Current and former NFL players gathered before the Super Bowl for the second annual BlitzChamps Live tournament and festivities in San Francisco, California, on February 6. At the end of the celebration of football and chess, Will Davis, a former cornerback primarily for Miami and Baltimore, won the tournament for the second consecutive year!
Blitzchamps Live was part of the “NFL Legends Community Game Night,” an event celebrating the NFL community, comprised of current and former players, along with others associated with the league. This is part of a series of events the NFL Legends team puts together during the week leading up to the Super Bowl. This year’s tournament had eight participants:
- Will Davis (defending his title from last year)
- Lonzell Hill (former WR, New Orleans Saints)
- Quintin Smith
- Carl Petetti
- George Dibiase
- Walt Harris
- Chris Paul (Guard, Washington Commanders)
- Robert Turpin (SB XLVIII champion with Seattle Seahawks)
All participants played three best-of-two-game matches at a blitz time control of five minutes, with a two second increment. Just like last year, Davis crushed the competition, winning all of his matches 2-0. Smith and Hill finished in a tie for second place. The decisive game between Hill and Smith ended in a middlegame checkmate, as White’s pinned queen couldn’t recapture on c1.
Aside from the participants, the event saw a few notable guests. Past Blitzchamp competitor and 2026 Hall of Fame inductee, Larry Fitzgerald Jr. attended, as did former WR Kenny Stills, former tackle Dan Audick (Super Bowl Champion, 1981), Rams all-time leading rusher Steven Jackson, former RB Jonathan Stewart, former CB Odie Harris, and more.
IM Kassa Korley, emceed the event and played blindfold against Davis after the tournament.
