Nigerians have been overwhelmed with excitement after Tunde Onakoya, chess master, child education advocate, and founder of Chess in Slums Africa broke the Guinness World Record (GWR) for the longest chess marathon.
Recall that on the 14 of April he wrote on his X handle saying, “On the 17th of April 2024, I will attempt to break the Guinness World record for the longest chess marathon in the heart of Times Square, New York City, for 58 hours without losing a game.
He also said his motive for wanting to break the record is for the young children out there.
“Doing this for the dreams of millions of children across Africa without access to education.”
Onakoya further asks Nigerians to support him by telling them to come forward and show the “unwavering” Nigerian spirit.
Finally, D-Day came and Tunde played very well against his opponent, Shawn Martinez, an American chess champion.
In line with Guinness World Record guidelines, any attempt to break the record must be made by two players who would play continuously for the entire duration.
He achieved the feat in the early hours of Saturday, April 20, after surpassing the 56 hrs 09 mins 37 seconds record achieved by two Norwegians, Hallvard Haug Flatebø and Sjur Ferkingstad, on November 11, 2018.
Tunde who isn’t slowing down, will continue playing for more hours without losing a single game. His “ultimate goal” is to raise the sum of $1,000,000 which would be used to “transform the lives of underserved children across Africa”.
Watch the epic moment below.
