July 17, 2025
Derrick Rose desires to make the sport of chess extra interesting to most people.
Derrick Rose is placing his love for chess on full show, hoping to encourage extra folks to worth the sport the way in which they worth basketball.
Three-time NBA All-Star just lately linked up with world chess champion Magnus Carlsen to host “Chesstival” on the Wynn Las Vegas on July 13. The occasion introduced NBA gamers and chess masters collectively as a part of Rose’s mission to highlight the sport and problem outdated stereotypes about athletes and mind.
“There are [600] million who play around the globe, however everybody says it so quietly,” Rose instructed The Washington Put up. “I’m making an attempt to get them to yell about it and to place eyes on the sport. I’m making an attempt to see if I can actually develop the sport. I take numerous probabilities. I’m at all times audacious. This is among the strikes.”
Since retiring, Rose has made chess a significant a part of his subsequent chapter. The Chicago native spent two years planning earlier than launching Chesstival and is intent on creating extra alternatives for underpaid chess gamers whereas additionally selling the sport to the Black group.
“The objective is to get children to critically assume,” Rose mentioned. “The place I’m from, [it’s important to] get children to consider it earlier than they pull the set off, do hurt, or get entangled in nefarious issues. The sport can stop that when you’re taking part in at an early age. I’m not saying it’s the answer to every little thing, however you’ve acquired to start out someplace.”
Over 100 folks watched in individual whereas 1000’s extra tuned in on-line as former Celtics star Rajon Rondo, Hornets ahead Grant Williams, and Warriors middle Quinten Put up went head-to-head with chess grandmasters like Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura. The NBA gamers confronted off in fast-paced “blitz” matches, with solely 5 minutes on the clock to make all their strikes.
To shake issues up, they performed a nontraditional model of chess the place items began in randomized positions, encouraging contemporary methods and creativity. Six video cameras captured each transfer and response, whereas every spherical kicked off with a method session stuffed with playful banter and trash discuss.
To provide the standard chess match a contemporary vibe, Chesstival ditched the standard formal costume code, no swimsuit jackets right here. Rose overrated the group prefer it was a basketball recreation earlier than settling in for his first match, and grandmaster Nakamura had the viewers laughing when he confidently declared he’d win throughout a stay onstage interview.
“For chess to be greater, you have to have a mixture of skilled competitions and an leisure facet,” mentioned Nakamura, ranked second on the earth after Carlsen. “I might examine it to wrestling: There’s very critical wrestling within the Olympics, however in fact, you’ve got WWE that generates much more cash as a really profitable and worthwhile enterprise. It’s wonderful these NBA gamers, who’re far above who we’re in stature — Rajon Rondo has received two championships — really take a look at us like we’re geniuses. If extra folks view chess that means, that may solely be an excellent factor.”
Though Rose was knocked out within the first spherical, he values the teachings that include each loss, a mindset he hopes to advertise as he works to deliver extra consideration and appreciation to the sport of chess.
“Shedding is worse in chess than basketball,” Rose mentioned. “After you lose in chess, it makes you wish to struggle. In basketball, I by no means acquired that mad that I wished to punch someone. Most likely as a result of I received rather a lot. However dropping is the perfect factor in chess since you perceive how vital one transfer is. That one transfer is a selection in life.”
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