Chapman University’s Chess Club honored former student and club founder Leo Eifert at a memorial chess tournament on Nov. 11, since the passing of Eifert in 2016 until 2021, the club has been on pause.

The club partnered with the Leonardo Eifert Endowed Scholarship for Imaginative Applications of Mathematics to raise donations for students interested in mathematics. The club has raised over $300 for the scholarship. 

Eifert founded Chapman’s chess club in 2011. He passed away in 2016 from complications during surgery caused by a car accident. Before his passing, Eifert mentioned to the advisor of the club, food science professor Fredric Caporaso, the idea of planning a tournament. 

“I realized that Leo’s presence left a good mark on the Chapman community, especially with starting the initial form of the chess club,” said senior biology student and president of the chess club Nathan Mermilliod. “He built the foundation that we have now. He paved the way for us to have a very successful chess club.” 

The Nov. 11 tournament included students, families and chess players from all across Orange County. The club organized the tournament in two different sections. One was with advanced players who strived to win the tournament, and the other was with beginner-level players and those who were there for the excitement of chess. 

Mermilliod recognized the significance of the scholarship to both the club and the tournament. 

“Seeing people get excited about the tournament, reorganizing the Leo Eifert tournament and donating to the scholarship was my favorite part,” Mermilliod said.   

Mermilliod and Caporaso restarted the club last year and decided to plan the tournament that Eifert wanted and donate funds to the scholarship. 

“We plan to hold the tournament every fall semester, and (we also) plan an invitational Orange County tournament in the spring with other schools in the area,” Mermilliod said. 

Caporaso knew Eifert personally and described him as a hardworking student who always had a passion for chess. 

“As a math and physics major, he was a good and very serious student,” Caporaso said. “When I first saw him, he was playing chess with a very worn-out chess set, and I had a chess set in the back of my office and offered him the set. From that, I asked him if he wanted to start a chess club.” 

Caporaso recognized how Eifert’s hard work and love for chess created a special bond within the club. 

“Students, faculty and staff come together in the chess club, and I think that is what Leo wanted the chess club to be about,” Caporaso said.  

Fowler School of Engineering professor Alexander Kurz won first place in the tournament and is set to have his name engraved into President Daniele Struppa’s unique chess set in his office. 

The set looks like a table, but when opened, is a chess set. On the handle of the chess set is a plaque that has names engraved on it. According to Mermilliod, Kurz is a regular attendee to chess club meetings and is an advanced player in chess. 

Second place in the tournament went to Mermilliod, and third place was junior data science student Dominic Brugioni. 

The chess club meets every Tuesday from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in Swenson Hall 109 for both advanced chess players and beginners. Donations to the Eifert Scholarship are accepted on their website.