On Monday, Schmid College held the 2nd Annual Leonardo Eifert Chess Tournament to celebrate one of Leonardo’s many passions in life, chess.

Leonardo Eifert was a beloved Chapman alumnus who was well known on campus for his friendliness, compassion for others, and patience. He was the son of Dr. Georg H. Eifert, an emeritus professor of psychology and former associate dean of Schmid College and his wife Diana.

“It’s a great, worthwhile event honoring one of our top physics and math students that had a passion for chess.” – Schmid College professor Dr. Fredric Caporaso.

Leonardo was one of Dr. Caporaso’s students. The two had plans of starting a chess club at Chapman before he tragically passed away due to post-surgery complications last December. Leonardo’s passing was sudden and thus a shock to both his family, friends and the Chapman community.

In remembrance of his love of chess, Leonardo’s friend Milad Khosravi ’16 organized the first tournament last May, which has quickly turned into a tradition to raise funds for a scholarship in Leonardo’s name.

The nail-biting championship round of the tournament.

The nail-biting championship round of the tournament.

Monday’s tournament brought together Chapman alumni, students, faculty, staff and community members, from novice to expert level chess players. Orange County community member and avid chess player, Khalid Siddaqi, won the tournament beating Chapman assistant professor of physics and returning champion, Dr. Roman Buniy, in a nail-biting final match.

All tournament registration funds went in support of the Leonardo Eifert Scholarship for Imaginative Application of Mathematics.  This endowed scholarship will support undergraduate mathematics students in the Schmid College who excel in their studies and have a wide variety of interests including music, chess, and other creative endeavors.

If you are interested in contributing or if you would like more information, please contact Lauren Lee at lkenney@chapman.edu or 714-289-2032.