The Nigerian chess master, Tunde Onakoya, who began the quest to surpass the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon has reached a 57-hour mark, surpassing the previous record of 56 hours and 9 minutes, News About Nigeria reports.
The National chess master began his attempt to break the world record in a marathon chess match on the 17th of April, 2024, at New York City’s Times Square.
He noted that his attempt is in an effort to raise funds and awareness for providing educational opportunities to underprivileged children across Africa.
At 12:34am on Saturday, the Gift of Chess on X posted, “56 Hours Straight. The Record Is SET TO BREAK.”
The previous record of 56 hours, 9 minutes, and 37 seconds was set by Hallvard Haug Flatebø and Sjur Ferkingstad of Norway in November 2018.
Tunde faced a challenging moment on Thursday as he battled intense vomiting and stomach pain, but refused to give up and kept on going despite the physical difficulties together with his United States counterpart Shawn Martinez.
In a post on X, Gift of Chess, a New York-based non-profit organisation dedicated to distributing chess sets worldwide, had revealed that Onakoya was determined to continue despite his physical discomfort.
Nigerians have since trooped out in their numbers to lend support to the chess master, including prominent figures like Atiku Abubakar, Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the 2023 general elections, Yemi Osibanjo, former Vice President, musicians Davido, Adekunle Gold, among others.
Onakoya announced his participation on April 5, stating his motivation as supporting the dreams of millions of children across Africa who lack access to education.
