Derrick Rose is looking for purpose in retirement
LAS VEGAS– Derrick Rose is accustomed to standing shoulder to take on with greatness. But Sunday was a little different.
The former NBA MVP for the Chicago Bulls rested on a phase alongside chess grandmaster and five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen, surveying an unplayed board. Carlsen leaned over to Rose, indicating a few pieces as he offered a few quick tips.
The unlikely pairing belonged to Chesstival, a tournament that Rose arranged to overlap with the NBA Summer League and that began the Freestyle Chess trip’s weeklong remain in Las Vegas.
The pro-am event– which teamed grandmasters with former and present NBA players in a “head and hand” pairs competition– marked a capstone in Rose’s yearslong effort to establish an existence in the often-exclusive infrastructure of competitive chess.
Rose finds lots of parallels in between basketball and chess. The court and the board are various, but winning in either arena needs much of the very same qualities. Perseverance. Respect for the opponent. Balance. And for Rose, really delighting in the game needs the same mentality.
“I know this is only a game,” he informed the Tribune. “You can stop this game. I can ignore this board. But I can’t stop my life.”
In the nine-plus months considering that Rose retired from the NBA, chess has actually ended up being a driving force in his life. One of his primary goals for his post-basketball career is to enhance the game’s popularity as an entrance to self-improvement. He thinks chess is more available than it’s frequently credited for and wants to supply more entry points for young players through charitable efforts.
This passion is likewise why Rose purchased Freestyle Chess and organized Chesstival, which released the trip’s very first U.S. event at Wynn Las Vegas. The 16-player Las Vegas Grand Slam runs from Wednesday through Sunday.
Before this previous Sunday, it had been more than a decade because Rose set foot in the Wynn. In 2014, the hotel hosted Group U.S.A. for a minicamp in the lead-up to the FIBA World Cup. He didn’t understand it at the time, however that tournament would mark a turning point for Rose– one final, enthusiastic effort at a return from a yearslong battle with knee injuries.
Previous Bulls star Derrick Rose shoots some baskets during warmups on Derrick Rose Night at the United Center on Jan. 4, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)Eleven years later, Rose returned with a various frame of mind: less desperate to show himself however still enthusiastic. Things have actually changed since 2014. Basketball no longer dominates Rose’s life. However the setting still used a possibility for reflection– and gratitude for the platform developed by his partnership with Carlsen.
“I want to push things to the limit,” Rose stated. “I’m believing macro. However these are locations I can’t afford yet. My ideas were libraries and airports. They’re looking at the best hotel on the Strip.”
Chess found Rose early in his NBA career. He first experimented with the game as a pastime, intrigued by studies that suggested playing chess could minimize a person’s chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, something that fretted him even in his early 20s.
After he suffered his very first significant knee injury in 2012, chess ended up being an escape for Rose throughout the long months of recovery. He started bring a board on road trips, welcoming colleagues to play against him. He made a Chess.com account to battle higher-rated players from all over the world. His friends picked up the hobby with him, playing casual competitions during the offseasons.
Although he’s a passionate online player, Rose doesn’t monitor his score.
“I’m a baller,” he joked. “Get me on the board, I might win. I got a jankiness to my game.”
Rose isn’t alone in his passion. Chess holds extensive appeal throughout the NBA– as evidenced by Sunday’s event, which included existing and former players such as Quinten Post and Tony Snell.
But this shared passion likewise had a weird aura around it, nearly cultish, as Rose described. For example, previous Bulls colleague Drew Gooden is a passionate chess player, yet he never ever discussed it while he shared a locker space with Rose.
So why don’t NBA players talk about chess?
“I have no concept,” Rose said with a laugh.
He wants to motivate more vocal support for the game, especially to increase youth participation. That was a vital element of putting Chesstival throughout the opening weekend of the summer season league, when an increasing number of NBA fans descend upon Las Vegas to watch upcoming players and mingle with current stars.
Rose believes chess can be comparable to basketball in its accessibility, but he wants to use his platform to enhance some of the barriers that limit the affordability of competitors. While high-profile events such as Chesstival focus on the game’s biggest stars, Rose is more focused on the grassroots movement– offering assistance and totally free education about the game to kids, starting in Chicago.
“We wish to keep an eye out for everyone,” he stated.
While last weekend marked a noteworthy triumph for Rose in his post-basketball profession, in the early months retirement was hard.
He didn’t understand what to do with his early mornings. Or his afternoons. Or his nights. Structure is a continuous in the NBA. Rose nearly took it for granted. For several years, his life followed the heart beat of his group’s schedule– morning movie, bus to the arena, pregame meal, recovery. And after that, on an otherwise routine day in late September, all of that went away and Rose was left to reorganize the quiet vacuum of daily life.
Getting home helped. Rose is now completely based in Chicago again. After eight seasons of playing in other cities, he has actually discovered joy in being embraced by the city.
Previous Bulls star Derrick Rose screams after throwing away the first pitch before the White Sox season opener versus the Angels on March 27, 2025, at Rate Field. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune) Former Bulls star Derrick Rose speaks throughout a press conference for the NASCAR Chicago Street Race on July 6, 2025. (Logan Riely/Getty Images) He tossed out the ceremonial very first pitch before the White Sox season opener and worked as grand marshal of the NASCAR Chicago Street Race over 4th of July weekend. Among his next organization concerns will be a substantial financial investment in the 1901 Project, which aims to establish the area surrounding the United Center into a multi-use home entertainment district.
Many of all Rose is finding peace in the very same place as always– on the basketball court, now with his boy PJ.
PJ, 12, plays for MeanStreets, the very same AAU program that assisted establish his daddy. And Rose is right there with him– viewing film, creating exercises and providing the toughest one-on-one cover in Chicago when he wants to get in some additional scrimmaging.
Rose misses out on basketball. He always will. But slowly all of this has actually become enough.
“You discover it,” Rose said about his new function after basketball. “It requires time, however you discover it.”
Originally Published: July 15, 2025 at 6:00 AM CDT