From a retrospective eye view, Chess in Slums is serving its purpose of strengthening belief in disadvantaged people, letting them know that success could also be theirs. Ever since 2018, founder Tunde Onakoya has not let his foot off the gas – that seems to be what is inspiring a Guinness World Records push he is brewing.

What the convener plans to do specifically in the city of New York, the United States on Wednesday is to play opponents who have also mastered chess like him and make sure he does not lose throughout the 58 hours of playing time.

If Mr Onakoya pulls this off, that would offset the previous longest chess marathon mark of 56 hr 09 min 37 sec which was achieved by Norwegians Hallvard Haug Flatebø and Sjur Ferkingstad in Haugesund, Norway, on 11 November 2018.

ALSO READ: How one move on a chess board is bringing on a recovery in the slums of Lagos

A tweet from Onakoya’s X account on Friday told the world that the Chess in Slums founder was out to claim the jointly shared title so he could make it solely his. In the tweet, it reads that on the 17th of April 2024, I will attempt to break the Guinness World [Record] for the longest Chess marathon in the heart of Times Square New York City for 58 hours without losing a game.

The founder says he is doing this for the dreams of millions of children across Africa without access to education, showing how big of a platform he has built. Through his advocacy and teenager-targeted outreach, young people are finding their paths through the problem-solving skills they learn playing chess. Now they have something to yearn for.

On the 17th of April 2024, I will attempt to break the Guiness World record for the longest Chess marathon in the heart of Times Square New York City for 58 hours without losing a game.
Doing this for the dreams of millions of children across Africa without access to education. pic.twitter.com/MlGm7Mvmmd

— Tunde Onakoya (@Tunde_OD) April 12, 2024

Hosting a Times Square challenge is novel and certainly not Tunde Onakoya’s first interaction with the New York community. In an early April Instagram post, he recalls the speedy decimation of a chess hustler after 13 moves by the opposition.

Even though the founder’s chess has mostly been tested on the grounds of high-impact knowledge sharing, he is not one to back away from launching a challenge to deactivate any opposition that would dare to face him in his quest to bring awareness to the plight of millions of African children who are living without any form of education.

Instead, the kids in the megacity Slums he has visited in Lagos where his foundation started have a difficult life in the open streets where they also have to fend for themselves and seek shelter against the elements. Before things get so bad, the Chess in Slums founder wants to get to them.

Ayodele Johnson

Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.