The Governor of Ogun State, Mr. Dapo Abiodun has appointed chess master, Tunde Onakoya as the state’s sports ambassador.
This comes after Onakoya, the founder of Chess in Slums Africa achieved the feat for the longest-ever chess marathon upon completing 60 hours at Times Square in New York, United States on Saturday, April 20.
Onakoya surpassed Norwegian players, Hallvard Haug Flatebø and Sjur Ferkingstad, who played for 56 hours, 9 minutes in 2018 to claim the new Guinness World Record (GWR).
“We welcomed Mr. @Tunde_OD, the National Master of Chess and @GWR holder for the longest chess marathon. Beyond chess, he founded ‘Chess in Slums Africa’ to inspire and uplift underprivileged children.
“Today, we appointed him as our State Sports Ambassador as Ogun State prepares to host the National Sports Festival in nine months, where chess will be featured. In his honour, we are launching the Ogun State Chess Competition, which Mr. Onakoya will design,” Governor Abiodun stated on X, formerly Twitter on Thursday.
He added: “We also announced the Tunde Onakoya Prize to reward the competition’s winner, recognising his dedication and leadership in promoting chess in our state.”
