Tunde Onakoya’s father, Pa Onakoya, has expressed that he never approved of his son pursuing chess as a hobby. He mentioned that he never anticipated that playing chess would bring his son fame.
He recalls that during Tunde’s childhood, whenever he caught sight of him playing chess, he would promptly intervene, preferring that his son concentrate on his studies.
Starting on April 17, Onakoya embarked on his endeavor to surpass the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon.
By April 20, he had successfully broken the record, completing a marathon lasting 60 hours at Times Square in New York, United States.
In a video posted on Oyindamola’s X handle on Wednesday, Tunde’s father responded to his son’s achievement, praising the chess master for his resilience.
He said, “To me, Babatunde Onakoya is an angel because whatever he set his mind on must succeed.
“As a small child, when Tunde was playing chess, I usually packed everything away from him because I wanted him to focus on school. I didn’t know that it was what would make him popular like this.
“My advice for parents is that they shouldn’t discourage their children from their passions. I wanted Tunde to be a doctor but I didn’t know that chess would make him popular like this. I thank God.”
Onakoya surpassed the previous record set by Norwegian players Hallvard Haug Flatebø and Sjur Ferkingstad, who played for 56 hours and 9 minutes in 2018.