History made’, Nigerians celebrate Tunde Onakoya’s chess marathon world record

Nigerians at home and abroad have taken to social media to celebrate chess champion Tunde Onakoya after he set a new Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon in Times Square, New York.

Onakoya, who played non-stop alongside American chess player Shawn Martinez for 70 hours, surpassed the previous record of 61 hours, 3 minutes, and 34 seconds set by Norwegian duo Odin Blikra Vea and Askild Bryn after he clocked 64 hours.

Social media has since been buzzing with praise for Onakoya, who is also the founder of Chess in Slums Africa, for his resilience, brilliance, and patriotism.

“History made at Time Square. Thank you for the motivation, resilience, grit, and putting Nigeria on the global map yet again. Congratulations, Tunde!” wrote @Biz_Solutioneer on X (formerly Twitter).

Another user, @Vet_IdNOBLE, urged him to keep going even further, saying, “Please do 80 hours if you

can. More strength.”

In a more ecstatic tone, @ochang_okorn declared:
“CHECK MATE ♟️ YASSSSSSS ???????????????????????????????????????? TUNDE ONAKOYA 2X GUINNESS WORLD RECORD HOLDER ????????????????????????????????????????”

The feat has ignited a wave of national pride and admiration for Onakoya, who undertook the challenge to raise funds for building free schools for homeless children across Africa.

Tunde Onakoya, through his foundation, has continued to use the game as a tool to inspire and educate children from underserved communities.