Latest news with #PogChamps6
New York Times
10-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Eberechi Eze's chess game analysed: King's Indian Attack, solid pawn structure and a booming fianchetto
Crystal Palace forward Eberechi Eze has an FA Cup final to look forward to, but he has found a novel way to take his mind off things in the buildup. Last week, he swapped his boots for bishops and romped to victory in a four-day online chess tournament, pocketing $20,000 (£15,000) in the process. So does he glide around the board? Does he stutter his approach ahead of converting his killer checkmate move? Here, The Athletic breaks down how he did it, drawing links — and yes, some of them are distinctly tenuous — between his performance in the serene sport of chess and his dazzling, explosive style on the pitch. Calling the PogChamps6 a proper chess tournament is a liberal use of the term. Much like the Baller League — a six-a-side football competition featuring an eclectic mix of YouTubers, Twitch streamers and ex-professionals — PogChamps is part of chess's broader attempt to court a younger, online audience by having 12 celebrities face off in timed matches. That effort has been wildly successful, with monthly users on surging from 5million in 2019 to more than 30million today. Advertisement But given the relatively low-calibre field, it's fair to ask: is Eze actually any good? The first port of call when assessing someone's chess chops is their Elo rating, chess's version of a ranking system. New players are initially given a rating of 800, which rises and falls with wins and losses. By the time of the final, Eze's rating had climbed to 1,143, the highest in the competition (only two of his opponents had a rating above 1,000). That places Eze in the top 15 per cent of all players, cementing him as a solidly above-average player. FIDE, chess's main governing body, classifies anything below 1,000 as novice. Eze's rating would put him above beginner level but still short of club standard — think National League South, the sixth tier of the English professional game, in football terms. Rankings are useful benchmarks of quality, but fail to capture stylistic nuances. Nottingham Forest and Manchester City are only three points apart in the Premier League, but their tactical approaches couldn't be more different. To understand how Eze plays, from his meticulous pawn structure to his clever forks, we need to take a peek under the wooden board and see what we uncover. Chess may look quiet on the surface, but with more possible board positions than atoms in the universe, it is, like football, a deeply chaotic sport. Those opening few moves are a player's one real chance to exert control before the chaos sets in. Like tactical setups in football, openings dictate the flow of the game, and Eze has honed in on a favoured approach. In 2023, Eze told The Athletic how Michael Olise was crucial in developing his opening theory. 'It was him and my brother who nudged me to learn how to play and face them, so that's when I started studying the game, watching YouTube videos of the best chess openings, things like that.' "What's wrong with this kid?" 😅😤#CPFC — Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) April 7, 2023 Across PogChamps6, Eze consistently started with the King's Indian Attack, an unorthodox but robust setup that mirrors Palace's counterpunching style under Oliver Glasner. While most players going first look to dominate the centre and suffocate the opposition like Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, Eze prefers to sit back, castle early to solidify the defence of his king, and build behind a deep, solid pawn structure. It's not unlike the setup at Palace, the FA Cup finalists, who average just 43 per cent possession this season and, according to data from Footovision, are the fourth-most compact side in the league out of possession. Like Palace, Eze's conservative approach should not be mistaken as passive. It is designed for explosive counter-attacks. Advertisement The King's Indian lets him fianchetto the bishop (placing it on the board's longest diagonal), allowing him to sweep the length of the board to devastating effect, much like his darting diagonal run from deep that set up Daniel Munoz's winner in the 2-1 grudge match at home to Brighton & Hove Albion in April. Eze's system thrives against careless, lower-rated opponents who overextend their pawns and leave gaping holes in behind. And at the PogChamps6 tournament, careless low-rated opponents were not exactly in short supply. Chess has its own error taxonomy. Blunders are the most severe, akin to an error leading to a goal. Against experienced players, these are usually fatal. Eze's opponents blundered on 2.6 per cent of their moves, making them the Southampton (19 errors leading to goals this season) of the 64-square game. Eze's own blunder rate of 1.2 per cent wouldn't cut it in elite chess circles, but in a field that included the self-proclaimed 'greatest Pokemon player of all time', it placed him in rarefied air. Less severe are mistakes and inaccuracies and, again, Eze comes out relatively blemish-free compared to his error-prone chess-mates. Thankfully for Eze, most of his blunders, including a few reckless queen losses, came in the group stage where he was never in any real danger. But his sharpness increased as the tournament progressed, especially in the semi-final against his toughest opponent on paper, Stephen Nedoroscik. Nedoroscik, the bespectacled pommel horse athlete who won bronze for Team USA at the Paris 2024 Olympics and boasts a huge online following, had a similar Elo rating to Eze heading into the competition. In the first game, Eze recklessly launched a premature queen attack without the supporting structure to back it up, handing the advantage to Nedoroscik. But rather than punishing the mistake, the Olympian immediately blundered his rook, leaving it exposed to Eze's knight. From there, Eze pounced and the game quickly unravelled. Known for mastering horses of the pommel variety, Nedoroscik was undone by Eze's chess equivalent. The second leg was even messier. Eze built a commanding position, squandered it, then capitalised on a late mistake, forking Nedoroscik's queen to seal the win. 'I thought I was cooked,' said a relieved Eze after the match. The England forward's commentary was colourful throughout the tournament. At the end of the semi-final, he punctuated his match-winning moves by singing, 'Boom, boom, boom, boom, Mateta's in the room,' a fan-favourite chant at Selhurst Park in homage to his team-mate Jean-Philippe Mateta. Advertisement In another moment, a smirking Eze declared 'en passant', the name of a rare diagonal pawn capture that often catches novices off guard. Eze's Palace have come from behind to win just once all season, a 2-1 home victory in December against Southampton. But in the final against streamer Sapnap, Eze once again showed his resilience under the cosh. He took the first game on time, with his opponent running out of minutes. In the second, Eze again ceded the advantage, but ruthlessly capitalised on a costly blunder with a rapid-fire checkmate to seal the win and the tournament. Eze was a worthy champion. His spring-loaded, defence-first strategy consistently outclassed weaker opponents. He's no grandmaster, and five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen would, as he did to Trent Alexander-Arnold in 17 moves, dismantle him. But for someone who came late to the game, Eze's composure and tactical nous are impressive. Whatever happens at Wembley next week, the Palace man won't end the season trophyless — not after his performance in the game of kings. (Top photos: Getty Images)
The Sun
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
England star Eberechi Eze WINS final of Twitch chess tournament – but takes home less than a day's wages
EBERECHI EZE is already king of the Palace. But it was his queen to E3 that won him £15,000 in a chess competition on Friday night. 7 7 7 Eze, 26, was Crystal Palace's knight in shining armour as he fired his side into the FA Cup final. The Eagles star scored a belting opener in last weekend's Wembley semi-final victory over Aston Villa. But he showed plenty more quick thinking and tactical prowess as he soared to his chess tournament win. Eze lined up in 12-player celebrity PogChamps 6 which ran this week. After coming through the round-robin stage, he earned himself a bye into the semi-finals where he beat Stephen Nedoroscik 2-0. Then in Friday night's final, he saw off Sapnap by the same scoreline. The final was live streamed on Twitch, with Eze sporting a white t-shirt and gaming headset at home - with a piece of artwork depicting him playing for England in the background. The ten-cap Three Lions hero - playing under the username Ebz Eze with a rating of 1,147 - stormed to the title, closing out the win with his typical class and style. He moved his rook to the top end of the virtual board, putting Sapnap in check and forcing him to bring his king up. But that played perfectly into Eze's trap as the Palace man immediately moved his queen into position. 'Raiders of The Selhurst Park' - Bidding war for Geuhi and Eze imminient? And it meant Sapnap had nowhere to move his king into safety and therefore found himself in checkmate. When the screen flashed to confirm Eze's triumph, the footballer hilariously shouted "come on" then raised a fist in celebration as he smiled at the camera before bursting into laughter. Ironically, despite earning almost exactly a day's wages with the £15k prize, the £100,000-a-week playmaker celebrated his chess glory more enthusiastically than his Wembley wonderstrike. Earlier in the tournament, though, there was major controversy as one of the internet personalities was booted out for cheating. YouTuber DrLupo admitted he "f***ed up" by reading the live chat to attain "information he shouldn't have had" against a higher-ranked opponent. Eze, meanwhile, will be hoping for another win on Sunday when Oliver Glasner's side make the trip across the capital to face Tottenham. But much of Palace's focus is already on the FA Cup final against Manchester City on May 17 - with the South Londoners hoping to win their very first major honour. SunSport also revealed Eze could be allowed to leave Selhurst Park this summer alongside team-mate Marc Guehi to raise £130million for a squad overhaul. He has two years left on his current contract but the likes of Tottenham and Manchester United may trigger his £60m release clause. 7 7 7 7
Scottish Sun
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
England star Eberechi Eze WINS final of Twitch chess tournament – but takes home less than a day's wages
Controversy earlier in tournament as YouTuber booted out for cheating EZE DOES IT England star Eberechi Eze WINS final of Twitch chess tournament – but takes home less than a day's wages EBERECHI EZE is already king of the Palace. But it was his queen to E3 that won him £15,000 in a chess competition on Friday night. Advertisement 8 Eberechi Eze won £15,000 in an online celebrity chess tournament Credit: Twitch / 8 He secured a 2-0 victory in Friday's final Credit: Twitch / 8 The Crystal Palace star celebrated his chess win more than his FA Cup semi-final wondergoal Credit: Getty Eze, 26, was Crystal Palace's knight in shining armour as he fired his side into the FA Cup final. The Eagles star scored a belting opener in last weekend's Wembley semi-final victory over Aston Villa. But he showed plenty more quick thinking and tactical prowess as he soared to his chess tournament win. Eze lined up in 12-player celebrity PogChamps 6 which ran this week. Advertisement READ MORE IN FOOTBALL MAKE YOUR MARC Crystal Palace ready to let Guehi and Eze leave to fund £130m rebuild After coming through the round-robin stage, he earned himself a bye into the semi-finals where he beat Stephen Nedoroscik 2-0. Then in Friday night's final, he saw off Sapnap by the same scoreline. The final was live streamed on Twitch, with Eze sporting a white t-shirt and gaming headset at home - with a piece of artwork depicting him playing for England in the background. The ten-cap Three Lions hero - playing under the username Ebz Eze with a rating of 1,147 - stormed to the title, closing out the win with his typical class and style. Advertisement CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS He moved his rook to the top end of the virtual board, putting Sapnap in check and forcing him to bring his king up. But that played perfectly into Eze's trap as the Palace man immediately moved his queen into position. 'Raiders of The Selhurst Park' - Bidding war for Geuhi and Eze imminient? And it meant Sapnap had nowhere to move his king into safety and therefore found himself in checkmate. Advertisement When the screen flashed to confirm Eze's triumph, the footballer hilariously shouted "come on" then raised a fist in celebration as he smiled at the camera before bursting into laughter. Ironically, despite earning almost exactly a day's wages with the £15k prize, the £100,000-a-week playmaker celebrated his chess glory more enthusiastically than his Wembley wonderstrike. Earlier in the tournament, though, there was major controversy as one of the internet personalities was booted out for cheating. YouTuber DrLupo admitted he "f***ed up" by reading the live chat to attain "information he shouldn't have had" against a higher-ranked opponent. Advertisement Eze, meanwhile, will be hoping for another win on Sunday when Oliver Glasner's side make the trip across the capital to face Tottenham. But much of Palace's focus is already on the FA Cup final against Manchester City on May 17 - with the South Londoners hoping to win their very first major honour. SunSport also revealed Eze could be allowed to leave Selhurst Park this summer alongside team-mate Marc Guehi to raise £130million for a squad overhaul. He has two years left on his current contract but the likes of Tottenham and Manchester United may trigger his £60m release clause. Advertisement 8 Eze secured the title by moving his queen to E3 Credit: Twitch / 8 Eze came through the round robin and then won a semi-final Credit: Twitch / 8 He pocketed a day's wages by being crowned winner of the 12-player competition featuring internet personalities Credit: Twitch / 8 Eze will be hoping for another 2-0 win in this month's FA Cup final Credit: Getty Advertisement
Scottish Sun
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
England star Ebereche Eze WINS final of Twitch chess tournament – but takes home less than a day's wages
EBERECHE EZE is already king of the Palace. But it was his queen to E3 that won him £15,000 in a chess competition on Friday night. 8 Ebereche Eze won £15,000 in an online celebrity chess tournament Credit: Twitch / 8 He secured a 2-0 victory in Friday's final Credit: Twitch / 8 The Crystal Palace star celebrated his chess win more than his FA Cup semi-final wondergoal Credit: Getty Eze, 26, was Crystal Palace's knight in shining armour as he fired his side into the FA Cup final. The Eagles star scored a belting opener in last weekend's Wembley semi-final victory over Aston Villa. But he showed plenty more quick thinking and tactical prowess as he soared to his chess tournament win. Eze lined up in 12-player celebrity PogChamps 6 which ran this week. READ MORE IN FOOTBALL MAKE YOUR MARC Crystal Palace ready to let Guehi and Eze leave to fund £130m rebuild After coming through the round-robin stage, he earned himself a bye into the semi-finals where he beat Stephen Nedoroscik 2-0. Then in Friday night's final, he saw off Sapnap by the same scoreline. The final was live streamed on Twitch, with Eze sporting a white t-shirt and gaming headset at home - with a piece of artwork depicting him playing for England in the background. The ten-cap Three Lions hero - playing under the username Ebz Eze with a rating of 1,147 - stormed to the title, closing out the win with his typical class and style. CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS He moved his rook to the top end of the virtual board, putting Sapnap in check and forcing him to bring his king up. But that played perfectly into Eze's trap as the Palace man immediately moved his queen into position. 'Raiders of The Selhurst Park' - Bidding war for Geuhi and Eze imminient? And it meant Sapnap had nowhere to move his king into safety and therefore found himself in checkmate. When the screen flashed to confirm Eze's triumph, the footballer hilariously shouted "come on" then raised a fist in celebration as he smiled at the camera before bursting into laughter. Ironically, despite earning almost exactly a day's wages with the £15k prize, the £100,000-a-week playmaker celebrated his chess glory more enthusiastically than his Wembley wonderstrike. Earlier in the tournament, though, there was major controversy as one of the internet personalities was booted out for cheating. YouTuber DrLupo admitted he "f***ed up" by reading the live chat to attain "information he shouldn't have had" against a higher-ranked opponent. Eze, meanwhile, will be hoping for another win on Sunday when Oliver Glasner's side make the trip across the capital to face Tottenham. But much of Palace's focus is already on the FA Cup final against Manchester City on May 17 - with the South Londoners hoping to win their very first major honour. SunSport also revealed Eze could be allowed to leave Selhurst Park this summer alongside team-mate Marc Guehi to raise £130million for a squad overhaul. He has two years left on his current contract but the likes of Tottenham and Manchester United may trigger his £60m release clause. 8 Eze secured the title by moving his queen to E3 Credit: Twitch / 8 Eze came through the round robin and then won a semi-final Credit: Twitch / 8 He pocketed a day's wages by being crowned winner of the 12-player competition featuring internet personalities Credit: Twitch / 8 Eze will be hoping for another 2-0 win in this month's FA Cup final Credit: Getty
The Sun
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
England star Ebereche Eze WINS final of Twitch chess tournament – but takes home less than a day's wages
EBERECHE EZE is already king of the Palace. But it was his queen to E3 that won him £15,000 in a chess competition on Friday night. 7 7 7 Eze, 26, was Crystal Palace's knight in shining armour as he fired his side into the FA Cup final. The Eagles star scored a belting opener in last weekend's Wembley semi-final victory over Aston Villa. But he showed plenty more quick thinking and tactical prowess as he soared to his chess tournament win. Eze lined up in 12-player celebrity PogChamps 6 which ran this week. After coming through the round-robin stage, he earned himself a bye into the semi-finals where he beat Stephen Nedoroscik 2-0. Then in Friday night's final, he saw off Sapnap by the same scoreline. The final was live streamed on Twitch, with Eze sporting a white t-shirt and gaming headset at home - with a piece of artwork depicting him playing for England in the background. The ten-cap Three Lions hero - playing under the username Ebz Eze with a rating of 1,147 - stormed to the title, closing out the win with his typical class and style. He moved his rook to the top end of the virtual board, putting Sapnap in check and forcing him to bring his king up. But that played perfectly into Eze's trap as the Palace man immediately moved his queen into position. 'Raiders of The Selhurst Park' - Bidding war for Geuhi and Eze imminient? And it meant Sapnap had nowhere to move his king into safety and therefore found himself in checkmate. When the screen flashed to confirm Eze's triumph, the footballer hilariously shouted "come on" then raised a fist in celebration as he smiled at the camera before bursting into laughter. Ironically, despite earning almost exactly a day's wages with the £15k prize, the £100,000-a-week playmaker celebrated his chess glory more enthusiastically than his Wembley wonderstrike. Earlier in the tournament, though, there was major controversy as one of the internet personalities was booted out for cheating. YouTuber DrLupo admitted he "f***ed up" by reading the live chat to attain "information he shouldn't have had" against a higher-ranked opponent. Eze, meanwhile, will be hoping for another win on Sunday when Oliver Glasner's side make the trip across the capital to face Tottenham. But much of Palace's focus is already on the FA Cup final against Manchester City on May 17 - with the South Londoners hoping to win their very first major honour. SunSport also revealed Eze could be allowed to leave Selhurst Park this summer alongside team-mate Marc Guehi to raise £130million for a squad overhaul. He has two years left on his current contract but the likes of Tottenham and Manchester United may trigger his £60m release clause. 7 7 7 7
