Nigerian chess champion and founder of Chess in Slums Africa, Tunde Onakoya, has set a new Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon, exceeding the previous record of 61 hours.
Together with United States chess master Shawn Martinez, Onakoya surpassed the 62-hour mark on Sunday and is now aiming to reach an ambitious 70-hour milestone.
“For all the dreamers! We’ve officially broken the record!” Onakoya announced on X on Sunday.
Upon surpassing the 50-hour mark, Onakoya emphasized that the marathon’s purpose extends beyond breaking a record—it’s also about raising awareness and garnering support for the construction of the largest free school for homeless children in Nigeria.
He wrote: “If you had 70 hours to change the world, what would you do? Sometimes the world won’t hand you 70 hours on a golden platter. Sometimes, you have to carve it out of your own breath, your own becoming. Not for applause. Not for records. But for the quiet dreamers who need to see someone leap—so they know it’s possible to fly.
“It’s been over 50 hours of chess beneath the lights of Times Square. Every move, every hour, a love letter to children who’ve never known the luxury of a second chance. If your heart has ever burned for something bigger than yourself, come find us. Stand with us.
“Proceeds from my limited edition chess sets will go directly towards our fundraising goal: to build a tuition-free school for homeless children. This is a dream I’ve carried for years. Because no child should ever have their childhood sacrificed for survival. No dream should be buried beneath the weight of poverty.”
The chess marathon, taking place at the iconic Times Square in New York City, kicked off on Wednesday, April 17, and is set to conclude on Sunday, April 20.
This is Onakoya’s second bid to achieve the prestigious record.
Onakoya, alongside U.S. chess master Shawn Martinez, completed a 60-hour chess marathon in April 2024, surpassing the 56-hour record previously set in 2018 by Norwegians Hallvard Haug Flatebø and Sjur Ferkingstad.