Victor Wembanyama is a professional basketball player, but that’s not all. Sidelined from the court since February due to a deep vein thrombosis – a clot blocking blood flow – in his right shoulder and ruled out of competing in the EuroBasket tournament in August with France, the San Antonio Spurs center has used this forced break to focus on personal and non-sporting projects. His most recent: a spiritual journey to a Shaolin temple in China, where the 21-year-old learned the basics of kung fu. It was a formative experience, both physically and mentally.
Since then, the French international has swapped his monk’s robe for the responsibilities of an event organizer. On Sunday, July 20, the Olympic silver medalist was back in his hometown Le Chesnay-Rocquencourt, in the outskirts of Paris, to launch the first edition of his own tournament, dubbed “Hoop Gambit.” The event featured a basketball competition (in two formats: one-on-one and 3×3) as well as chess games, another passion of Wembanyama. In December 2024, he publicly expressed his enthusiasm for this game of strategy, inviting his followers to challenge him to an impromptu match at Washington Square Park in New York City.
Two radically different atmospheres
This Sunday, nearly 150 people between the ages of 5 and 91 gathered at the Pierre-Curvat Gym to take part in the very first chess tournament organized by “Wemby.” In the room, silence prevailed. The players stared intently at their chessboards, fully focused.
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