Tunde Onakoya, a renowned chess master, has begun his quest to break the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon, aiming for 58 hours. So far, he has played the game for 16 hours, emerging victorious against all opponents.

The event, which is underway at New York City’s iconic Times Square, started on Wednesday, April 17, and is scheduled to end on April 19.

Onakoya has emerged triumphant in all encounters so far, including his match with New York’s National Chess Master, Shawn Martinez.

A post on his X handle early Thursday read, “Tunde Onakoya beats a very worthy opponent and one of New York’s finest, National Chess Master Shawn Martinez!”

Onakoya’s manager, known as Taiwo with the X handle “OgaBoxx,” has also provided insights into the nature of the challenge.

Taiwo stated that after 15 hours of continuous play with 12 opponents, Onakoya took an accumulated break of 30 minutes, as the rules stipulate a five-minute break for every hour of play.

He added that Onakoya is playing two sets of games simultaneously and must not lose either.

He wrote, “The opponent on the first set is Shawn Martinez, a US National Chess Master, and he will play with Tunde throughout the attempt.

“Only Tunde’s match against Shawn Martinez is considered valid for the record. He is not competing in his simultaneous play against random opponents in the second set. NYC, come out and play regardless.”

PUNCH Online reports that the event has garnered significant attention and support from Nigerians abroad who came out to support the chess master.
Onakoya has also received encouraging messages from various Nigerian dignitaries, including Vice President Kashim Shettima; former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar; and Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, among others.

The US Mission Nigeria and UK in Nigeria have also sent their best wishes to Onakoya via their respective X handles.