New Guinness Record: 64 hours non-stop chess by Tunde Onakoya & Shawn Martinez
Nigerian Tunde Onakoya and Puerto Rican American NM Shawn Martinez broke the Guinness Record for playing 64 hours of chess non-stop at the ever-happening Times Square in New York, USA. Nigerian Tunde Onakoya, founder of Chess in Slums Africa along with NM Shawn Martinez performed this phenomenal feat from 17th to 20th April, 2025.
The duo overtook Norwegian Guinness record holders Odin Blikra Vea and Askild Bryn who played chess without a break for 61 hours, 3 minutes, and 34 seconds last year. The chess marathon record was then set during the 2024 Norway Chess Super GM tournament at Stavanger.
The record breaking duo, Onakoya & Martinez, had earlier held the longest chess marathon record briefly from April to June 2024 for playing for 60 hours which got broken by Norwegians Odin Blikra Vea and Askild Bryn by June 2024. Now, Tunde Onakoya and Shawn Martinez have upped the ante and snatched back the record completing their second chess marathon the very next year.
The new Guinness record holder Tunde Onakoya posted in his twitter page:
“If there was anytime during the attempt I almost gave up, it was in the 50th hour. I had started hallucinating. My body was breaking and my Bronchitis had gotten worse.
But as I looked beside me, there they were-Mary,Mabel,Ivie, Ferdinand and Jamiu playing right beside me right in the heart of Times Square.
Children who came from places the world forgets, now standing tall in Times Square and showcasing their talent to the world. They were no longer invisible.
It was the reminder I needed that my fight was a different one. So I steadied my trembling hands and made the next move. The game wasnβt over yet, neither were weβ¦.
We made it to the 64th hour. The rest as they say is history.”
Two-time U.S. Women’s Champion WGM Jennifer Shahade, who came as an official Guinness witness, posted in X (formerly Twitter), “Tunde is a hero to me and also to children all over the World…” lauding the giant effort. Jennifer elaborated her experience in a Substack article on being present at the Times Square, New York to witness the world’s longest chess marathon Guinness record.
Official confirmation from the Guinness World Records, read: βThe longest chess marathon was achieved by Tunde Onakoya (Nigeria) and Shawn Martinez (Puerto Rico) in Times Square, New York City, New York, USA, from 17 to 20 April 2025.β
Pictures Courtesy: https://x.com/Tunde_OD & The Gift of Chess and Chess in Slums Africa
