A chess champion from Nigeria, Tunde Onakoya, and an American chess master, Shawn Martinez, attempted to break the world record for the longest chess marathon by playing for over 60 hours straight in Times Square, New York City.
Onakoya wanted to raise $1 million for Chess in Slums Africa, a charity he started to teach children across Africa how to play chess.
They originally planned to play for 58 hours but ended up playing for over 60 hours. However, the Guinness World Record organization has not confirmed if they broke the record yet.
Onakoya’s efforts received praise from Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu for his dedication to helping African children through chess.
This isn’t the first time Onakoya has showcased his chess skills. Earlier this year, he played 10 simultaneous games in Berlin, winning all of them and raising money to educate children at his chess academy in Africa.
Chess is seen as a universal language that connects people from different backgrounds, according to Onakoya.
