Chess master, Onakoya, braces for ‘hardest match’ against 12-year-old

Tunde Onakoya, the Nigerian chess grandmaster who recently set a new Guinness World Record for the longest marathon chess game, is gearing up for what he calls his “hardest match yet.”

On June 11, Onakoya will face off against 12-year-old Women’s Candidate Master Deborah Quickpen in a three-hour chess match.

Onakoya further noted that despite her young age, she has already achieved the impressive title of Women’s Candidate Master.

“I have faced many tough opponents, but this will undoubtedly be my hardest match yet. I can categorically say that she is the future of chess in Nigeria,” Onakoya stated in a post via X on Thursday.

Quickpen, who will be representing Nigeria at the upcoming FIDE Chess World Cup in Georgia next month, is regarded as the country’s number one chess prodigy, according to Onakoya.