Students, faculty battle in human chess tournament

College Green was transformed into a chessboard last Friday as students and professors -- dressed as kings, queens, knights and pawns -- acted out a chess game. The members of the Penn Players and the Philomathean Society competed against each other in a human chess tournament in honor of retired English professor and Poet in Residence Daniel Hoffman. Portraying kings, queens, bishops and knights, students and professors costumed in armor, cloaks and crowns acted out the corresponding moves from the actual chess game that College senior Mike Goldstein and Wharton and Engineering junior Javed Ahmed were playing. "We're out here to have a good time, play some chess, and promote auditions for our fall musical 'Little Shop of Horrors'," Goldstein said. The musical opens on November 15, according to Penn Players Business Manager Liz Scanlon. Several "celebrity" professors were invited to act in the chess tournament including History Professor Alan Kors and Classical Studies Professor Jim O'Donnell. The real amusement from the game seemed to arise when the chess pieces began to disregard the moves made during the actual chess game. At one point, the pieces charged each other with plastic swords while others players dragged away dead pieces onto the grass. College junior Paula Lifschitz gathered with her friends to watch the unconventional match. "It was amusing to watch the players charge over to the other side of the board when they weren't supposed to," she said. "A human model of a chess game is an appropriate model for life." The Philomathean Anthology of Poetry includes poems written by poets across the world who came to speak at the Philomathean Society when Hoffman was still teaching at the University. Philomathean co-editor and College senior Laila Dadvand said the group has been working on the anthology for over two years. "We really valued Professor Hoffman's friendship and love of poetry," Dadvand explained. "And we're providing a service to students by spreading this beautiful poetry to everyone." After much negotiation, the Philomathean Society received funds for the publication of the Anthology from the Student Activities Council, according to College junior Dan Orr. In addition to funds raised by the Philomathean Society itself, the project was supported by the Graduate Student Council.

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