The father of Nigerian chess champion Tunde Onakoya has opened up about how he felt when his son chose to play chess. Speaking in an interview with City Edge TV, Pa Onakoya said he was against his son playing chess.
Tunde Onakoya, on April 17, 2024, attempted to break the record for the longest chess marathon which stood at 56-hour, and 9-minute, a feat achieved by Norwegian players, Hallvard Haug Flatebø and Sjur Ferkingstad.
On April 20, 2024, at Times Square in New York City, Onakoya broke the record by playing for 58 hours, winning every match.
His father described him as resilient adding that when Tunde was much younger, he would disrupt his chess games to make him focus on his education. He said he never knew chess would make his son popular.
He said, “To me, Babatunde Onakoya is an angel because whatever he set his mind on you must succeed.
“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.”