Nigerian chess master Onakoya set to break Guiness World Record, target 58-hours marathon

Tunde Onakoya who is a Nigeria Chess master has announced his plan to break the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon, he set this to help the dreams of millions of children across Africa without access to qualitative education.

This was disclosed by Onakoya in a post on his X handle on Friday, revealing that he will attempt to play chess for 58 hours without losing a game.

The event is scheduled to take place in Times square New York City, it will start from April 17 10am to 8pm on April 19

He wrote, “On the 17th of April 2024, I will attempt to break the Guiness World record for the longest chess marathon in the heart of Times Square, New York City, for 58 hours without losing a game.

“Doing this for the dreams of millions of children across Africa without access to qualitative education.”

He further solicited for the support of all Nigerians, urging them to come forward and show the “unwavering” Nigerian spirit.

“You guys have been fantastic through the years, so here is the time again that I need all of us to come together like before to show the world that the Nigerian spirit is unwavering and we can do great things from a small place against all odds,” he wrote.

Onakoya is the founder of Chess in Slums Africa, an organisation that aims at providing mentorship and unlocking the potential of underprivileged children using chess educational resources.

According to the Guinness World Records, the longest chess marathon for 56 hours, 09 minutes, 37 seconds which was achieved by Hallvard Haug Flatebø and Sjur Ferkingstad from Norway on November 11, 2018.