Nigerian chess grandmaster Tunde Onakoya made history on April 17, 2025, by setting a new Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon, playing for 64 hours and 3 minutes in Times Square, New York.
Guinness World Records officially recognized the feat, surpassing Onakoya’s own 60-hour record set in 2023. The 30-year-old, founder of Chess in Slums Africa, played 360 games against opponents including celebrities, amateurs, and grandmasters like Hikaru Nakamura, winning 210, drawing 120, and losing 30, while raising $250,000 for children’s education in Africa.
Onakoya’s marathon, livestreamed on Twitch to 1.2 million viewers, required him to play without breaks longer than five minutes per hour, surviving on energy drinks and minimal sleep. Supported by co-founder Shawn Martinez, he battled exhaustion, with medical staff on standby after hour 50. Nigerian President Bola Tinubu hailed the achievement as “a global inspiration,” while New York Mayor Eric Adams attended, gifting Onakoya a symbolic key to the city. The event spotlighted Nigeria’s chess culture, with 500,000 active players, per the Nigeria Chess Federation.