PogChamps Champion Eberechi Eze’s skills on the soccer pitch have made him a star for English Premier League side Arsenal, but last month the England international returned to his former school in London to launch a new chess initiative, in partnership with Chess.com.
Hundreds of children gathered at The John Roan School in London as Eze, his brother Ikechi, along with British IM Lorin D’Costa, founder of the charity She Plays To Win, ran packed sessions of lessons, donations, and motivational talks.
Through the Eze Foundation, which he runs with his brother, the Arsenal star donated chess sets and clocks for the school’s new chess club and pledged to help launch a new chess league, with prizes and appearances from the brothers at its inaugural tournament, according to The Athletic.
Eze, who almost single-handedly secured Crystal Palace its first major trophy in 120 years by scoring the winning goal in the FA Cup Final, transferred to his childhood club Arsenal for £67 million (~$88 million) ahead of this season. He has since been on fire for the London side and also earned his first international cap for England.
In May, Eze proved that his talent extends beyond the soccer pitch, as he stunned the chess world by winning PogChamps 6 on Chess.com, one of the most-watched chess tournaments of the year. The triumph made headlines in media outlets globally.
“What he’s doing with his foundation is what I think all rich and famous people should be doing—using their position for positive change and to help society,” D’Costa shared on his Facebook account.
What he’s doing with his foundation is what I think all rich and famous people should be doing—using their position for positive change and to help society.
—Lorin D’Costa
He told Chess.com he was super excited to be a part of the event. “I was more than happy to attend and help promote chess to the children, particularly to get more girls involved in chess, which we all know is scandalously low—still around 8 percent participation in most countries worldwide as well as here in the UK.”
According to The Athletic, Eze and D’Costa talked about the benefits of chess, and particularly its ability to improve focus and resilience. They also encouraged students to attend the school’s club and to play online.
Eze learned chess from his brother and his former Crystal Palace teammate Michael Olise. He told The Athletic in 2023 that he was helped by watching “YouTube videos of the best chess openings.” He named none other than IM Levy Rozman, better known as YouTube star GothamChess, as his favorite player.
The two celebrities even got the chance to meet during Rozman’s European tour earlier this year, and teamed up for this YouTube video.
Eze is far from the only footballer to play chess. Liverpool star Mohamed Salah “literally plays every day” on Chess.com and also revealed he has a dream to meet GM Magnus Carlsen, a player he hails as “the greatest ever.”
Carlsen has previously teamed up with a number of soccer stars, such as Christian Pulisic, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Pep Guardiola. Another player who enjoys the game is Barcelona and formerly Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford.
Eberechi Eze & Marcus Rashford, players of chess. ♟️🧠 pic.twitter.com/I0V1Cx3pBP
— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) November 3, 2025
The event at The John Roan School certainly seemed to have a positive impact for Eze. Four days later, he struck his first goal for Arsenal as they beat his former club Crystal Palace.
