If you are following Derrick Rose, then one might know what he is up to in his post-retirement life. Spending time with the family, converting his high school to the first Rose school. Who can forget opening up a pop shop for a day to thank the fans? Not just the fans, because he is not playing basketball professionally, he has all the time in the world to reconnect with the sport he once loved. But what is the former basketball player doing?

“Chess is played by over 600 million people worldwide, making it the second most popular game after soccer.” Derrick Rose added multiple stories to his Instagram. In his second story, he added a photo of the character Spock from Star Trek. Leonard Nimoy, who famously played the role, can be seen playing a version of 3D chess in the picture. D-Rose captioned the photo, “Me remixing this beautiful game.”

If you are wondering why the Bulls legend is suddenly following the game of chess, then don’t worry. It is because of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour 2025, where day 5 was happening live. “Day 5 of greatness come check it out.” The game that he was following live was of Magnus Carlsen, who suffered a shock defeat that too in 39 moves. For the world No. 1 player, even day 1 of the Weissenhaus leg didn’t end well!

KATWIJK AAN ZEE, NETHERLANDS – JANUARY 16: Magnus Carlsen of Norway competes against Daniil Dubov of Russia during the 82nd Tata Steel Chess Tournament held at the home of PSV football club, Philips Stadion on January 16, 2020 in Eindhoven, Netherlands. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)In his semi-final meeting with Vincent Keymer, the German GM came out on top. It was game 1 of the semifinal, and tomorrow we will have game 2, with all eyes on the Norwegian chess grandmaster. Also, Carlsen was off to a poor start, losing three games out of five, including two in a row. Only to back with two wins and a draw on Saturday, including a victory over World Champion D Gukesh. But is this the first time the 36-year-old former basketball player has spoken highly of Carlsen?

Not the first time Derrick Rose shared his appreciation for Magnus Carlsen

Previously, on day 3 of the event, D-Rose added a story of his first game of the quarter-finals. The caption was very similar to his recent caption, “DAY 3 OF GREATNESS.” And the day turned out to be great for Magnus Carlsen. Because he was able to beat Uzbekistan GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov in just 23 moves.

The reason he has been keeping a close eye on Carlsen is because of his admiration for the Grandmaster. “Peace and love to Magnus, Jan and Jason. Thank you! You are helping me show that I’m more than a Hooper and helping me show who I really am even tho hoop is in my name. It’s just apart of the story.”

The timing of his post on IG was when the Norwegian star was in a battle with FIDE. Have those issues crept in affecting his performance? Well, we will have to tune in tomorrow to find out how Carlsen performs. And whatever the results might be, Derrick Rose is surely tuning in to support the greatness.