amazing show of determination and dedication. Nigerian chess champion and supporter of children’s education, Tunde Onakoya, is not giving up.
Trying to break the record for playing chess for the longest time ever.
This amazing thing is happening in Times Square, New York City. Onakoya, who is 29 years old, is working with American chess player Shawn Martinez.
The long game marathon started earlier this week and has already gone on for more than 50 hours. It will end on Friday, April 19, 2024.
Even though Onakoya had strong stomach pain and threw up a lot, he still stayed determined. Given the choice to quit, he strongly decided to keep going, saying, “I will continue to play for the dreams of many kids. ”
This statement has gathered a lot of support from people online and in person, who have come to see what he is trying to do.
This difficult task aims to collect $1 million to help children in Africa go to school. During the event, Onakoya only ate water and jollof rice. He took five-minute breaks every hour to talk to supporters and join their dances.
In the first 20 hours, people from all over the world, including Nigerians, leaders, famous people, and regular people, donated more than $22,000 to help.
Onakoya and Martinez wanted to break the old record of 56 hours, 9 minutes, and 37 seconds set in 2018. They planned to play for 58 hours without stopping, following the rules of Guinness World Records.
Onakoya started Chess in Slums Africa in 2018 to help one million children in Africa who live in poor conditions to get a good education.
This is very important because there are over 10 million children in Nigeria who are not in school right now.
As the marathon was ending, the crowd’s cheering and music helped Onakoya keep going. His motivating message is clear: “You can achieve great things even if you come from a small place. “
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