Tunde Onakoya: The Chess Master Checkmating Poverty One Move at a Time

In Lagos, Nigeria, where dreams often wrestle with despair, Tunde Onakoya has emerged as a quiet revolutionary. A chess master with a heart as strategic as his gameplay, he’s not just moving pieces on a board—he’s moving lives out of the shadows. At 30, Onakoya holds the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon, a feat achieved in April 2024, when he played for 60 grueling hours in New York’s Times Square. But beyond the accolades, his true legacy lies in Chess in Slums Africa, a nonprofit he founded to empower children in impoverished communities through the game he loves. From the barbershop where he first learned chess to the global stage, Onakoya’s journey is a testament to resilience, vision, and the belief that even the smallest pawn can change the game.

Born on October 6, 1994, in Ikorodu, a gritty Lagos suburb, Onakoya’s early life was far from a fairytale. Raised in Isale Odo, a slum community, he grew up in a family stretched thin by poverty. His father scraped by as a spare parts dealer and sometime bus driver, while his mother traded petty goods. Education, a luxury they couldn’t always afford, became a battleground. When secondary school fees loomed out of reach, Tunde’s mother struck a deal: she’d work as a cleaner at a local school in exchange for his tuition. It was a sacrifice that kept him in the classroom—and sparked a lifelong gratitude for second chances.

Chess entered his life like an unexpected opening move. At a barbershop in Ikorodu, where he’d linger to play PlayStation 1, he watched the barber and his friends battle over a weathered chessboard. Too shy to ask for lessons, he taught himself by observing, piecing together the rules move by move. “Chess gave me something,” he later said at a speaking event in Germany. “It gave me an identity, an intellectual one, and it made me believe I could be a thinker.” That barbershop became his first academy, and the game, his first escape.

Onakoya’s talent didn’t stay hidden long. At Yaba College of Technology, where he earned a diploma in computer science, he turned heads on the chessboard. Gold medals piled up—at the Nigeria Polytechnic Games, the RCCG Chess Championship, and later, prestigious wins at the National Friends of Chess and Chevron Chess Open. By his mid-20s, he’d climbed to No. 13 among Nigeria’s chess players, his peak world rating hitting 2197 in July 2016. But for Onakoya, chess was never just about trophies. It was a tool—a key to unlocking potential he saw mirrored in the children of Lagos’ slums.

In September 2018, he founded Chess in Slums Africa, driven by a conviction that the game could do for others what it did for him: offer hope, sharpen minds, and open doors. Starting in places like Majidun, Makoko, and Oshodi—communities where survival often trumps ambition—he brought chess to kids who’d never seen a board. His two-week programs blend chess with literacy and life skills, proving that strategy isn’t just for kings and queens on a board but for navigating life’s toughest battles. “Every child deserves a chance to dream,” he’s said, and he’s made it his mission to give them that chance.

Onakoya’s vision gained global traction in April 2024, when he took on the ultimate test: breaking the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon. Teaming up with U.S. chess master Shawn Martinez, he played for 60 hours straight in Times Square, surpassing the previous record of 56 hours, 9 minutes, and 37 seconds. He didn’t lose a single game. More than a personal triumph, it was a fundraiser—aiming to raise $1 million for children’s education across Africa. By the 20-hour mark, $22,000 had poured in; by the end, the total neared $125,000, with support from Nigerians in the diaspora, celebrities like Davido and Adekunle Gold, and even a Goldman Sachs pledge via The Gift of Chess, where Onakoya serves as a board member.

The marathon was punishing—five-minute breaks every hour, fueled by jollof rice and determination—but it mirrored his life’s ethos: endurance paired with purpose. “We’re not stopping yet,” he urged his supporters at the 58-hour mark, pushing to 60. For Onakoya, it wasn’t just about the record; it was about showing the world what’s possible from a “small place,” as he often puts it.

Since its inception, Chess in Slums Africa has touched over 10,000 lives, securing lifelong scholarships for more than 500 children. Stories of triumph abound: Ferdinand, a 10-year-old with cerebral palsy, won a Makoko tournament in 2021 and later played Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. Fawaz Adeoye, an 18-year-old bus conductor, clinched an Oshodi competition, earning over 2 million naira in donations. These aren’t just wins on a board—they’re lifelines out of poverty.

Onakoya’s influence stretches beyond Nigeria. He’s spoken at TEDx events, the DLD Conference in Germany, and, in early 2025, is slated to address audiences at Harvard, MIT, NYU, and Johns Hopkins. Once a nervous speaker, he now commands stages with ease, his message clear: “Start wherever. As you walk, the way appears.” A 2022 Future Awards Africa Prize for Community Action and a feature on CNN African Voices underscore his rise, but he remains grounded, often clad in a Yoruba cap, a nod to his roots.

At 30, Onakoya’s journey is far from over. He dreams of scaling Chess in Slums to reach a million children, using chess as a universal language of empowerment. His net worth—estimated between $50,000 and $800,000—pales next to his impact, a currency measured in transformed lives rather than naira. Unmarried and private about his personal life, he’s linked romantically to digital artist Alma Asinobi, though he keeps the spotlight on his mission.

“Chess is more than a game,” he’s said. “It’s a framework for finding your place in the world.” For Tunde Onakoya, that place is among the forgotten, turning slums into classrooms and pawns into players. In a world of chaos, he’s playing the long game—and winning, one child at a time.