NEW YORK (AP) — A Nigerian chess champion and child
education advocate played chess nonstop for 60 hours in
New York City’s Times Square to break the Guinness World
Record for the longest chess marathon.
Tunde Onakoya, 29, hopes to raise $1 million for children’s
education across Africa through the record attempt that
began on Wednesday.
He had set out to play the royal game for 58 hours but
continued until he reached 60 hours at about 12:40 a.m.
Saturday, surpassing the current chess marathon record
of 56 hours, 9 minutes and 37 seconds, achieved in 2018
by Norwegians Hallvard Haug Flatebø and Sjur Ferkingstad.
The Guinness World Record organization has yet to publicly
comment about Onakoya’s attempt. It sometimes takes weeks
for the organization to confirm any new record.