Guinness World Record Confirms Tunde Onakoya’s 64 Hours Chess Marathon Feat

Tunde Onakoya has officially been certified by Guinness World Records (GWR) for setting a new chess marathon record of 64 hours.

The new record set by Onakoya and his chess partner, Shawn Martinez, at Times Square, New York, broke the 61-hour record achieved by the chess marathon record of 61 hours, 3 minutes, and 34 seconds, set by two Norwegian players, Hallvard Haug Flatebø and Sjur Ferkingstad, in June 2024.

The four-day non-stop gameplay, which originally targeted 70 hours, started on April 17.

An official of GWR presented the certificate to Onakoya and his partner Martinez.

In a post on his X handle, where he shared photos of his new feat, he said, “It is possible to do great things from a small place”.

The official certificate from Guinness World Records shared by Onakoya and confirming the new record read:

“The longest chess marathon was achieved by Tunde Onakoya (Nigeria) and Shawn Martinez (Puerto Rico) in Times Square, New York, New York, USA from 17 to 20 April 2025.”

Onakoya, 30 gained global recognition in April 2024 for completing a 60-hour chess marathon with Martinez, a US chess master, but wasn’t officially recognized.

That initial effort, which doubled as a $1 million fundraising campaign, helped elevate Onakoya’s Chess in Slums Africa initiative — a movement he says has provided education and lifelong scholarships to over 200 children across Nigeria.

The funds raised were also used to distribute one million chess sets to impoverished communities, in partnership with The Gift of Chess.