On behalf of Lagos state, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has lent support for Tunde Onakoya, a renowned chess master, who began his mission to surpass the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon for 58 hours.
The marathon, which started on Wednesday, April 18, and expected to end on Friday, April 19, is underway at the famous Times Square in New York City, US.
Via his Facebook page on Wednesday, Governor Sanwo-Olu wrote:
Onakoya has emerged triumphant in all encounters so far, including his match with New York’s National Chess Master, Shawn Martinez.
A post on his X handle early Thursday read, “Tunde Onakoya beats a very worthy opponent and one of New York’s finest, National Chess Master Shawn Martinez!”
Onakoya’s manager, known as Taiwo, has also provided insights into the nature of the contest.
Taiwo stated that after 15 hours of continuous play with 12 opponents, Onakoya took an accumulated break of 30 minutes, as the rules stipulate a five-minute break for every hour of play.
He added that Onakoya is playing two sets of games simultaneously and must not lose either.
Taiwo wrote:
“The opponent on the first set is Shawn Martinez, a US National Chess Master, and he will play with Tunde throughout the attempt.
“Opponents in the second set are random players. He can’t lose any game on either set.
“Only Tunde’s match against Shawn Martinez is considered valid for the record. He is not competing in his simultaneous play against random opponents in the second set. NYC, come out and play regardless.”