Teaming up with U.S. chess master Shawn Martinez, the duo surpassed the previous record of 61 hours, 3 minutes, and 34 seconds set by Norway’s Hallvard Haug Flatebø and Sjur Ferkingstad in June 2024. Their four-day, non-stop chess marathon, which began on April 17, originally aimed for 70 hours but ended triumphantly at 64.
Onakoya, founder of the widely acclaimed Chess in Slums Africa initiative, shared the news on X (formerly Twitter) with a powerful message: “It is possible to do great things from a small place.”
The official Guinness World Records certificate, shared by Onakoya, reads: “The longest chess marathon was achieved by Tunde Onakoya (Nigeria) and Shawn Martinez (Puerto Rico) in Times Square, New York, New York, USA from 17 to 20 April 2025.”
For 30-year-old Onakoya, this feat was never just about breaking a record—it was about breaking barriers.
“We’re not just doing this for ourselves—we’re doing it for a million dreams,” he said in a pre-event statement. “Our goal is to build the biggest free preschool in Africa for homeless children.”
Onakoya’s movement has always combined chess with purpose. His previous 60-hour marathon in April 2024, also with Martinez, was both a personal achievement and a $1 million fundraising campaign to support education and distribute one million chess sets across underserved communities through a partnership with The Gift of Chess.
Credit: telegraph.ng
