Tunde Onakoya, founder of Chess in Slums Africa, is set to make another inspiring attempt at the Guinness World Record (GWR) for the longest chess marathon.
In a post shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday, Onakoya announced that he will take on the challenge of playing chess continuously for 70 hours at the iconic Times Square in New York City from April 17 to 20, 2025.
The mission, he said, is bigger than chess — it’s about raising global awareness and support to build free schools for homeless children in Nigeria.
“My dream is to inspire the world, and raise support to build the biggest free school for homeless children in Nigeria,” Onakoya declared.
This will be his second attempt at the prestigious title. In April 2024, he and U.S. chess master Shawn Martinez completed a 60-hour marathon, beating the previous 56-hour record held by Norwegian duo Hallvard Haug Flatebø and Sjur Ferkingstad. However, that record was short-lived, as it was eclipsed in June 2024 by two other Norwegians who logged a 61-hour chess session.
Undeterred, Onakoya and Martinez are returning with a bold new goal — to raise the bar to 70 hours and reclaim the title.
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In a heartwarming twist, five children from the Chess in Slums Africa initiative — whom Onakoya credits as living proof that “great things can come from small places” — will accompany him to New York. While they won’t participate in the full marathon, they’ll play for a few hours. Onakoya has also invited chess players in New York City to come and challenge the young prodigies.
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