Tunde Onakoya, the Nigerian chess champion, has announced that he will be stepping away from the social media platform X to protect his mental health.
In a post on Thursday, Onakoya described the platform as
“overwhelming,” adding that he needed time to “guard my heart”.
“This place has grown too heavy for me. As an empath, I feel
too much darkness in the world pressing in.I’ll be stepping away for a while as
I must guard my heart,” he wrote.
“If it’s important, shoot me an email:
tunde@chessinslumsafrica. com
I’ll continue to share my thoughts on instagram.”
This place has grown too heavy for me. As an empath, I feel too much darkness in the world pressing in.I’ll be stepping away for a while as I must guard my heart.
— Tunde Onakoya (@Tunde_OD) September 11, 2025
If it’s important, shoot me an email: tunde@chessinslumsafrica. com
I’ll continue to share my thoughts on instagram. pic.twitter.com/J481Lh7FIP
Onakoya’s announcement comes a few months after he broke the
Guinness World Record (GWR) for the longest chess marathon.
The feat took place in New York, where he and Puerto Rican
chess master Shawn Martinez played for over 61 hours, surpassing the previous
record set by Norwegian players Hallvard Haug Flatebø and Sjur Ferkingstad in
June 2024.
The marathon, which ran from April 17 to 20 in Times Square,
was initially targeted at 70 hours but concluded after they secured the record.
Following the achievement, Onakoya paid a courtesy visit to
President Bola Tinubu at the presidential villa in Abuja, where he presented
his GWR certificate and a special chess set to the president.
The visit stirred a wave of mixed reactions on social media.
While some Nigerians criticised his decision to meet the
president due to the country’s prevailing economic challenges, others defended
him, noting that his achievement was worthy of national recognition.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com