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.

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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.”

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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.

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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.

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