Sports
Nigeria’s Onakoya Sets New Chess Record
Tributes poured in quickly last Saturday as renowned Nigerian chess master, Tunde Onakoya set a new 60-hour Guinness World Record for the longest marathon chess at the Times Square New York.
Onakoya embarked on his marathon session hoping to raise $1m for underprivileged children’s education across Africa through the record attempt.
The 29-year-old played chess for 60 hours, from Wednesday, April 17 to 20, surpassing the current chess marathon record of 56 hours, nine minutes and 37 seconds, achieved in 2018 by Norwegians Hallvard Haug Flatebo and Sjur Ferkingstad.
“I can’t process a lot of the emotions I feel right now. I don’t have the right words for them. But I know we did something truly remarkable,” Onakoya told the AFP.
“At 3am last night on Friday, that was the moment I was ready to just give it all up but Nigerians traveled from all over the world. And they were with me overnight.
“We were singing together and they were dancing together and I couldn’t just give up on them.”
The 29-year-old played against Shawn Martinez, an American chess champion, in line with Guinness World Records guidelines that any attempt to break the record must be made by two players who would play continuously for the entire duration.
For every hour of game played, Onakoya and his opponent got only five minutes’ break.
Reacting to Onakoya’s achievement, President Bola Tinubu in a statement said, “setting a new world chess record and sounding the gong of Nigeria’s resilience, self-belief, and ingenuity.
“You have shown a streak customary among Nigeria’s youth population, the audacity to make good change happen … even from corners of disadvantage.”
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu hailed Onakoya, stating that his rare feat embodies the spirit of Lagos.
He wrote, “Congratulations to chess master, Tunde Onakoya, on breaking the world chess marathon record in Times Square, New York. “Your journey from Lagos, Nigeria to global recognition embodies the spirit of our great city.
“He continues to demonstrate that greatness can emerge from even the most humble beginnings. His remarkable story serves as a blueprint for all of us in Lagos City where his impact has been felt the most, showing that with determination, dreams can indeed soar to monumental heights.
“Tunde’s entire journey was showcased on digital billboards and celebrated with watch parties, capturing the true spirit of Lagos. Despite enduring pain and fatigue, Tunde persevered, driven by his commitment to empower the children he champions.
“This is your moment, Tunde, and Lagos stands with you every step of the way.”
A former Minister of Education, Obiageli Ezekwesili, also wrote, “And it came to pass. 1 Corinthians 2v9. But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.
“Congratulations to you.
“Your purposeful life will phenomenally unlock all you need to fulfill your dream for children today and generations to come. Godspeed!”
England captain Harry Kane netted a hat-trick to guide Bayern Munich to an impressive victory against Stuttgart.
Kane’s goals, plus one from Kingsley Coman, helped Bayern end a three-game winless run in all competitions.
They faced a tough task against a Stuttgart side who sat back and limited their chances, leading Vincent Kompany’s side to enter the break frustrated and with the deadlock unbroken.
Bayern eventually found a way past Stuttgart’s steely defence when Kane drilled a low effort into the bottom corner from around 30 yards out after Joshua Kimmich overturned possession.
Former Nigeria goalkeeper, Dosu Joseph, is full of thanks to God after he miraculously survived another life-threatening automobile accident recent at Kara, along the Lagos-Ibadan Express Way, where a heavy-duty truck ran into his SUV.
Narrating his ordeal, the 51-year-old, who guided Nigeria to gold in the Men’s Football Tournament of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, broke the news in a statement on his social media handles on Friday.
“To God be the glory, another death escaped by Grace and Mercy of God. Me and my friend SM were at Enyo Filling Station after Ojodu Berger bus stop to get fuel on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, around 6 p.m. when this MACK truck fully loaded with iron, with registration number LND 470 XX, left the road and crushed my car beyond repairs. Thank God for life,” he stated.
This is the second time the soft-spoken club proprietor will cheat death by a whisker, having been involved in an accident in 1997 that ended his career at 23 and left his spinal cord in bad shape.
He helped Julius Berger win the Nigeria FA Cup in November 1997 shortly a memorable Olympic outing by keeping a clean sheet in the finals against Katsina United. The following year, he was involved in the auto along Ikorodu Road, Lagos, which not only cut his career short but also left him almost paralysed, ending his spell at Serie A club Reggiana.
The former Nigeria international, who also kept goal for Julius Berger FC, said the case has been reported to Isheri Police Station, Ogun State, where the driver is currently detained and the truck also seized.
According to him, the owner of the truck said he can’t fix the badly damaged SUV until after a year.
Ex – Super Eagles of Nigeria, Okwuchukwu Waobikeze has observed that sports development in Nigeria is going down.
According to him, grassroots sports is very important, without it, the administrators cannot get it right. So everybody should key into grassroots sports development, he said.
Waobikeze said this last Wednesday in an interview with sports journalists shortly after the Port Harcourt All Stars Independence football festival (OCTOBERFEST) at the Port Harcourt club, Rivers State.
He explained that for sports administrators to get it right, grassroots development is key. “They should be organising competition at the grassroots level to fish out the young ones for different sporting activities.
“Grassroots sports is very important so the administrators have to go back to the grassroots.
” Sports Development in Nigeria is going down we need to go back to the basics.
“Look at the just concluded Paris Olympics, Nigeria did not win any medal.
” Our football team did not even qualify for the Olympics. We are going down.
” If they should go back to the grassroots, they will get young ones in the games and talents will be developed.
” I started from school games, to youth games before playing for the national team. Now everybody wants to fly board to play professional football and a lot do not know the basics of the game.
” A lot of people did not know the little things about the game, they just want to play. It is not done so,” Waobikeze stated.
Kiadum Edookor