Latest news with #Blitzchamps
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Kyler Murray loses in final of chess tournament
Kyler Murray loses in final of chess tournament For the second consecutive year, Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray lost to safety Justin Reid in the finals of the high-speed Blitzchamps chess tournament June 16. At least this year, Murray won a game after losing 2-0 to Reid in 2024. Reid was with the Kansas City Chiefs then and is now with the New Orleans Saints after signing as an unrestricted free agent in March. Eight current or former players participated in a double-elimination format that included a winner's and loser's bracket on The other six year this were Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert and tackle Rashawn Slater, Patriots wide receiver Mack Hollins, Eagles running back AJ Dillon, Vikings defensive lineman Harrison Phillips and former cornerback Richard Sherman. The final is best-of-two and in the event of a tie, there is sudden death, which is when Reid emerged the winner. He won $30,000 for his JReid Indeed charity, while Murray's $20,000 second-place winnings support the Kyler Murray Foundation. Reid told The Athletic he is 'obsessed' with chess and plays almost every day. Notable is that he also said, 'Whenever we're getting ready to play a game (in the NFL) and you start to get excited because you know that moment is coming where you're about to go into combat with your brothers, I play one or two games to calm myself down and bring myself back to peace because I play my best when I'm calm and thinking clearly, rather than when I'm jacked up on emotion. 'So in those two ways, the games are very similar. You get too emotional and you make mistakes, a blunder here and there. If you stay calm under pressure, it ends up translating pretty well ... Sometimes you can see what your opponent is about to do before they do it. Both on the chess board and football field so you do a move to counter that before they even get to it.' It was intriguing that Reid mentioned 'blunder' for what can happen at key times. Eduardo Tansley of The Athletic wrote that in the sudden-death game, 'Murray resigned after a blunder when he moved h4, trapping his Queen when Reid moved Bg4.' Perhaps Murray can take some of those tips from Reid so he can be at his best in the crucial moments when NFL games are decided. Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Kyler Murray loses in final of chess tournament
For the second consecutive year, Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray lost to safety Justin Reid in the finals of the high-speed Blitzchamps chess tournament June 16. At least this year, Murray won a game after losing 2-0 to Reid in 2024. Reid was with the Kansas City Chiefs then and is now with the New Orleans Saints after signing as an unrestricted free agent in March. Advertisement Eight current or former players participated in a double-elimination format that included a winner's and loser's bracket on The other six year this were Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert and tackle Rashawn Slater, Patriots wide receiver Mack Hollins, Eagles running back AJ Dillon, Vikings defensive lineman Harrison Phillips and former cornerback Richard Sherman. The final is best-of-two and in the event of a tie, there is sudden death, which is when Reid emerged the winner. He won $30,000 for his JReid Indeed charity, while Murray's $20,000 second-place winnings support the Kyler Murray Foundation. Reid told The Athletic he is 'obsessed' with chess and plays almost every day. Notable is that he also said, 'Whenever we're getting ready to play a game (in the NFL) and you start to get excited because you know that moment is coming where you're about to go into combat with your brothers, I play one or two games to calm myself down and bring myself back to peace because I play my best when I'm calm and thinking clearly, rather than when I'm jacked up on emotion. 'So in those two ways, the games are very similar. You get too emotional and you make mistakes, a blunder here and there. If you stay calm under pressure, it ends up translating pretty well ... Sometimes you can see what your opponent is about to do before they do it. Both on the chess board and football field so you do a move to counter that before they even get to it.' Advertisement It was intriguing that Reid mentioned 'blunder' for what can happen at key times. Eduardo Tansley of The Athletic wrote that in the sudden-death game, 'Murray resigned after a blunder when he moved h4, trapping his Queen when Reid moved Bg4.' Perhaps Murray can take some of those tips from Reid so he can be at his best in the crucial moments when NFL games are decided. Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts. This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: Kyler Murray loses in final of chess tournament
NBC Sports
4 days ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Justin Reid beats Kyler Murray to win NFL player chess tournament
For the second consecutive year, Justin Reid has beaten Kyler Murray in the finals of a chess tournament for current and former NFL players. The tournament, known as Blitzchamps, saw Reid top Murray to emerge victorious from an eight-man field that also included Justin Herbert, Mack Hollins, Richard Sherman, Rashawn Slater, AJ Dillon and Harrison Phillips. Reid, the first two-time champion of the annual event, said he sees the mental approach to chess as similar to the mental approach to football. 'I love [chess]. I'm obsessed with it. I play it almost every day,' Reid said, via 'Whenever we're getting ready to play a game [in the NFL] and you start to get excited because you know that moment is coming where you're about to go into combat with your brothers, I play one or two games to calm myself down and bring myself back to peace because I play my best when I'm calm and thinking clearly, rather then when I'm jacked up on emotion. So in those two ways, the games are very similar. You get too emotional and you make mistakes, a blunder here and there. If you stay calm under pressure, it ends up translating pretty well. . . . Sometimes you can see what your opponent is about to do before they do it. Both on the chess board and football field so you do a move to counter that before they even get to it.' The prize for Reid was a $30,000 donation to his foundation, JReid Indeed, which provides opportunities to disadvantaged young people in Houston and Kansas City, the two cities Reid has called home in the NFL, as well as in Baton Rouge, where Reid was born and raised. After four seasons with the Texans and three with the Chiefs, Reid returned to his native Louisiana and signed with the Saints this offseason.
New York Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Justin Reid picks off Kyler Murray to win NFL chess tournament
In the fourth edition of Blitzchamps, a chess tournament featuring eight current and former NFL players, Justin Reid emerged as the winner, taking home the largest share of the $100,000 prize pool for charity. Two-time Super Bowl-winning safety Reid, who signed with the New Orleans Saints this offseason, won his second straight Blitzchamps, beating Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray in the finals on June 16. The eight participants to compete for charity in high-speed chess were Reid, Murray, Justin Herbert, Mack Hollins, Richard Sherman, Rashawn Slater, AJ Dillon, and Harrison Phillips. Players played online on and it was livestreamed on the site's YouTube channel. Congratulations to New Orleans Saints Justin Reid for winning #BlitzChamps IV! He's the first EVER back-to-back BlitzChamps Champion and has won $30,000 toward his charity, @jreidindeed! 🎉 — (@chesscom) June 16, 2025 Reid said on the stream post-tournament: 'I love (chess). I'm obsessed with it. I play it almost every day. Whenever we're getting ready to play a game (in the NFL) and you start to get excited because you know that moment is coming where you're about to go into combat with your brothers, I play one or two games to calm myself down and bring myself back to peace because I play my best when I'm calm and thinking clearly, rather then when I'm jacked up on emotion. Advertisement 'So in those two ways, the games are very similar. You get too emotional and you make mistakes, a blunder here and there. If you stay calm under pressure, it ends up translating pretty well. … Sometimes you can see what your opponent is about to do before they do it. Both on the chess board and football field so you do a move to counter that before they even get to it.' Reid won $30,000 for his charity, JReid Indeed, which focuses on supporting disadvantaged youth and communities through interactive programs, community engagement, and technology access in the communities of Houston, Baton Rouge, and Kansas City. It was a double-elimination format, with a winners and losers bracket. All matches were best-of-two, and each player started with five minutes on the clock in the winners' bracket, three minutes in the losers' bracket, and both had one-second increments with each move (considered time to move the piece). In the event of a tie, players competed in a sudden-death match, as happened in the final. Reid defeated Murray 2-1 in a repeat matchup of last year's Blitzchamps III final. Murray resigned in the third game after a blunder when he moved h4, trapping his Queen when Reid moved Bg4, but the quarterback still won $20,000 for the Kyler Murray Foundation.
