... and dragged West Ham back into the Barclays Premier League relegation battle.
The much-maligned Moroccan striker's goal secured a 1-0 victory in Tony Pulis' first home match in charge of the Eagles and lifted them off the foot of the table.
Chamakh had only previously found the net once this season - which was still one goal more than he managed in five months on loan with West Ham last term.
But his 42nd-minute header earned Palace only their third win of the season, and their first since Pulis officially took over from Ian Holloway.
West Ham went into the match knowing victory could have catapulted them into the top half, but instead they are now just three points ahead of a Palace side who looked doomed a few weeks ago.
Tuesday December 3
20:00 Crystal Palace 1 West Ham United 0
Wednesday December 4
19:45 Arsenal v Hull City
19:45 Liverpool v Norwich City
19:45 Man Utd v Everton
19:45 Southampton v Aston Villa
19:45 Stoke City v Cardiff City
19:45 Sunderland v Chelsea
19:45 Swansea City v Newcastle United
20:00 Fulham v Tottenham
20:00 West Brom v Manchester City