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Among the liveliest venues on a weekday evening in east London's Brick Lane isn't a dining spot or a urban fashion brand pop-up, it's a chess club – or a chess club-nightclub hybrid, to be exact.

Knight Club embodies the surprising blend between the classic game and London's dynamic evening entertainment scene. It was started by Yusuf Ntahilaja, in his late twenties, who launched his first chess club in the summer of 2023 at a more intimate bar in a nearby area, not too far from the current location at Café 1001 on Brick Lane.

“I wanted to create chess clubs for individuals who share my background and people my generation,” he said. “Usually, chess is only put in environments that are full of senior individuals, which isn't diverse sufficiently.”

Initially, there were just eight boards shared by sixteen people. Now, a “good night” at the weekly club event will draw approximately two hundred eighty attendees.

At first glance, the venue feels more like a DJ event than a traditional chess meeting. Mixed drinks are flowing and tunes is in the air, but the game boards on each table are not just ornamental or there as a gimmick: they are all in use and surrounded by a line of onlookers eagerly anticipating for their chance to play.

Jimmy Ifenayi, in her mid-twenties, has been attending Knight Club often for the past several months. “I possessed little understanding of chess before my first visit, and the initial occasion I tried it, I competed in a game against a expert player. It was a quick victory, but it made me fascinated to learn and continue enjoying chess,” she said.

“This gathering is about 50% networking and 50% participants genuinely wanting to play chess … It's a nice way to relax, which doesn't involve visiting a club to meet others my age.”

A Game Revitalized: Chess in the Contemporary Era

Lately, chess has been cemented in the cultural spirit of the times. Its appeal of online chess expanded rapidly throughout the pandemic, establishing it as one of the most rapidly expanding online pastimes in the world. Across media, the Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit, as well as the author's latest novel Intermezzo, have crafted a distinct iconography associated with the game, which has drawn in a new wave of enthusiasts.

However much of this newfound attraction of the chess night is not always about the technicalities of the game; rather, it is the ease of connecting with others that it enables, by pulling up a seat and playing with a person who could be a complete stranger.

“It is a brilliant Trojan horse,” said one organizer, founder of a local venue in the city, a bookstore, reading room, coffee house and lounge, which has organized a popular chess club weekly since it opened several years back. Freud’s aim is to “remove chess from its elite status and transform it into similar to billiards in a casual pub”.

“It's a very easy vehicle to meet people. It kind of removes the pressure of the necessity of small talk away from interacting with people. One can do the uncomfortable bit of introducing yourself and talking to someone over a board instead of with no kind of context around it.”

Growing the Community: Chess Nights Beyond London

In Birmingham, Chesscafé is a regular chess event taking place at a city cafe, near the city centre. “We found that individuals are seeking places where you can go out, socialise and enjoy a good time beyond visiting a pub or nightclub,” said its founder and organiser, Karan Singh, in his early twenties.

Alongside his associate a partner, 21, Singh purchased chessboards, printed promotional materials and began the chess club in January, during his last year of college. In less than a year, Singh said Chesscafé has expanded to draw over one hundred young players to its gatherings.

“Such a venue has a particular connotation to it, about it being reserved. We really try to go the contrary direction; it's a social party with chess involved,” he said.

Discovering and Engaging: An Alternative Cohort of Players

For many, chess clubs are an introduction to the activity. Zoë Kezia, in her late twenties, is learning how to participate in chess with fellow visitors of chess night at Reference Point. She became curious in the game was sparked after an pleasurable night dancing and engaging in chess at a previous Knight Club's occasions.

“It is a unique concept, but it works,” she said. “It encourages in-person interactions instead of digital activities. It's a no-cost third space to encounter strangers. It's inviting, you don't have to necessarily be good at chess.”

She humorously compared the popularity of chess among the youth to the facade of the “performative male”, an effort to feign braininess while projecting the appearance of “hipness”. If the chess craze has fostered a genuine interest in the game is not a notion she's entirely sure about. “It is a positive phenomenon, but it’s very much a trend,” she said. “When you compete with opponents who are truly serious about it, it rapidly turns less enjoyable.”

Serious Gaming and Community

It might all be a some lighthearted activity for individuals looking to use a game set as a social vehicle, but serious participants certainly have their role, albeit away from the main party area.

Another organizer, 22, who assists in organise Knight Club,says that more skilled attenders have established a league table. “People who are part of the competition will face each other, we will go to quarter-finals, semi-finals, and then we will eventually have a league winner.”

Ryames Chan, in his twenties, is a serious competitor and chess instructor. He has been the competition for about a twelve months and participates at the club almost weekly. “This offers a welcome option to playing serious chess; it provides a feeling of belonging,” he expressed.

“It's interesting to see how it evolves into increasingly a social pastime, because previously the only individuals who played chess were people who rarely socialize; they just remained home. It is typically just a pair competing on a chessboard …

“What appeals to me about this place is that one isn't really facing the computer, you are engaging with real people.”