Tunde Onakoya – The King’s Gambit

Not many people can boast of putting their city on the map. Lagos, known for its many icons in the world of arts has found a new icon, not for the arts but for the game of chess.

I present to you Tunde Onakoya, the 29-year-old Ikorodu-born Guinness Book of Records holder for the longest marathon chess game. Born on the 6th of October 1994, Monsieur Tunde can be defined as the concrete rose, unable to pay his secondary school fees his beloved mother offered to work for a school as a cleaner in exchange for the fees of the future chess master.

Tunde a board member of the New York City-based non-profit The Gift of Chess has been a pillar of hope and inspiration for a lot of kids with tough backgrounds.

Onakoya has been changing lives with his non-profit initiative – Chess in Slums Africa, which has been dedicated to transforming the lives of children in impoverished communities through the strategic game of chess.

Founded in September 2018, the initiative has been at the forefront of using chess as a tool for social change and cognitive development.

Truly it’s not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country. Many critics opine that the cause, Onakoya, 29, is charting doesn’t seem sustainable if the government doesn’t collaborate.

In a country riddled by bad leadership, gross irresponsibility, lack of vision, and potent corruption Mr. Onakoya has taken it upon himself to be the symbol and beacon of hope for a good many kids from underprivileged upbringings.

Truly not all superheroes wear capes.