Eze does it: England footballer wins celebrity chess tournament
Eberechi Eze has followed up his starring role in Crystal Palace's FA Cup semi-final win with another personal success: first place in an online celebrity chess tournament.
The 26-year-old England international, who scored as Palace beat Villa 3-0 at Wembley last month, won Chess.com's four-day, 12-player amateur PogChamps tournament, involving athletes and content creators.
Advertisement
Eze beat the American YouTuber Sapnap 2-0 in the final, livestreamed on Twitch, winning the $20,000 (£15,000) top prize. Chess.com said Eze 'showed that he's as good at defending as he is at attacking', taking advantage of Sapnap who 'missed a key attacking idea, which led to an unfortunate brain fart and piece blunder'.
Eze is a relative newcomer to chess, having been taught the game by his former Palace teammate Michael Olise. He told The Athletic in 2023 that Olise, now at Bayern Munich, had introduced him and his brother to the game at the club's training ground. 'That's when I started studying the game, watching YouTube videos of the best chess openings, things like that. We're always playing something at the training ground.'
Palace will face Manchester City in the FA Cup final on 17 May, aiming to win the club's first major trophy. The Football Association announced on Saturday that the game will kick-off at 4.30pm BST.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
YSU senior finishes Top-10 at NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
EUGENE, Oregon (WKBN) – YSU senior Tye Hunt finished 10th in the long jump at the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Wednesday. Hunt's best jump measured 7.77m at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. University of Florida senior and three-time First Team All-American Malcolm Clemons won the event with a jump of 8.04m on his first attempt to win his first national title. Hunt was one of 24 finalists in the country to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. He posted a season-best 7.92m at the Virginia Challenge in April. He also qualified for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships last year and finished in ninth place to earn All-American honors. Hunt's teammate Hunter Christopher will compete in the 5,000m NCAA finals on Friday. This marks the fourth consecutive season that Youngstown State has sent two athletes to Eugene for the NCAA Finals. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Boston Globe
44 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Two musical revolutionaries, Sly Stone and Brian Wilson, leave life's stage nearly simultaneously
Advertisement Brian Wilson captured the California sound With his late brothers Carl and Dennis, Beach Boys co-founder Wilson was the architect of the California sound that captured surfing and sun, beaches and girls. Yet for all the 'Fun, Fun, Fun,' there was something much deeper and darker in Brian's abilities as a composer. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up It was more than disposable music for teen-agers. He had an unparalleled melodic sense, hearing sounds in his mind that others couldn't. He could worm his way into your head and then break your heart with songs like 'In My Room' and 'God Only Knows.' The tour de force 'Good Vibrations' —- had anyone ever heard of the theremin before he employed its unearthly wail? — is a symphony both complex and easily accessible. 'He was our American Mozart,' musician Sean Ono Lennon wrote on social media. Advertisement The 1966 album 'Pet Sounds' was a peak. Wilson felt a keen sense of competition with the Beatles. But they had three writers, including Sean's dad, John Lennon. Wilson was largely alone, and he heard impatience and doubt from other Beach Boys, whose music he provided. He felt the pressure in trying to follow up 'Pet Sounds,' and 'Smile' became music's most famous unfinished album. Wilson, a damaged soul to begin with because of an abusive father, never reached the heights again. He descended into a well-chronicled period of darkness. Sly Stone helped assemble a new kind of musical landscape Rock star Sylvester "Sly" Stone of Sly and the Family Stone appears in April 1972. Uncredited/Associated Press Stone's skills came in creating a musical world that others only dreamed of at the time. The Family Stone was an integrated world — Black and white, men and women — and the music they created was a potent mixture of rock, soul and funk. It made you move, it made you think. For a period of time from 1967 to 1973, their music was inescapable — 'Dance to the Music,' 'Everybody is a Star,' 'Higher,' 'Hot Fun in the Summertime,' 'Sing a s Simple Song,' 'Family Affair,' 'Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin).' Their performance at Woodstock was a milestone. 'His songs weren't just about fighting injustice, they were about transforming the self to transform the world,' musician and documentarian Questlove, who lovingly tended to Stone's legacy, wrote this week. 'He dared to be simple in the most complex ways — using childlike joy, wordless cries and nursery rhyme cadences to express adult truths. His work looked straight at the brightest and darkest parts of life and demanded we do the same.' From his peak, the fall was hard. Years of drug abuse took its toll. Periodic comeback attempts deepened a sense of bewilderment and pity. Advertisement In a world where many musical icons died young, each endured Music is littered with stories of sudden, untimely and early deaths. Yet until this week, both men lived on, somewhat improbably passing average life expectancies. Wilson, by many measures, achieved some level of peace late in life. He had a happy marriage. He was able to see how his music was revered and appreciated and spent several years performing it again with a younger band that clearly worshiped him. It was a postscript not many knew, said journalist Jason Fine, who befriended Wilson and made the 2021 documentary, 'Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road.' 'That sort of simple message he really wanted to give people through his music going back to the '60s — a sense of warmth, a sense that it's going to be OK in the same way that music lifted him up from his darkness, he'd try to do for other people,' Fine told The Associated Press in an interview then. 'I think now, more than earlier in his career, he accepts that he does that and that's a great comfort to him.' Stone emerged to write an autobiography in 2023. But less is known about his later years, whether he found peace or died without the full knowledge of what his music meant to others. 'Yes, Sly battled addiction,' Questlove wrote. 'Yes, he disappeared from the spotlight. But he lived long enough to outlast many of his disciples, to feel the ripples of his genius return through hip-hop samples, documentaries and his memoir. Still, none of that replaces the raw beauty of his original work.' Did Sly Stone and Brian Wilson live lives of tragedy or triumph? It's hard to say now. One suspects it will become easier with the passage of time, when only the work remains. That sometimes brings clarity. Advertisement 'Millions of people had their lives changed by their music,' DeCurtis said. 'Not just enjoyed it, but had their lives transformed. That's quite an accomplishment.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Carnie Wilson Mourns Dad Brian Wilson: ‘I've Never Felt This Kind of Pain Before'
Following the death of Beach Boys frontman and legendary songwriter Brian Wilson at 82, his daughter Carnie Wilson shared a moving tribute to him on social media. 'I have no words to express the sadness I feel right now,' Carnie wrote alongside a photo of her, Brian and sister Wendie. 'My Father @brianwilsonlive was every fiber of my body. He will be remembered by millions and millions until the world ends.' More from Rolling Stone Al Jardine Pays Tribute to Beach Boys Bandmate Brian Wilson: 'My Brother in Spirit' Elton John Calls Late Brian Wilson 'The Biggest Influence on My Songwriting' Elton John, Carole King, More Remember Brian Wilson: 'His Cherished Music Will Live Forever' She continued, saying she was 'lucky to have been his daughter and had a soul connection with him that will live on always.' 'I've never felt this kind of pain before, but I know he's resting up there in heaven … or maybe playing the piano for Grandma Audree his Mom,' she wrote. At the end of her tribute, she said that she 'will post something else soon but this is all my hands will let me type,' adding, 'I love you Daddy….I miss you so much already.' Brian formed the Beach boys with his younger brothers Dennis and Carl in 1961 with their cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine. His prolific legacy includes dozens of ubiquitous hit singles with the Beach Boys, including three Number One tracks ('I Get Around,' 'Help Me, Rhonda,' and 'Good Vibrations'). His family announced his death in a statement Wednesday. 'We are heartbroken to announce that our beloved father Brian Wilson has passed away. We are at a loss for words right now,' his family wrote on social media. 'Please respect our privacy at this time as our family is grieving. We realize that we are sharing our grief with the world.' Wilson's family did not provide a cause of death, but it was revealed in February 2024 that the Beach Boys member was battling dementia. 'The world mourns a genius today, and we grieve for the loss of our cousin, our friend, and our partner in a great musical adventure,' the band wrote in a statement. 'Brian Wilson wasn't just the heart of the Beach Boys — he was the soul of our sound. The melodies he dreamed up and the emotions he poured into every note changed the course of music forever. His unparalleled talent and unique spirit created the soundtrack of so many lives around the globe, including our own. Together, we gave the world the American dream of optimism, joy, and a sense of freedom — music that made people feel good, made them believe in summer and endless possibilities. 'We are heartbroken by his passing,' the group continued. 'We will continue to cherish the timeless music we made together and the joy he brought to millions over the decades. And while we will miss him deeply, his legacy will live on through his songs and in our memories.' 'Brian Wilson, my friend, my classmate, my football teammate, my Beach Boy bandmate and my brother in spirit, I will always feel blessed that you were in our lives for as long as you were,' Jardine said in a separate statement to Rolling Stone. 'I think the most comforting thought right now is that you are reunited with Carl and Dennis, singing those beautiful harmonies again. You were a humble giant who always made me laugh and we will celebrate your music forever.' Best of Rolling Stone Sly and the Family Stone: 20 Essential Songs The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked
