From ‘Area Boy’ To Chess Master – Tunde Onakoya Speaks On How He Changed The Narrative

Chess-in-Slums founder, Tunde Onakoya, has changed the conventional meaning of “area boy,” typically associated with street thugs, into a symbol of intellectual prowess.

Onakoya, addressing a TEDx Talks gathering at Nile University of Nigeria in 2023, revealed his background as an “area boy,” a clip of which gained online attention on Wednesday.

He explained that this identity inspired his unique attire, combining an indigenous cap and suit.

Onakoya shared his vision of using chess to unite children from diverse backgrounds, aiming to break down barriers between the affluent and underprivileged. 

Inspired by this vision, he embarked on a mission to introduce chess to the marginalized youth in the slums, including those often stigmatized as “area boys.” 

By providing chess boards and opportunities for these boys to learn and compete, Onakoya sought to empower them and foster camaraderie across socioeconomic divides. 

Through this initiative, he aimed to demonstrate the transformative potential of chess in promoting inclusivity and social harmony within communities.

Onakoya said, “I am also an area boy; I mean, for a very long time, the term ‘area boy’ has been known to be a derogatory word that is being used to refer to the thugs, hoodlums and criminals in Lagos. But we’re able to redefine what that meant, and a lot of us became area boys for the sake of some people, and I’ll tell you that story.

“So, some 16 years ago, I was at home, I had just completed my primary school education, and my mom called me and told me that I would have to stop school because they just couldn’t afford tuition anymore, and I had to stay at home so my brother could go to school and that was going to be the end of education for me.

“I wasn’t a very brilliant kid in primary school; I mean, I could not even speak good English at the end of my primary school because the school I went to was a ‘Pako’ one where they taught in Yoruba, and we had to sit on the floor. So, I was really struggling, and my teachers would call me ‘olodo’. So it was the easy way out, okay, so no school, so I dropped out of school, and I was at home for two years after my primary school education.

“There was this barbing salon just on the other side of our street, and I would go there to play video games at the end of the day. Then, on one of those days, the barber just brought out a small plastic chess set, and I’d never seen a chessboard before.

“I was a very curious kid, so I asked what this was, and he said it was a chess set. I’d never seen one before, but I was fascinated by the way the pieces were carved, so I told him to teach me because I wanted to learn how to play because I would see him just sit down and talk to himself all right and it would say crazy stuff like well if you play this game you’ll be very intelligent, you’ll be very smart, and I told him to please teach me, and he said no I was too young and he didn’t teach me. So, I was just watching him play with his friends, and with time, because I was a very curious kid, I was able to pick up the rules of the game.

“I learned how to play chess by watching. At the time, it didn’t occur to me that I had made the most important decision of my life, but then it became clear that something had happened, and I went back to school; my mom had to make a sacrifice for me, and I returned.

“Fortunately, the secondary school I attended had chess as a subject, I had never seen that before. We learned chess as a subject and we wrote exams because I think the owner of the school then was the United Nations Ambassador to Kenya and he played competitively when he was younger and that was how I found the gift of chess.

“I kept playing, and I got really good, and my coach discovered that I was a really good, gifted child. I remember my coach telling me that I was gifted, and I believed it. That was the first thing that I learned as a kid who grew up in poverty in the slums of Ikorodu in Lagos. I found an identity, and it wasn’t just any identity; it was an intellectual identity. I began playing professionally, and I was ranked one of the top players in Nigeria, and I finished school in 2015.

“I won a lot of tournaments. I won the Trevor and Chess Challenge, the national friends of chess. I was a really strong player who wanted to become a grand master. I started teaching chess to private schools just like I’d learned, and I’d never thought of it before. But in that period when I thought of teaching chess to children, it made me realize that chess was an important educational resource for children who struggled with their self-esteem and everything else.

“I had challenges with teaching the boys who had never been to school, but believe me, they learnt at an incredible pace. What would take a master a year to learn was learnt by them in a month.

“They beat the other kids from rich schools and won trophies at national and international levels. They even got the toast of notable people to play with them, including the former Manchester United captain, Patrice Evra.”

Recall that on Wednesday, April 17, Onakoya began his efforts to break the chess marathon record of 56 hours, nine minutes and 37 seconds, held by two Norwegians, Hallvard Haug Flatebo and Sjur Ferkingstad, since 2018.

To achieve that, Onakoya had to partner with an American chess champion, Shawn, which was Martinez, in accordance with the Guinness Book Of Records’ requirement.

The aim of the 29-year-old chess player was not only to break the record but to raise $1 million for the education of marginalized children.

During his efforts to break the record in Times Square, he vomited a couple of times and was urged to give up due to his failing health, but he insisted on continuing.

Tunde Onakoya succeeded in breaking the record and even surpassing the 58-hour mark he set for himself as he set a new landmark of 60-hour at about 12:40 a.m. (04:40GMT) on Saturday, April 20, 2024.

The new record holder said he attempted to raise funds and awareness to provide educational opportunities to underprivileged children across Africa.