The recent Chesstival event took place on the 13th of July, and it featured NBA players and chess players. The event was organized by the Freestyle Chess investor Jan Henric Buettner and the NBA star Derrick Rose, and it features both chess players and NBA players in the event, where they are split into groups.
Image Cover from Freestyle Chess
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- Magnus Carlsen
- Hikaru Nakamura
- Fabiano Caruana
- Arjun Erigaisi
- Nodirbek Abdusattorov
- Leinier Dominguez
- Vincent Keymer
- Ian Nepomniachtchi
- Levon Aronian
- Wesley So
- Hans Niemann
- Vidit Gujrathi
- Parham Maghsoodloo
- Javokhir Sindarov
- Bibisara Assaubayeva
And the NBA players who participated in the event were:
- Derrick Rose (former NBA MVP)
- Rajon Rondo (former NBA All‑Star)
- Tony Snell (Chicago Bulls)
- Marcus Smart (former NBA standout)
- Grant Williams (Charlotte Hornets)
- Quinten Post (Golden State Warriors)
- Drew Gooden (retired NBA forward)
- Jeremiah Robinson‑Earl (New Orleans Pelicans)
- Onyeka Okongwu (Atlanta Hawks)
- De’Anthony Melton (Memphis Grizzlies)
- Harrison Ingram (San Antonio Spurs D-League)
- Paul Reed (Philadelphia 76ers)
The tournament is using a Head and Hand format, where it pairs a grandmaster and an NBA star. The Head calls the name of the piece while the hand decides where to play the piece. The winner of the tournament gets to become the NBA's Ultimate Chess Champion for 2025.
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The event, which was a 5-minute blitz event, was wrapped up in one day on the 13th of July 2025, and Quinten Post was crowned the Blitz Champion with a total of 4.5 points out of 5 points in the tournament.
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Image Cover from Freestyle Chess
As a chess player and a basketball fan, it was amazing to watch this event where these players come together to use chess as a tool for a charitable cause. Obviously I will be expecting more collaborations with chess, musicians have done it, some celebrities have done it, luxurious brands and now NBA stars, I can only wonder what will be next?
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Thanks For Reading!
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