Sports

Guinness World Record: 16 hours in, Nigerian Onakoya remains unbeaten in chess marathon

Published

2 years ago

April 18, 2024

Charles Flames

455 Views

16 hours in, Nigerian Onakoya remains unbeaten in chess marathon

Renowned chess master, Tunde Onakoya, who commenced his mission to surpass the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon for 58 hours, has played the game for 16 hours, winning all opponents.

The event, which is underway at New York City’s iconic Times Square, started on Wednesday, April 17, and is scheduled to end on April 19.

Onakoya has emerged triumphant in all encounters so far, including his match with New York’s National Chess Master, Shawn Martinez.

A post on his X handle early Thursday read, “Tunde Onakoya beats a very worthy opponent and one of New York’s finest, National Chess Master Shawn Martinez!”

Onakoya’s manager, known as Taiwo with the X handle “OgaBoxx,” has also provided insights into the nature of the challenge.

Taiwo stated that after 15 hours of continuous play with 12 opponents, Onakoya took an accumulated break of 30 minutes, as the rules stipulate a five-minute break for every hour of play.

He added that Onakoya is playing two sets of games simultaneously and must not lose either.

He wrote, “The opponent on the first set is Shawn Martinez, a US National Chess Master, and he will play with Tunde throughout the attempt.

“Opponents in the second set are random players. He can’t lose any game on either set.

“Only Tunde’s match against Shawn Martinez is considered valid for the record. He is not competing in his simultaneous play against random opponents in the second set. NYC, come out and play regardless.”

The event has garnered significant attention and support from Nigerians abroad who came out to support the chess master.

Onakoya has also received encouraging messages from various Nigerian dignitaries, including Vice President Kashim Shettima; former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar; and Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, among others.

The US Mission Nigeria and UK in Nigeria have also sent their best wishes to Onakoya via their respective X handles.

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Drake Wins $1 Million After Betting $770,000 on Canada v South Africa Match

Canada sealed the win in stoppage time when Stephen Eustáquio struck the only goal of the game at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

Published

18 hours ago

June 29, 2026

OCHEFA

26 Views

Canadian rapper Drake has won more than $1 million after Canada beat South Africa 1-0 in their FIFA World Cup Round of 32 match.

The victory also saw his $770,000 bet return a payout of $1,001,000.

Drake shared a screenshot of the wager on Instagram before kick-off, showing he had backed Canada to qualify.

He said that the bet came after an exchange with South African DJ Black Coffee, writing: ”@realblackcoffee was chirping in the DM I had to raise the STAKES.”

Canada sealed the win in stoppage time when Stephen Eustáquio struck the only goal of the game at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

The result sent the co-hosts into the Round of 16 for the first time in FIFA World Cup history.

For South Africa, the defeat ended a memorable campaign.

Bafana Bafana reached the knockout stage for the first time after finishing second in their group and qualifying for the expanded 2026 tournament ahead of Nigeria.

Sports

FIFA bars Nepal from international competitions

FIFA said in a letter to the All Nepal Football Association that the decision came after “undue interference by a third party”, referring to arguments between ANFA and Nepal’s National Sports Council, the country’s authority for sports administration, over governance of Nepali football.

Published

5 days ago

June 25, 2026

OCHEFA

75 Views

World football’s governing body FIFA has suspended Nepal’s football association, officials said Thursday, barring the country from all international competitions.

Nepal is currently ranked 175th in FIFA’s world rankings.

The women’s national team ranks 88th.

FIFA holds that a national football association must operate independently of government bodies.

Sports

The World Cup is half over, with 54 of 104 matches complete

“The best is yet to come,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino told SNTV earlier this week.”

Published

5 days ago

June 25, 2026

OCHEFA

67 Views

• United States’ Alex Freeman (16), second left, celebrates after scoring his side’s second goal during the World Cup Group D soccer match between the United States and Australia in Seattle, Friday, June 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — It’s halftime at the World Cup.

Take a break, everyone.Wednesday marked the midpoint of the 104-match tournament — technically, just past the midpoint, with 54 matches now in the books and 50 remaining before a World Cup champion is crowned in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on July 19.

The U.S. has reached the Round of 32, which shouldn’t be surprising. Mexico and Canada, the other host nations for this biggest World Cup in history, are also through to the knockout stage. And the stars are positively shining: Argentina’s Lionel Messi has five goals to kick-start what he hopes is a run toward a second consecutive World Cup title. France’s Kylian Mbappé has four, as do Norway’s Erling Haaland and Brazil’s Vinicius Júnior.

Stadiums are mostly filled; FIFA is touting record attendance.

And there have been some feel-good stories, most notably the tale of Cape Verde goalie Vozinha and how his mother was able to come to this World Cup.

“The best is yet to come,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino told SNTV earlier this week.

In other words, the second half of this tournament — just like the second half of matches — is when things might get really good.