Former League MVP Derrick Rose teams up with freestyle chess to create chess pieces
The 2023-24 season is Derrick Rose’s final year in the NBA. He played 15 seasons in six franchises. The former league MVP stays quiet during retirement.
As we all know, Rose loves to play chess, he creates a mature event to try to expand the game. Recently, Derrick Rose announced Chesstival, the knockout-style celebrity chess championship in Las Vegas this summer. Chesstival is a fusion of NBA players and chess stars. The 36-year-old worked with freestyle chess to make this possible. $50,000 will be donated to charities online.
Derrick Rose invests a lot of money to develop chess games
Friends, boys, liberals… #chesstival Tickets are live!
Derrick Rose, Magnus Carlsen, other NBA players and others #freestyle Players are waiting for you. I hope to see you in Las Vegas on July 13! 🫰🏀🌹
– Freestyle Chess (@chess_freestyle) June 17, 2025
Chesstival When and Where is Chesstival 2025?
From July 16 to 20, the third leg of the 2025 Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour is in Las Vegas. During those days, Las Vegas will become the world’s chess capital. Before the Freestyle Grand Slam Tour, there was a buzz around a new chess tournament called Chesstival. The Knockout Style Celebrity Chess Championship was created by former Chicago Bulls PG Derrick Rose. For the winning team, there is a total of $50,000, which will be donated to charities.
Chesstival will be held on July 13, and Rose works with Chess.com to make everything happen. The Celebrity Championship received more than $20 million from investors, and Ross was one of them. When it comes to Chesstival, Rose is not shy about his opinion about the future of chess. Ross has something to say.
“I really believe that Chesstival is one of the biggest paradigm shifts ever in the chess world, as well as freestyle chess, and I think they will help develop the game.”
How does Freestyle chess work?
Freestyle Chess is an innovative chess alliance founded by Magnus Carlsen and Jan Henric Buettner. Their alliance focuses on creativity rather than memory. Each Grand Slam Tout offers a bonus of $750,000. Freestyle chess rivals will have the opportunity to pair with current and former NBA players during Chesstival in mid-July. There will be a face-to-face event where the chess board is paired with NBA professionals during the game. In addition, a blitz event will be held, a NBA player-only game.
Derrick Rose is passionate about chess
Chess has always been a part of NBA culture, dating back to Wilt Chamberlain facing world chess champion Bobby Fischer. Players like Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo are keeping chess alive. Chess has been in the life of former pro Derrick Rose. This is something he is very passionate about. On his phone, playing chess at a Drake concert, there is a famous Rose Online video. He is committed to the competition. By creating chess pieces, Derrick Rose hopes to break the boundaries of chess.
