Kyler Murray makes championship match of charity chess tournament

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray doesn’t mind some chess in his spare time and he elevated that hobby on Wednesday.

Murray participated in Chess.com’s third annual chess tournament that features former and current NFL players, looking for some redemption after he was eliminated in the consolation bracket of the 2023 iteration. He certainly got some.

He won his first two matchups in the winners bracket in 2-0 fashion. Murray was complimented on the broadcast for the swiftness of his domination over former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick and Indianapolis Colts offensive guard Quenton Nelson.

Murray advanced to the finals of that bracket where he would lose to Kansas City Chiefs safety Justin Reid. In the double-elimination format, Murray dropped to the losers bracket, where he defeated Buffalo Bills wide receiver Mack Hollins 2-1 to get another shot against Reid. Reid would come out on top again over Murray to win the tournament.

In terms of year-to-year improvement, Murray was applauded on the broadcast for his grinding mentality to get better after a disappointing finish last year. Murray’s chess rating in the “blitz” format is now above 1,000, expanding beyond the numbers below that which typically infer it is a novice player. Chess.com tournaments with celebrity players typically offer coaches as assistance if players want some as preparation and Murray was noted as someone who took big advantage of this.

Murray has been passionate about chess for many years, dating back to when he joined chess club in elementary school, per ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss.

Cardinals legend Larry Fitzgerald also participated and didn’t have as deep of a run. He lost both of his matches.

Both players were competing for charities of their choice. Murray won $20,000 for the Boys & Girls Clubs of greater Scottsdale while Fitzgerald got $5,000 for The Larry Fitzgerald Foundation.

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