Pa Onakoya, the father of Nigerian chess master Tunde Onakoya, has declared that he never supported his son’s decision to play the game, claiming that he had no idea that chess would make him famous.
He claimed that when he saw Tunde playing chess as a child, he would pack everything away because he wanted Tunde to concentrate on his studies.
Onakoya began his attempt to shatter the record for the longest chess marathon set by Guinness World Records on April 17.
At Times Square in New York, United States, on April 20, he broke the record for the longest-ever chess marathon, clocking in at sixty hours.
In response to Tunde’s accomplishment, his father said the chess master was a strong individual in a video posted on Oyindamola’s X handle on Wednesday. Onakoya acknowledges that he battled food poisoning during the chess marathon.”I think Babatunde Onakoya is an angel because he achieves success in everything he sets his mind to,” he remarked.
When Tunde was a little child, I used to pack everything away from him so he could concentrate on his studies while he was playing chess. I had no idea that this was what would propel him to such extreme popularity.”I tell parents not to discourage their kids from pursuing their passions.
I always thought Tunde should become a doctor, but I had no idea that chess would bring him such fame. Thank you, God.The record set by Norwegian players Hallvard Haug Flatebø and Sjur Ferkingstad in 2018—56 hours and nine minutes of play—was shattered by Onakoya.