Baumer Hall hosts second chess invitational

By PETER BREEN news Writer

d ozens of students gathered in b aumer h all’s first-floor lounge s aturday afternoon for hours of strategy, tactics and companionship during the second annual chess tournament of n otre d ame’s newest men’s residential hall.

o n account of the contest’s s wiss-style matchmaking process — a non-eliminating tourney format — players could come and go for as long as they pleased.

The tournament charged no entry fee, although participants were encouraged to make a five-dollar donation to o ur Lady of the r oad, a homeless service center in s outh b end.

The event’s organizer, b aumer h all junior John h ealy, established the invitational last year when the n otre d ame c hess c lub had ceased to exist.

“ m y freshman year during [the pandemic] we had a chess club,” h ealy said. “The president then was a senior, and the vice president was a sophomore. The leadership of the club passed on to the vice president, but he made a last-minute decision to go to s ilicon v alley for a semester, and I guess he didn’t renew the club or something so the chess club shut down.”

With no centralized opportunities to play chess on campus, the idea to host a tourney came to h ealey one night when he had trouble falling asleep.

“I was like, ‘ h ey, it’d be nice to have a campus wide chess tournament. There’s no chess club,

Ballet

Fellow composer Jason m oran.

d PA c associate director of Programming and e ngagement s ean m artin said the performance is set to music that is a reinterpretation of African American spirituals.

The modern ballet company has been guided by King since 1982. According to the d PA c website, King is considered a visionary choreographer and his artistic style incorporates principles rooted in the e ast-West continuum while adhering to the classical so why not?’” h ealy said.

Last year’s doubleelimination tournament proved enticing to campus chess enthusiasts and the b aumer h all community alike.

“The people who showed up really loved it,” h ealy said. “ b aumer h all really loved the tournament. The hall staff seemed to be really happy about the fact that we were doing this event for the whole campus.” s ince the n otre d ame c hess c lub’s comeback this year, h ealy felt a little hesitant about putting on a campus wide chess contest for the second time. b ut the b aumer h all leadership was emphatic about the event’s return, and when h ealy pitched the idea to the chess club, they also were on board. h ealy immediately knew — following the success of last year’s invitational — that he needed to track down a stash of chess boards and clocks — more than the 10 or so in the n otre d ame c hess c lub’s possession. o nce ample chess sets were secured, a small amount of rearranging of b aumer h all’s well-furnished, first-floor common area would have the event’s physical arena more than sufficiently set.

“I thought maybe I shouldn’t do the tournament because it’s kind of their territory, like they’re the chess club,” h ealy said.

Fortunately, the faculty advisor of the University’s chess club also runs the chess club at a local c atholic school.

The most glaring shortfall of last year’s tournament, h ealy noted, was that many form of ballet. m artin described King’s choreography as “the science and beauty of movement and space.” m artin said that in contemporary ballet, like in contemporary art, sometimes the storyline isn’t as clear as it may be in “storybook” ballets like “ c inderella” or “ s wan Lake.” Traditional competitors — who were so excited about the opportunity given the lack of chess club events — desired to get more games in after being knocked out of the double elimination bracket.

“ h e has this idea of e astern philosophy and Western philosophy meeting and dance being language made into movement,” m artin continued.

The concept of movement in space and time is reflected in the company’s style of dance, m artin said.

Therefore, this time around h ealy imposed the s wiss system. A computer program — not a predetermined bracket — would dictate the tournament — matching winners with winners and losers with losers in a series of 20-minute rounds.

“The nice thing is that people, if they want to stay and play the whole time they can, but if they want to come for one game and leave, they can also do that,” h ealy said. “Towns and cities across the United s tates will have local chess clubs. If you went to any tournament run by any of those clubs, they’d be using ballets typically follow a definite progression of events, but “ d eep r iver” tells the story of the toned bodies of the dancers and their movements.

“[The ballet] isn’t going to be a literal type of story,” m artin said. “[The story] is appreciating the movement in the form and technique and the dedication it takes.” a s wiss system.” s itting through lectures each day, h ealy has long observed the popularity of the classic game among n otre d ame students.

The abstract nature of the performance allows people to interpret the piece differently, m artin said. People will likely take away different meanings from the performance and subsequent viewings will reveal new perspectives about the piece.

Under the arrangement everyone gets to play the same number of matches, and a winner is crowned based on winloss record.

“There are a lot of people who play chess,” h ealy said. “You see it all the time. If you’re sitting in the back of a classroom and people have their laptops open, you usually see one or two people playing chess. Allegedly, [sophomore quarterback] Tyler b uchner plays in one of his classes.”

The greatest appeal of the board game, h ealy added, is the intellectual challenge.

“It’s way more of a skill game than outsiders to chess realize, and b y visiting local schools and dance studios, the company hopes to inspire young dancers and serve as a role model for dancers interested in it’s something that you can cultivate,” h ealy said. “There is some correlation between quantitative intelligence and being able to play chess, but practice is huge.”

“We feel strongly that art has a way of reaching humans and understanding and truth and beauty in a way that language just can’t,” m artin said.

In addition to the two 65-minute performances, dancers from the company will be involved with community outreach events while they are in s outh b end. The company is teaching a master class for students at c lay h igh s chool and at two local dance studios.

In holding the tournament, h ealy wished to contribute a touch of good to both n otre d ame and the greater s outh b end community.

“I really liked the model of optional donations I’ve seen at other events around campus, so we’re just giving an opportunity for people to optionally donate to o ur Lady of the r oad, which is a homeless service center in s outh b end [where] I’ve done service there in the past,” h ealy said.

Liam Price contributed to the reporting of this article.

Contact Peter Breen at pbreen2@nd.edu pursuing a professional dance career. m artin said the outreach component is important because the goal of these events is not only to bring great art to campus and the n otre d ame community, but also to engage the community beyond the performance.

There are only a few tickets remaining for the performances Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in d ecio Theater. The tickets are $10 for n otre d ame students and can be purchased on the d PA c website.

Contact Caroline Collins at ccolli23@nd.edu general.” o ’ h ara echoed the sentiment.

“We crafted this idea of pushback which is to say, yes, we have relief, and we’re entering into this new world,” o ’ h ara said. “ b ut how much has the world changed, and how much has the world stayed the same? What are we pushing back against? What do we as a community need to do or need to push back against to actually make this change actually happen?”

This year, about 60 to 70 monologues were

Stylists

are regulars who routinely come back to the salon.

“ i ’d say 95% of what i do are people that i ’ve done for either the last three or four years here,” e mmons said. “ i ’ve literally given people their first haircut, and then they’ve ended up like coming to school here.” h e submitted, o ’ h ara said. b efore the pandemic, Lee said s how s ome s kin used to be a prominent said he and the other hairstylists get to know their customers after years of cutting their hair. a lmost everyone employed by the salon has worked there for at least 10 years, some even longer than part of campus. a ll three nights of the performance would sell out within minutes, she said. i n coming back from the pandemic, she said, the show is not as popular, but members of the production are looking to keep powering through and reviving the show. o ’ h ara said Thursday’s show was about half-full with 150 to 200 seats in c arey a uditorium filled, and s aturday’s show was about two-thirds full. f riday’s show was canceled due to the snow.

The number of stories varies year-to-year depending on how much students feel they can relate to the theme, and if they have stories they want to tell, she said.

When selecting stories, the leadership team goes through the different monologues, Lee said. They consider a number of criteria in their selections. They want to ensure there is a diverse collection of stories, appropriate actors to fit the monologues and well-written stories that fit the theme, o ’ h ara said.

University h air s tylists now has six hair stylists, including e mmons. They have a very low turnover ratio of employees, differentiating them from many other hair salons.

The show exists for the purpose of promoting diversity and inclusion, as well as creating an inclusive space for students e mmons himself. c ustomers affirm the family-oriented aspect of University h air s tylists. Kimberly m ilewski has gotten her hair done at the salon ever since she started working at n otre d ame over 25 years ago. While she was at first attracted to the salon’s convenience, coming during regardless of sexual orientation, ethnicity, race, gender identity or disability, Lee said. With all this in mind, she said it is important to remember these stories all belong to members of the tri-campus community.

“ i t’s kind of cheesy and corny, but they’ve become like family,” he said.

“ i think n otre d ame can be homogenous, and it is really easy to get lost in that homogeneity because it’s what you see on a daily basis,” Lee said. “You don’t know exactly what everyone is going through or where they come from, and i think sometimes the brightest voices get drowned in that.”

These stories also provide a medium for her lunch break, she continues to return even after retirement. e mmons says the favorite part of his job is how everyone feels good about themselves after. students to find moments of solidarity and understand they are not alone in their emotions, even if the monologues deal with a non-traditional n otre d ame experience, o ’ h ara said. o h, that looks so great,’” he said. e mmons loves knowing he can make someone’s day after they enter his salon, even though cutting hair doesn’t take very long. h e compares it to a senior thesis, only he gets to see the light at the end of the tunnel every half an hour, then do it all over again.

“ e verybody’s so friendly. They’re always very helpful and will get you in right away,” m ilewski said.

“ e very day, like every 20 minutes, people come in and they’re like, ‘ o h my God, i feel so much better.

“We really want to show that everybody on this campus has felt lonely, sad and hopeful,” o ’ h ara said. “ e ven if you can’t relate to the exact story that’s being told, you’re not alone in any way you felt, and there’s somebody else who has experienced the exact same thing that you’re going through.

Contact Katie Dobelhoff at kdobelho@nd.edu