Tunde Onakoya, 29, a Nigerian chess champion and youngster training advocate, plays a chess game in Times Square, in New York on April 19.
| Photo Credit: AP
A Nigerian chess champion and youngster training advocate performed chess nonstop for 60 hours in New York City’s Times Square to interrupt the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon.
Tunde Onakoya, 29, hopes to boost $1 million for youngsters’s training throughout Africa by means of the record try that started on April 17.
He had got down to play the royal game for 58 hours however continued till he reached 60 hours at about 12:40 a.m. on April 20, surpassing the present chess marathon record of 56 hours, 9 minutes and 37 seconds, achieved in 2018 by Norwegians Hallvard Haug Flatebø and Sjur (*60*).
The Guinness World Record group has but to publicly remark about Onakoya’s try. It generally takes weeks for the group to verify any new record.
Onakoya performed towards Shawn Martinez, an American chess champion, according to Guinness World Record tips that any try to interrupt the record should be made by two gamers who would play constantly for the whole length.
Support had been rising on-line and at the scene, the place a mix of African music stored onlookers and supporters entertained amid cheers and applause. Among the dozens who cheered Onakoya on at the scene was Nigerian music star Davido.
The record try is “for the dreams of millions of children across Africa without access to education,” mentioned Onakoya, who based Chess in Slums Africa in 2018. The group needs to help the training of at the least 1 million youngsters in slums throughout the continent.
Tunde Onakoya, a Nigerian chess champion and youngster training advocate, plays a chess game in Times Square, in New York on April 19, 2024.
| Photo Credit:
AP
“My energy is at 100% right now because my people are here supporting me with music,” Onakoya mentioned Thursday night after the gamers crossed the 24-hour mark.
On Onakoya’s menu: Lots of water and jollof rice, one among West Africa’s best-known dishes.
For each hour of game performed, Onakoya and his opponent bought solely 5 minutes’ break. The breaks had been generally grouped collectively, and Onakoya used them to meet up with Nigerians and New Yorkers cheering him on. He even joined in with their dancing generally.
A complete of $22,000 was raised inside the first 20 hours of the try, mentioned Taiwo Adeyemi, Onakoya’s supervisor.
“The help has been overwhelming from Nigerians in the U.S., global leaders, celebrities and tons of of passersby,” he mentioned.
Tunde Onakoya (heart) Nigerian chess champion and youngster training advocate, plays a chess game in Times Square, in New York on April 19, 2024.
| Photo Credit:
AP
Onakoya’s try was carefully adopted in Nigeria, the place he often organizes chess competitions for younger individuals dwelling on the streets.
More than 10 million school-age youngsters are usually not in class in the West African nation — one among the world’s highest charges.
Among those that have publicly supported him are celebrities and public workplace holders, together with Nigeria’s former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who wrote to Onakoya on the social media platform X, “Remember your individual highly effective phrases: ‘It is feasible to do nice issues from a small place.'”
