You will be surprised to know that the popularity of Chess within the league is not new. Wilt Chamberlain even played an all-night session with World Chess Champion Bobby Fischer. Today’s stars like Klay Thompson, Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and even last season’s Finals MVP, Jaylen Brown, are also Chess fanatics. Now, let’s also add Derrick Rose to the list because his love also extended to the game as he announced his ‘Chesstival’ some time back. Is the event coming back in 2024?

After the conclusion of the recent World Chess Championship, Gukesh Dommaraju (D Gukesh) etched his name in history. He became the second Indian after Viswanathan Anand to win the World Championship. Not just this, he also bagged the honor of being the youngest-ever undisputed World Champion. Even billionaires Elon Musk and Sundar Pichai, among others, congratulated the 18-year-old Grand Master. Even though Derrick Rose’s current activity is not about the World Champion, he did promote other chess prodigies.

The Bulls legend uploaded Instagram stories of 6 stars of the game, including former World Champions Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura. So, who were the other 4 players? Two stories were a blast from the past, as he added photos of Bibisara Assaubayeva, that too when she was a 9-year-old back in 2013. The Kazakhstan chess player is a two-time world champion and currently is a Woman Grandmaster. Another one was of FM Joshua Colas, who made headlines in 2010 after breaking the record of the youngest African-American to become a US national master.

The other two are from last year’s event, where Imkhitha Joya earned a spot in the World Cadets Championship 2023. Hailing from Cape Town, South Africa, she earned the prestigious opportunity to represent her country. Another photo was of Nigerian-American chess phenom Tani Adewumi. So, is it all to the hype about Derrick Rose’s Chess event?

The youngest MVP had announced his high-stakes ‘Chesstival’ tournament back in 2023. However, the tournament never came to fruition. Even the website now states “2024 DATES COMING SOON!” With only half of December left, can it still happen?

Exploring Derrick Rose and his love for chess

Even though there is uncertainty about the tournament, one thing is certain: his love for the game is not manufactured. So much so that last year, his wife, Alaina Rose, uploaded a story last year where her husband was playing chess in an unusual location. During one of the concerts of Drake, the 16-year-NBA veteran was engrossed playing chess on his phone. However, he clarified later that it was only during the break that he couldn’t think of anything else to kill his boredom.

Derrick Rose even described the feeling about the chess community in the league. “It’s kind of a cult type thing. People whisper about it. It’s never where I say, ‘I play chess.’ It’s a thing where it’s like, ‘Hey I play.’ ‘Oh sh—, you play too?‘ It’s a whisper,” the Chicago native spoke to Stephen Noah. “It’s never like you see people with boards. It’s more of a hidden type of community.”

During his time with the Grizzlies, he carried two chess boards and would play against any of his teammates. Even though he retired a few months ago, his love for chess is still evident in his retirement post, as he holds the newspaper thanking every city he played for, while a chessboard figures its way into the setting. And with the possibility of the ‘Chesstival’ happening, he wants to continue his love for the game.