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima described the history maker as a symbol of excellence.
“Mr Onakoya is a symbol of excellence and resilience that distinguish Nigerians both at home and abroad… Go, make history, and inscribe our name in gold,” Shettima posted on X.
“Lagos is rooting for you,” Lagos state governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu told Onakoya, adding that his attempt was “a powerful testament to how greatness can emerge from anywhere”.
History-maker Tunde Onakoya after completing his attempt to create a new record of 60 hours of a chess marathon
Onakoya credits chess with saving him from the overwhelming poverty he faced growing up in Lagos’s infamous floating slums.
His NGO, Chess in Slums Africa, teaches children from poor communities chess and helping them with their education.
The 29-year-old is also a board member of the US non-profit The Gift of Chess, which works to transform lives through chess and is targeting to distribute one million chess sets to underserved communities by 2030.
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