“Difficult, but possible”
Those were the words Tunde Onakoya used when he set out to take young children from under the bridge and turn their lives around.
Few years later, Tunde has pulled hundreds of children from slums, broken a Guinness world record while raising over $110,000 for his foundation in the process, and recently, he played a simultaneous chess match against 10 players and won all 10 games after almost 2 hours of battle in Germany.
Such is the impact Tunde Onakoya has made that when Patrice Evra, the French Football player visited Nigeria two years ago, he was at Oshodi underbridge to play chess with the kids. It is remarkable to see how Tunde had succeeded, with his intervention, in turning Oshodi underbridge, a “no-go area” for not a few Lagosians into a strong enough attraction for foreign VIPs to visit.
Of all places, it is interesting to know that Tunde discovered chess at a barbershop down the street, where he joined other children to play video games. The owner was a man called Bros. B, a respected figure in the neighborhood who had wise words for everyone, around whom, every day, men gathered to talk. Listening to the men was Onakoya’s first experience of real conversations, and his idea of the world began to expand. One morning, he walked into the barbershop but Bros. B wasn’t barbing anyone: the man sat in a corner, beside a stack of books, reading one. In front of him was a square set, and on it were shapes, and he moved them one at a time, reading from his book and moving the pieces, talking to himself.
“I was just deeply fascinated by it,” Onakoya recalled. “I mean, it was something I’d never seen before. But seeing him just, like, be so deeply involved in that world, it felt as if he was just removed from all the chatter and the boys just shouting and gambling and all of that. So I just kept staring. It was a new experience for me, just seeing someone be that deeply immersed in learning something.”
Tunde played chess obsessively because it was his only escape from the reality of his family and life. And with this motivation, he got unbelievably good that within two years of competing after constant practice, he had won the National Friends of Chess Tournament and the Chevron Chess Contest, and the International Chess Federation ranked him at No. 13 in Nigeria, and, at age 20, he received the title of National Master.
The Nigerian chess master has no doubt played against a vast number of opponents, both in friendly matches and competitive ones. But in the list below, we have selected the five(5) most notable opponents he has played against.
1. Shawn Martinez
Shawn Martinez is a national chess master and a professional chess coach. He is currently ranked in the top 100 of 5000 players in New York. He teamed up with Tunde Onakoya to break the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon previously set at 56 hours and nine minutes. The rule was simple, Tunde couldn’t afford to lose the game.
2. Deborah Ebimbo-Ere
Nicknamed Deborah ‘Quickpen’ because of her ability to seize opportunities and take control of the game from the first round. Deborah’s FIDE rating of 1945 speaks volumes about her talent and potential, earning her the title of a “beast in sheep’s clothing.” She is most notable for breaking the winning streak of South Africa’s Jesse February in the seventh round! The 11-year-old played against Tunde in a much anticipated game on Tuesday, June 11th, 2024 and showed her prowess once again as she came from a 3:1 losing position to end the intriguing game at 4:4.
3. Sampsa Nyysti
An international master since 2002, Nyysti ranks at 2353 among all chess players in the world. He won bronze twice at the Finnish Individual Championships: in 2002 and 2011 in Helsinki, and once he finished second: in 2015 behind Mikael Agopov in Kalajoki. Nyysti played for the Finnish national team at the Chess Olympiads in 2002 and 2006. and the European Team Championships in 2005, 2011 and 2015. Tunde and Sampsa played a friendly game during the 3rd anniversary celebration on the HSC in Finland.
4. Oliver Wartiovaara
The 19 year old won the Finnish scholastic and youth championship 7 times and represented Finland at the World Youth Chess Championships 3 times amongst other tournaments. He also played in many strong international open tournaments like Grenke Chess Open, Rilton Cup, Chigorin memorial, RTU open etc. Oliver’s game against Tunde was more a celebratory game, just like Sampsa’s.
5. Ajayi Oluwatobi
Ajayi Oluwatobi is the founder of Nord Automobiles Limited. And even though Tunde currently serves as an Ambassador of this company, the ambassadorship came with a game of chess. Both men played on the 6th of June, 2024 and it’s safe to say Tunde walked away with three wins that day; Chess, a brand new car and an ambassadorship deal.
