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BBC News
29-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Chess fan Mbeumo on why Man Utd was right move for him
Bryan Mbeumo has no problem playing football in front of thousands of people - it's when you sit him in front of a piano with a couple of mates that the nerves kick in."It's funny, but it's so different," Manchester United's £65m new signing explains."Even if I play in front of a couple of friends at home, I'm not exactly shaking but it's 'oh guys, this is kind of hard for me'."Sitting in front of Mbeumo at United's team hotel in Chicago midway through their pre-season trip is to be presented with a different type of Premier League is quiet, relaxed and respectful, completely at odds with the explosive manner in which he scored 20 Premier League goals last season, which made him a primary target for United head coach Ruben Amorim as he tries to make his formation Cameroon international says he was sold on the United "project" - there were conversations with other clubs but he wanted to move to Old Trafford and, even as the drawn-out discussions continued, he never really felt the deal would collapse because he trusted the people around him to deliver the move he was the kind of standard question and answer session you expect from a new when you get the former Brentford man talking about the piano and his other great passion, chess, that is when his eyes light up. Unlike Lionesses Euros hero Michelle Agyemang, who took her piano to Switzerland and played in her room every day, Mbeumo has no great desire to widen his audience."I'm self-taught," he said. "And I'm not bad."The piano is nothing really linked to football. It just makes me take time for me and relax myself in my free time."It sounds like the perfect initiation performance in front of his new team-mates but Mbeumo is dubious."We will see," he ponders. "The thing is, I don't really like to play in front of people." Chess? It's just like football Mbeumo says he has heard Dutch forward Joshua Zirkzee likes to play chess so he may take his board on United duty and challenge his team-mate to a game, but for now, most of his chess playing is done anonymously himself as Bryan Mbeumo, Manchester United footballer, to his opponents probably wouldn't deliver the outcome he is looking for."I have a user name," he said. "You choose a nickname and just play against random people online. I use my own chess board against them."I'm not that crazy good. But if you know the rating, I'm like 800 on the surface, it is hard to think of something more different to football, given the intensity of thought and strategy behind each counters that. The similarities, he says, are more striking than you might clearly think so Palace and England forward Eberechi Eze won £15,000 in a four-day amateur PogChamps tournament, contested by 12 content creators and money is a side issue for players with the earning power of Eze and Mbeumo. The attraction comes from the challenge."Even if it's not physical, there is a lot of thought in chess," said Mbeumo."When you play football you have to think as well. Playing chess you can see some moves ahead because it is a strategy game. In football you have your strategy as well so you can link them together."There was one period where I was really into it."I was watching videos on YouTube and doing training on the app."It's really good for the brain and you can develop new skills."Obviously, you're doing football most of the time, every day, so you sometimes you don't really have time to develop on other skills. But I really like the creativity."Mbeumo's interest in chess expanded to watching the Golden Globe-winning mini series The Queen's Gambit. But he has yet to see the Netflix documentary on multiple world champion and world number one Magnus now, Mbeumo is concentrating on getting fit. Convinced by United 'vision' His former team Brentford were not scheduled to report back for training until a week after United's players, and so the 25-year-old stayed mainly in the gym rather than get involved in his new club's team explains why he is behind the rest of Ruben Amorim's squad in fitness terms and was not involved in Saturday's victory over West Ham at the MetLife has already said Mbeumo will also sit out Wednesday's encounter with Bournemouth in the forward may be involved in the final match of the Premier League Summer Series against Everton in Atlanta on 3 is unfazed by having to wait to make his United debut."My first aim is to make sure I'm ready for the start of the season, so I'll keep working hard," he opening-weekend encounter with Arsenal at Old Trafford is followed by a trip to United do have a good record at Craven Cottage, it is the type of test that has repeatedly proved beyond them over the past few Mbeumo's old side Brentford have proved particularly difficult opponents, winning two and drawing one of their last three meetings at the Gtech Community Stadium. Mbeumo scored in the first of those games, setting the seal on a 4-0 victory in August 2022 that proved the trigger for United's transfer window panic and resulted in them spending £155m to bring Casemiro and Antony to the club before that summer's transfer window is that profligacy United are trying to correct now, led by chief executive Omar Berrada and technical director Jason and fellow big-name arrival Matheus Cunha at least fit into Amorim's famed 3-5-2-1 system as the two number was convinced, as was Cunha, by a vision which goes beyond the current campaign, which features no European football at all, let alone the Champions League, which was on offer from his other suitors, which included Newcastle and Tottenham, now managed by his former boss at Brentford Thomas Frank."Of course, I spoke to some others because I wanted to hear their projects but the Manchester United one was very good for me," he said."Ruben [Amorim] says 'we are people who like winning, and we want to be the best team', which is what we will try to do."I'm someone who likes a challenge. Manchester [United] are a big club. I think it's a great opportunity and I wanted to be part of it. That's why I chose the project."
Spectator
21-05-2025
- Spectator
Cheaters
A 'Fair Play violation' got the YouTube streamer DrLupo booted out of the most recent series of PogChamps, online invitational tournament for streamers and athletes, which has a $100,000 prize fund. DrLupo's transgression was not particularly subtle. In elementary fashion, he blundered his queen for two minor pieces at move 11, only to comprehensively outplay his opponent, WolfeyVGC, who outrated him by more than 700 points on the platform. At first, DrLupo didn't make things any better by trying to pass it off as an accident. Internet streamers often have a chat window open while they are playing, and inevitably fans will sometimes suggest moves while the games are being played. But DrLupo had not just made one or two unusually good moves. After the initial blunder, he played the entire game perfectly, all the way to checkmate on move 36 – an almost impossible feat without consulting a chess engine. To his credit, DrLupo later posted an unqualified apology to his opponent, his viewers, the chess community and so on. He went on to offer to pay for the entirety of the next PogChamps series, estimating the total pricetag at $200,000-$250,000. Perhaps that's just good business for a streamer with 4.5 million followers on Twitch and nearly 2 million on YouTube. But it highlights a serious question for chess. What is a reasonable sanction for those caught cheating, if they do not have the means to make an offer like DrLupo? When cases of cheating were rare, it was easy to take a lazy view: ban them all for ever. The proliferation of actual cases of cheating demands a bit more nuance. can make their own rules, but the international federation Fide has the responsibility of laying down some guidelines. Many of the cheaters are minors – do they deserve the same treatment as an adult? Should reports of online cheating on independent platforms like
Scottish Sun
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
Ex-Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew reveals how chess champion Eberechi Eze can checkmate Man City in FA Cup final
ALAN PARDEW says Eberechi Eze can spark a great knight by becoming a Crystal Palace king. The winger is a symbol of how the club from the mean streets of South London has been transformed. 2 Former Palace boss Pardew believes Eze is the key to unlocking an FA Cup final victory for his former side Credit: Getty 2 Eberechi Eze has performed on and off the pitch this season, winning football and chess matches Credit: Getty Eze, 26, is a chess champion and an England international. A deep-thinking member of a polished Palace squad that is a far cry from when Pardew played and managed there. Today is the third FA Cup final for a club yet to win a major trophy. Pardew played in the first, managed the Eagles for the second and reckons this is the best shot ever his beloved ex-team has of finally landing silverware. READ MORE CRYSTAL PALACE NEWS CRYSTAL CLEAR I scored for Crystal Palace in 2016 FA Cup final, now I'm a manager in Cyprus Pardew, 63, told SunSport: 'Palace is an 'edgy' club. Always on the edge, whether relegation or the cusp of winning something. 'We get more street-type players like Wayne Rooney at our academy, who just love the ball at their feet. The area around the ground is 'edgy'. 'We get more of that type than we do structured midfield players or centre-halves or sensible right-backs. We get right-backs who just want to fly down the wing. 'The current squad has now been internationally sourced and scouted.' JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS Star player Eze won four-day PogChamps tournament this month — beating YouTuber Sapnap in the final. And Pardew said: 'It's brilliant Eze won that chess tournament. 'He is actually a neighbour of mine. Eberechi Eze was rejected by SIX teams including Arsenal as fans say 'absolute stinker in hindsight' 'He is a humble guy, he was very respectful to me when we met. Such a lovely person and to have that talent is a blessing. 'It's nice to see him win a chess tournament — brilliant. And it doesn't surprise me, because when he plays the game, everything he does is strategic. 'He passes the ball when he should and he crosses the ball when he should. 'And he shoots when he should and defends when he should. And he does that all of the time. He gets the mixture just right. 'The 1990 team was Steve Coppell doing the best job he could with the least amount of money. 'Non-league players like myself, Ian Wright, Andy Gray. Geoff Thomas came from Crewe, as did John Pemberton. 'We were a band of brothers from all corners of the football world. With 12 years of Premier League money, they have invested much more wisely. 'It has taken them up a level. I would go as far as saying this is the best team I've seen at Palace. 'I remember Gareth Southgate, when he went to the 1990 Cup final as a young player. He was teased as he was the only one in the squad who had any O-levels. 'But our centre-half Eric Young, did go on to pass his accountancy exams after retirement, so there was some room for intelligence.' Pardew wants a Palace win as a reward for the supporters. He said: 'I hope they get this one over the line for the fans. They are brilliant. They'll sing the whole game. 'A lot of those people are in jobs where money is tight, so getting to this final would be a big expense. 'But they'll still go the extra mile to be there.' ALAN PARDEW now leads his own strategic football consultancy, channelling years of experience to support clubs at every level, from recruitment to coach mentoring. Find him at
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
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 Saturday, won four-day, 12-player amateur PogChamps tournament, involving athletes and content creators. Eze beat the American YouTuber Sapnap 2-0 in the final, livestreamed on Twitch, winning the $20,000 (£15,000) top prize. 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'. Related: Magnus Carlsen: 'Play chess against Mo Salah? I would love that' 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 it, watching YouTube videos of the best chess openings, things like that. We're always playing something at the training ground.' Eze is one of several high-profile football figures to profess a love for the sport, with Liverpool's Mohamed Salah admitting in 2023 he was 'addicted' to online chess. 'I play every day, literally every day,' Salah told Sky. 'But I am not saying my username. I put my name and some other numbers so some people they ask 'are you Mo Salah,' I say 'yes,' they don't believe it, and say 'you are lying.' I say 'yes, I'm lying.'' Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold, meanwhile, lost to the world No 1, Magnus Carlsen, in 17 moves in a game that lasted five minutes in 2018. Carlsen, a big football fan who topped the official Fantasy Football rankings ahead of 7.3m others in 2020, said last year that there are 'a lot of decent chess players' in professional football. 'Martin Ødegaard plays a little bit … He's not a bad player, but he's kind of private about it.' Eze and 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.
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
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 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. 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.
