Justin Reid moved from the Chiefs to the Saints within the offseason, however over the chessboard, nothing has modified. He confidently defended his title to turn into the primary ever repeat winner of BlitzChamps IV, the match to resolve the NFL’s finest chess participant.
Reid was topped the winner of the occasion on Monday after defeating Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray within the Grand Ultimate for the second straight yr. The match was an eight-player double-elimination bracket, however Reid did not lose a single match all through the occasion.
For his victory, Reid gained $30,000 for his charity of selection, JReid Certainly.
Early Rounds
Reid began the occasion effectively with a 2-0 win towards Chargers deal with Rashawn Slater. Kyler Murray, final yr’s silver medalist, additionally gained easily, dispatching former Legion of Increase chief Richard Sherman. Eagles operating again, AJ Dillon, performed effectively, however too slowly towards Vikings nostril deal with Harrison Phillips.
The hardest matchup of the primary spherical was Patriots receiver Mack Hollins towards Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert. Herbert has solely been enjoying chess for just a few months, however pulled off a powerful upset, that includes a stunning checkmate from a poor place within the first recreation.
JUSTIN HERBERT FROM DEEP!
Nice begin from the @chargers quarterback 👏 #BlitzChamps pic.twitter.com/1zMBfRSYFq
— Chess.com (@chesscom) June 16, 2025
Hollins bounced again within the Losers Bracket, defeating Rashawn Slater 2-1. In the meantime, Sherman overcame a stalemate trick within the first recreation to ship Dillon residence 1.5-0.5. Within the Winners Bracket Semifinals, Reid had no issues with Justin Herbert, scoring his second straight 2-0 victory. Kyler Murray joined him together with his personal 2-0 whitewashing of Philips.
This arrange a rematch of final yr’s grand finals between Reid and Murray. Identical to final yr, Reid superior, however not with no scare. Murray had a successful benefit within the decisive third recreation, however performed too shortly, most likely attempting to flag his opponent, and misplaced materials.
Within the Losers Bracket Ultimate, Murray confronted the winner of the day’s second Herbert vs. Hollins matchup. Hollins performed the occasion from Australia, and his web connection was spotty all through the match. On this match, it value him important seconds when he was about to win the match within the second recreation.
Herbert took full benefit of his second probability and gained the tiebreak recreation to advance to the Losers Bracket Ultimate.
The battle of quarterbacks was hotly contested and got here right down to a detailed tiebreak recreation. Murray stored his cool higher and took benefit of Herbert’s endgame blunder to succeed in the Grand Ultimate.
Herbert’s third place was a robust debut exhibiting. He mentioned afterward, “My chess journey has solely simply begun!” Be careful for him in future Blitzchamps competitions!
My chess journey has solely simply begun!
—Justin Herbert
Grand Finals
For the second straight yr, Murray and Reid met within the Grand Finals. Coming from the Losers Bracket, Murray would wish to win twice, a troublesome activity.
Final yr’s finals had been a clear sweep, however this time Murray struck again within the second recreation. In a pointy Sicilian, he gained a dangling rook and swiftly despatched the match to tiebreaks. Within the high-stakes third recreation, Reid gained an early edge, however Murray discovered a discovery to battle again. In a time scramble, Reid discovered the ultimate blow, trapping Black’s queen and claiming the title!
After the occasion, Reid mirrored on the position of chess in his life. “I am obsessive about it. I play actually nearly day by day.” He even talked about how chess helps him settle down earlier than his soccer video games. He credited his success partly to his targeted opening data, as he stayed true to his favourite King’s Indian Assault all through the occasion. He additionally gave a shout-out to his coach, FM James Canty, who helped put together him for the occasion.
I am obsessive about it. I play actually nearly day by day!
—Justin Reid
How you can watch BlitzChamps IV
BlitzChamps IV is the fourth chess and NFL crossover the place NFL stars compete to see who guidelines the 64 squares. Contributors performed in an 8-player double-elimination bracket on Chess.com’s servers till a winner was decided, every vying for a part of the $100,000 prize fund to donate to charities of their selection.
Earlier Protection
