Tunde Onakoya broke the internet after he set the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon without losing a game. The Nigerian chess master is also the founder of Chess in Slums Africa.
Onakoya’s story is that of rising from grass to grace. Therefore, this is everything you need to know about the Ikorodu-born chess master and coach.
Tunde Onakoya biography
Tunde Onakoya was born on October 6, 1994, in Ikorodu, Lagos State, Nigeria. Raised in an impoverished family, Onakoya struggled to attend primary school. He eventually dropped out of school at the age of 10.
However, he could attend secondary school after his mother offered to work as a cleaner for a school in exchange for his school fees. Through scholarships, Onakoya enrolled at the Yaba College of Technology where he got a diploma in computer science.
Tunde Onakoya career
Onakoya began playing chess as a child after discovering the game at a barber’s shop in Ikorodu. Through chess, he earned a scholarship to attend a higher institution. He won a gold medal while representing YabaTech in the Nigeria Polytechnic Games. In addition, he won the RCCG Chess Championship, the National Friends of Chess and the Chevron Chess Open.
“Finding chess gave me something. It gave me an identity, an intellectual one, and it made me believe that I could also be intellectually inclined, and it made me believe that I could also be a thinker. That through just this game, I could find my place in the world again,” Onakoya said at a speaking event in Germany.
He would eventually be ranked as the number 13 chess player in Nigeria. Onakoya’s achievements in chess got global recognition as he was featured in CNN African Voices. Today, he is a board member of The Gift of Chess, a New York City-based non-profit organisation.
Tunde Onakoya Chess in Slums
Coming from an impoverished background, Onakoya founded Chess in Slums Africa, a non-profit organisation to educate and empower young children in impoverished communities through chess, in September 2018.
“The tragedy of poverty is not just not having money, but not having access, completely removed from the systems, education, the rule of law,” Onakoya said.
“I want to be who I needed when I was young to someone else.”
The organisation oversaw several interventions for children across slums in Lagos State, including in Majidun, Makoko and, recently, Oshodi. Children are engaged in a two-week session of playing and learning to read and write and acquire basic literacy skills.
One of the most notable moments of these interventions was on March 27, 2022, when ex-Manchester United and French football star, Patrice Evra, played chess with the children under the bridge in Oshodi, one of the target areas of the initiative. Another notable moment was when a 10-year-old boy with cerebral palsy, Ferdinand, won the tournament in Makoko in May 2021 and later got to play against Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
In six years, Chess in Slums Africa has trained over 1,000 children across 11 African countries, including Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda. Also, about 20 children were given lifelong scholarships through this organisation.
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Tunde Onakoya World Chess Record
On April 20, 2024, Onakoya teamed up with New York chess master, Shawn Martinez, to set the Guinness Book of Records for the longest chess marathon. The contest began at 10 am on Wednesday, April 17, and ended at about 2:30 am on April 20 at Times Square, New York City, United States.
As a result, he broke the previous world record of 56 hours, 9 minutes, and 37 seconds set by Norwegian players, Hallvard Haug Flatebø and Sjur Ferkingstad, in 2018. Onakoya’s initial target was to play for 58 hours. But he exceeded expectations by playing for 60 hours.
Apart from breaking the world record, Onakoya’s mission was to raise $1 million for the education of children in Africa, particularly those without access to quality education. His quest attracted the attention of many, including prominent politicians and celebrities like the former vice president of Nigeria, Yemi Osinbajo, the current Nigerian Vice President, Kashim Shettima and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, while David Adeleke, a Nigerian singer popularly known as Davido, and Adekunle Kosoko, a Nigerian singer professionally known as Adekunle Gold, showed up at the event venue in support of him.
On April 24, 2024, Onakoya received a hero’s welcome after he returned to Nigeria.
Tunde Onakoya net worth
Information about Onakoya’s estimated net worth is publicly unavailable for now.
Tunde Onakoya age
Onakoya is currently 29 years old. He will turn 30 in 2024.
Tunde Onakoya family
Onakoya came from a poor background. His father was a spare parts dealer at Eko Market in Ketu, Lagos. He later became a commercial bus driver and conductor, respectively. His mother sold second-hand (bend-down-select) clothes and later became a cleaner so her son could attend secondary school. Onakoya also has a younger brother.
After setting the world record, Onakoya’s father revealed he initially did not support his son’s interest in chess, and would sometimes throw his chess pieces away. He wanted his son to concentrate on his studies and become a doctor. The elder Onakoya then advised parents to support their children’s dreams.
Onakoya championing Nigerian excellence in diaspora
Photo credit: @Tunde_Onakoya (Instagram)
Over the years, Nigerians in the diaspora have made the nation proud by making outstanding contributions to their various fields of interest. Onakoya joins the ever-growing list, which includes Anthony Joshua, world heavyweight boxing champion; John Boyega, Hollywood actor; Pearlena Igbokwe, Universal Studios group chair and Maggie Aderin-Pocock, space scientist.
Nigerians are known for imbibing the can-do spirit, despite the challenges thrown at them. According to 2017 data from the Migration Policy Institute, Nigerians are the most highly educated of all groups, with 61 per cent holding at least a bachelor’s degree compared to 31 per cent of foreign-born and 32 per cent of the US-born population in the United States.
It is no longer a secret that Nigeria is a “fantastically corrupt” country. Yet, people like Onakoya have continuously tried to change that narrative, going over and beyond to achieve what very few people in this world have been able to achieve.
From technology to entertainment, academia to sports, Nigerians in the diaspora have contributed positively to their host communities and made a difference where it matters. Onakoya himself said people can do great things from a small place. Today, he is an ambassador for Nigeria, showing that Nigerians should not be stereotyped wrongly. Wherever he goes, whatever he does, he will always be a world record holder from Nigeria.
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