Chess: Tunde Onakoya, a chess champion, aims to break the global record for the longest chess marathon in New York City’s Times Square.

Timmy Mabs | 19th April, 2024.

The current chess marathon record is 56 hours, 9 minutes and 37 seconds, achieved in 2018 by Hallvard Haug Flatebø and Sjur Ferkingstad, both from Norway.

Tunde Onakoya, a chess champion and child education advocate, plays a chess game in Times Square, New York, on April, 18, 2024. Onakoya is attempting to play chess nonstop for 58 hours to break the global record for the longest chess marathon.

The world record for the longest chess marathon is being attempted to be broken by a Nigerian chess champion and child education advocate who plans to play chess continuously for 58 hours at Times Square, New York City.

To support children's education throughout Africa, 29-year-old Tunde Onakoya is attempting to raise $1 million. Under the rules set forth by the Guinness World Record, which stipulate that a record attempt can only be broken by two players who play nonstop for the whole length, he is facing off against American chess champion Shawn Martinez.

By 10:00 a.m. GMT on Friday, Onakoya had played chess for 42 hours. The scenario is receiving more and more support on social media, and a mix of African music is entertaining spectators and fans with yells and clapping.

The record attempt is "for the dreams of millions of children across Africa without access to education," according to Onakoya, who established Chess in Slums Africa in 2018. At least one million children living in slums throughout the continent are to have their education supported by the organisation.

Following the players' 24-hour mark on Thursday night, Onakoya remarked, "My people are here supporting me with music, so my energy is at 100% right now."

Onakoya's cuisine features jollof rice, a well-known dish in West Africa, along with copious amounts of water.

Onakoya and his opponent receive a mere five-minute rest for every hour of gameplay. Onakoya uses the breaks, which are occasionally clustered together, to catch up with the Nigerians and New Yorkers who are supporting him. He occasionally even joins in on their dance.

According to Taiwo Adeyemi, manager of Onakoya, $22,000 was raised in the first 20 hours of the attempt.

"The support has been overwhelming from Nigerians in the U.S., global leaders, celebrities and hundreds of passersby," remarked the president.

In Nigeria, where he frequently hosts chess tournaments for young people living on the streets to further his cause, Onakoya's endeavour is keenly watched. The nation in West Africa has one of the highest rates of child absences in the world, with over 10 million kids not attending school.

Celebrities and public officials who have openly backed him include Yemi Osinbajo, the former vice president of Nigeria, who wrote to Onakoya on X, the former Twitter platform, saying, "Remember your own powerful words: 'It is possible to do great things from a small place."

Regarding Onakoya's attempt, which might last up to 58 hours by Friday at midnight, the Guinness World Record organisation has not yet made a public statement. The organisation occasionally needs weeks to validate a new record.