{"id":291891,"date":"2025-09-19T12:19:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T12:19:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/291891\/"},"modified":"2025-09-19T12:19:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T12:19:13","slug":"harder-than-losing-in-basketball-nba-legend-derrick-rose-on-his-chess-obsession-and-how-it-could-save-lives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/291891\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Harder than losing in basketball:\u2019 NBA legend Derrick Rose on his chess obsession and how it could save lives"},"content":{"rendered":"

On the face of it, playing chess and competing in the NBA<\/a> couldn\u2019t be further apart.<\/p>\n

One requires monk-like levels of silent concentration \u2013 particularly in classical chess<\/a> \u2013 while the other demands physical dominance, peak athleticism and the ability to stay composed in a frenzied atmosphere.<\/p>\n

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But it seems there is more that links the two sports than initially meets the eye \u2013 just ask NBA legend Derrick Rose<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The 2011 NBA MVP has been leading a new and unlikely collaboration between the worlds of chess and professional basketball.<\/p>\n

Rose recently teamed up with Magnus Carlsen<\/a>\u2019s Freestyle Chess to host a tournament, which involved top names from both disciplines. Players such as Golden State Warriors forward Quinten Post and Charlotte Hornets forward Grant Williams competed with and against several chess grandmasters in the 2025 Chesstival<\/a> in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

NBA players partnered up with chess grandmasters in a Head & Hand format, where the chess star would name a piece and the basketball pro would decide where to move it. The NBA players then went head to head in a separate blitz tournament.<\/p>\n

\"Former<\/p>\n

Former basketball star Derrick Rose, top right, teams up with chess champion Magnus Carlsen during the Chesstival event in Las Vegas. – Lennart Ootes\/Freestyle Chess<\/p>\n

Rose took part in the tournament himself and he\u2019s already planning on hosting a similar event again. The experience, he says, has helped him continue his education within the game.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s a passion that he started developing during his own basketball career and one that quickly turned into an obsession.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think just the thrill of knowing the possibilities is like no other game in the world,\u201d he tells CNN Sports<\/a>, adding that he initially picked up the game because of its cognitive health benefits.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou get three million or four million possibilities right after the first move. And with me learning that knowledge early on, it kind of intrigued me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chess dreams<\/p>\n

Rose says he had to take a step back from the game during his career in the NBA, with his new-found hobby taking up too much of his energy.<\/p>\n

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It got to the point where he would even picture his chess games in his sleep.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe dreams were very intense, and while I was playing basketball, I never wanted anything to come equal to that, or jump that,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cChess was kind of doing that. I\u2019d be up late at night trying to play one game, then I\u2019d look up, it\u2019s two in the morning, and I got to be up at seven for treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Rose<\/p>\n

Rose plays in Game 4 of the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals. He was named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player that year. – Mike Ehrmann\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

With the world of chess riding the wave of a huge popularity boom<\/a> in recent years, the game is increasingly collaborating more with mainstream leagues.<\/p>\n

A number of high profile soccer and NFL stars<\/a> have expressed their enthusiasm for chess, with several athletes from across a variety of sports crediting it with helping their own profession.<\/p>\n

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Rose is no different, insisting that learning the patterns and chess openings helped him see the basketball court a little differently.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt teaches me to be mindful of every move,\u201d he explains, clearly excited to talk about his love for chess.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt taught me that every move counts and every choice is an option, and within every option, you have to make a decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fun thing about it is getting your ass kicked and coming back to the board and having a totally different scheme or style of play.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like over the years, I was just moving the pieces, but now I\u2019m able to set up a gambit, or set up a trap. It taught me a lot, and I\u2019m very, very fortunate that I found the game early on in my career.\u201d<\/p>\n

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How chess helps athletes<\/p>\n

Judit Polg\u00e1r was one of the chess grandmasters playing at the tournament in July \u2013 she and Williams actually won the Head & Hand competition. Polg\u00e1r, who was a trailblazer for women in chess, was impressed with the level of the NBA players and agreed it could help their game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think chess can be pretty good for empowering your concentration skills. It is also very good on how you adjust your brain with the different situations,\u201d she tells CNN Sports.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlso to learn resilience, to never give up, because you fight on and anything can happen. Your opponent can also make a mistake, and then you\u2019re bouncing back and catching the opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Chess<\/p>\n

Chess grandmaster Judit Polg\u00e1r teams up with NBA player Grant Williams at the Chesstival event in Las Vegas. – Lennart Ootes\/Freestyle Chess<\/p>\n

Rose seemed destined for greatness when he came into the NBA. He was named Rookie of the Year in 2008-09, crowned league MVP in 2011 and made three All-Star teams before an ACL injury suffered in the 2012 playoffs began a series of injuries that altered his career trajectory.<\/p>\n

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Rose still went on to have a solid career, going on to play in front of millions of fans during his time in the league for the New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons and Memphis Grizzlies before retiring last year.<\/p>\n

But sit the Chicago native in front of a chess board and the 6-foot-3-inch former point guard still gets nervous, even if he\u2019s just playing with friends.<\/p>\n

He now plays whenever he can, be it online or on the numerous boards he owns.<\/p>\n

Perhaps surprisingly, Rose says that losing in chess hurts a little more than failing to win on the basketball court used to.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s heartbreaking when you do lose in person,\u201d he says. \u201cLosing in chess is a lot harder than losing in basketball. It\u2019s crazy for me to say that, but I feel like chess is more intimate, I don\u2019t know why.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith my friends, whenever I lose early on, or whenever I lose a game, it just gets to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chess can save lives<\/p>\n

So while chess for Rose has been an avenue to scratch his competitive itch since retiring, the 36-year-old says it can help everyone in their day-to-day lives.<\/p>\n

He has encouraged his own children to learn the sport and is happy to open the game up to audiences that might not have had access to it before.<\/p>\n

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He\u2019s confident that the game of chess can help children from less privileged areas get out of trouble \u2013 even to the point where it could save lives.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A Chesstival attendee wears a Derrick Rose Bulls jersey during the tournament in Las Vegas. – Stev Bonhage\/Freestyle Chess<\/p>\n

\u201cMost kids now, they\u2019re reacting instead of thinking, from the areas that I grew up in. That decision may cost them their life depending on the situation that they\u2019re in,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I always want them to be patient, be mindful, and to know that you have to think moves down the line. Your first initial thought, or your first move may not be your best thought right away. So it\u2019s always thinking past that moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want kids to know how precious their life is, and I think the game of chess teaches you a lot about life, a lot about being strategic and organizing yourself as a young man growing up in these harsh environments.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On the face of it, playing chess and competing in the NBA couldn\u2019t be further apart. One requires…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":291892,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[7,8152,473,32112,47919,47916,47915,47918,47917,919,193,1025,188,164,1439,6073,32009,177,152,6,2032,191,1102],"class_list":{"0":"post-291891","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-basketball-court","10":"tag-charlotte-hornets","11":"tag-chess","12":"tag-chess-board","13":"tag-chess-champion","14":"tag-chess-grandmasters","15":"tag-chess-openings","16":"tag-chess-tournament","17":"tag-chicago","18":"tag-cleveland-cavaliers","19":"tag-derrick-rose","20":"tag-detroit-pistons","21":"tag-golden-state-warriors","22":"tag-grant-williams","23":"tag-las-vegas","24":"tag-magnus-carlsen","25":"tag-memphis-grizzlies","26":"tag-minnesota-timberwolves","27":"tag-nba","28":"tag-nba-players","29":"tag-new-york-knicks","30":"tag-quinten-post"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115230930667108992","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=291891"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291891\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/291892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=291891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=291891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=291891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}