Tunde Onakoya prepares for 70-hour chess marathon in Times Square
Chess master Tunde Onakoya
Tunde Onakoya prepares for 70-hour chess marathon in Times Square
The founder of the Chess in Slums Africa initiative, Tunde Onakoya, is preparing for another attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon.
In a post shared on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday, Onakoya revealed plans to play chess non-stop for 70 hours at Times Square in New York City. The event is scheduled to take place from April 17 to 20, 2025.
Onakoya emphasised that the goal is not just to claim the record, but to raise awareness and support for building the largest free school for homeless children in Nigeria.
He wrote, “There is a new world record for 61 hours set by two Norwegian players. On the 17th of April, we will attempt to break that record and set a new one for 70 hours
“My dream is to inspire the world and raise support to build the biggest free school for homeless children in Nigeria.
“I won’t be doing it alone. I’ll be playing alongside these kids who have shown all of us that it is possible to do great things from a small place. They will only join in for a few hours.
“This is an open call to every chess player in New York City to come and challenge them.”
In a related tweet, non-profit chess organisation The Gift of Chess confirmed the challenge, stating, “Starting April 17th, #Tunde_OD🇳🇬 & #CoachShawnMar🇵🇷 will Attempt 70 Hours of Non-Stop Chess in the Heart of Times Square, NYC. They are Aiming to Break their Previous Record of 60 Hours & Surpass the Current #GWR Record Set by Two Norwegians at 61 hours, 3 mins, & 34 secs.”
This marks Onakoya’s second attempt at the prestigious record. In April 2024, he completed a 60-hour chess marathon alongside U.S. chess master Shawn Martinez, surpassing the 56-hour record previously set in 2018 by Norwegians Hallvard Haug Flatebø and Sjur Ferkingstad.
However, their achievement was short-lived, as another pair of Norwegian players set a new record of 61 hours, 3 minutes, and 34 seconds just two months later in June 2024.
Onakoya is once again teaming up with Martinez for the 70-hour challenge, which will take place in one of the busiest public spaces in the world.
