Here is all you need to know about Nigerian chess player Tunde Onakoya including his age, career, biography and more
New record is made in chess as the longest match ever played for extraordinary hours and the intention behind playing is even more mesmerizing.
A Nigerian chess champion broke the record for the longest chess marathon when he played the game constantly for 60 hours at Times Square, New York City.
Onakoya played against American chess champion Shawn Martinez, adhering to Guinness World Record standards that required two players to play constantly throughout the entire attempt to break the record.
Who is Nigerian Tunde Onakoya as he creates global chess record, biography, age, family and education
Congratulations Tunde Onakoya pic.twitter.com/V4yoi38ovW
— Presidency Nigeria (@NGRPresident) April 20, 2024
At approximately 12:40 a.m. on April 20, he played the royal game for 60 hours, breaking the previous record of 56 hours, 9 minutes, and 37 seconds set by Norwegian players Hallvard Haug Flatebo and Sjur Ferkingstad in 2018.
Many Nigerians already describe Onakoya as a national hero, even though it might take several weeks for the Guinness World Records organisation to formally acknowledge his attempt.
His goal with the record attempt, which started on April 17, is to earn $1 million for African children’s education. While he us grabbing alot of attention, let us have a look at who he is.
Who is Tunde Onakoya?
Tunde Onakoya is a Nigerian chess player who was born on October 6, 1994 in Ikorodu, Nigeria. He graduated from Yaba College of Technology with a diploma in computer science.
At both the RCCG Chess Championship and the Nigeria Polytechnic Games, he won a gold medal for his school. In the slum of Ikorodu, Lagos, where he was raised, Onakoya learned how to be master in chess at a barbershop.
Dear Shawn (@CoachShawnMar), there’s no world record without you. Together, for 60 hours, we showed the world what true collaboration means, trumping competition. We picked each other up during tough moments, both mentally and physically. And you did it with so much grace.
This… pic.twitter.com/sChlCu0vPF
— Tunde Onakoya (@Tunde_OD) April 20, 2024
Subsequently, he was ranked as Nigeria’s thirteenth best chess player. Apart from being a player, being featured in CNN African voiced, he is also known for working for children’s well being. The 29-year-old is a founder of Chess in Slums Africa.
He has organised a number of child-centered interventions in Lagos State’s slums, including those in Makoko, Oshodi, and Majidun (Ikorodu). In addition to helping the children develop their full potential through the game of chess, the two-week programme teaches them the principles of reading, writing, and basic literacy.
Not much is known about his personal life but his mother used to be a cleaner at a school so that she could pay the fees for Tunde.