Tunde Onakoya, the Nigerian chess grandmaster who recently set a new Guinness World Record for the longest marathon chess game, is gearing up for what he calls his “hardest match yet”.
On June 11, Onakoya will face off against 12-year-old Women’s Candidate Master Deborah Quickpen in a three-hour chess match.
“I have faced many tough opponents, but this will undoubtedly be my hardest match yet. I can categorically say that she is the future of chess in Nigeria,” Onakoya stated in a post via X on Thursday.
Quickpen, who will be representing Nigeria at the upcoming FIDE Chess World Cup in Georgia next month, is regarded as the country’s number one chess prodigy, according to Onakoya.
Onakoya further noted that despite her young age, she has already achieved the impressive title of Women’s Candidate Master.
Onakoya’s post comes on the heels of his record-breaking achievement last month.
On April 20, he attempted to set a new Guinness World Record for the longest marathon chess game and succeeded, surpassing the previous record of 56 hours and 9 minutes set by Norwegian players in 2018.
In a post on his official X account, Onakoya shared his excitement about the feat, stating, “We have done it. We’re pushing to 60 hours guys. We’re not stopping yet. Let’s keep going.”
The grandmaster’s attempt was driven by a cause to raise funds and awareness for providing educational opportunities to underprivileged children across Africa.
“We have a fundraising goal to meet for the education of African children around the world. This is our why – the reason we are doing this,” he wrote.
