Nigerian chess champion Tunde Onakoya plays for 60 hours in Times Square, breaking marathon record

Nigerian chess champion and child education advocate Tunde Onakoya has broken the record for the longest chess marathon after playing for an extraordinary 60 hours nonstop under the bright lights of New York City’s Times Square.

The Guinness World Record organization has not yet confirmed Onakoya’s attempt, which can sometimes take weeks, but for many Nigerians, the 29-year-old is already considered something of a national hero.

Onakoya is attempting to raise $1 million for a charity to support education for children across Africa.

He had aimed to play for 58 hours but continued until hitting the 60-hour mark in the early hours of Saturday morning, surpassing the previous record of 56 hours, 9 minutes and 37 seconds set in 2018 by Hallvard Haug Flatebø and Sjur Ferkingstad of Norway.

Onakoya took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to announce his intention to play for longer, saying, “We’re pushing to 60 hours, guys.

Chess in Slums Africa, the charity Onakoya founded in 2018, aims to help educate 1 million children in slum communities across the continent.

Onakoya played against Shawn Martinez, a US chess champion, in accordance with the Guinness World Record guidelines that any attempt to break the record must be made by two players who play continuously for the duration.