Personality Life

Interesting Facts About Tunde Onakoya, The New Guinness World Record Breaker

Get to know some interesting facts about Tunde Onakoya, the new Guinness world record chess breaker.

Tunde Onakoya, the latest Nigerian sensation, has broken the record for longest chess marathon. He accomplished this accomplishment by playing for 58 hours straight in New York’s famous Times Square.

He has also pledged that the revenues from his efforts and donations will be used for philanthropic purposes.

Key Highlights

Tunde Onakoya breaks the Guinness World Record with a 60-hour chess marathon in Times Square.
GlobalCurrent24.com presents some interesting facst about Tunde Onakoya

Tunde Onakoya, a Nigerian chess master and the creator of Chess in Slums Africa (CIS), began his mission to break the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon on April 17th, promising to play for 58 hours straight. He did, however, decide to extend to at least 60 hours after passing 58 hours at approximately 7:39 pm EST (12:39 am WAT).

Onakoya has won all 200 games he has played since 11:30 a.m. EST (4:30 p.m. WAT) on Wednesday, April 17, 2024.

Interesting Facts About Tunde Onakoya

His Win over Canadian High Commissioner

Tunde Onakoya's Win over Canadian High Commissioner — Tunde Onakoya’s Win over Canadian High Commissioner

During a chess exhibition game, one of Tunde Onakoya’s students from Chess in Slums in Africa defeated Kevin Tokar, the acting Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria.

This feat demonstrates Tunde’s impact on slum youngsters, transforming them from urchins to superb chess players capable of competing with a global leader. Additionally, in 2021, one of his students, a 10-year-old kid with cerebral palsy, won the Makoko chess competition.

His Humble Beginnings

Tunde Onakoya’s journey from the Lagos slums to Times Square in New York was far from easy. While Lagos is one of Africa’s megacities, some districts do not reflect the city’s prominence, and Tunde Onakoya is from one of them, Isale Odo in Ikorodu, where he learnt to play chess at a barbershop.

His father was a bus driver and could not afford to continue his education beyond the primary level. His mother volunteered to work as a cleaner at his secondary school in exchange for his tuition. Tunde’s father would eventually pay for his WAEC tests by selling his vehicle.

Wins From Young Age

If Tunde’s record is officially recorded by the Guinness Book of World Records, he will be remembered as a Guinness Book of World Records holder for all time. Prior to this accomplishment, Tunde had some noteworthy chess victories.

Because of his modest background, he learnt how to play chess and was able to gain a scholarship to complete his study, as well as a gold medal while still a student. He also won two gold medals at the Polytechnic Games. He has won several competitions, including the Polytechnic Games, RCCG Chess Championship, National Friends of Chess, and the Chevron Chess Open.

New York Influence

This chess master serves on the board of The Gift of Chess, a non-profit based in New York City that collaborates with Chess In Slums to provide chessboards to African schoolchildren. So it’s scarcely surprising that he chose the city to commemorate this historic occasion.