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Among the most energetic locations on a weekday night in east London's Brick Lane couldn't be a restaurant or a urban fashion label pop-up, it's a chess club – or a chess club-nightclub hybrid, precisely speaking.

Knight Club represents the surprising blend between chess and the city's dynamic evening entertainment scene. It was started by a young entrepreneur, in his late twenties, who began his initial chess club in the summer of 2023 at a more intimate bar in a nearby area, a short distance from the present location at a popular cafe on the iconic lane.

“My goal was to make chess clubs for people who share my background and people my age,” he said. “Usually, chess is only put in environments that are full of senior individuals, which isn't diverse enough.”

On the first night, there were only eight boards shared by sixteen people. Now, a “successful evening” at the regular Knight Club will attract about two hundred eighty people.

At first glance, the venue feels closer to a DJ event than a chess club. Cocktails are flowing and tunes is in the air, but the chessboards on every table are not just decorative or there as a novelty: they are all in use and surrounded by a queue of spectators eagerly anticipating for their turn.

Jimmy Ifenayi, 24, has frequented Knight Club regularly for the last several months. “I possessed little understanding of chess prior to my first visit, and the initial occasion I tried it, I competed in a game with a grandmaster. It was a swift win, but it left me fascinated to study and continue enjoying chess,” she noted.

“The event is about 50% social and 50% participants genuinely wishing to engage in chess … It is a pleasant way to decompress, which doesn't involve visiting a typical nightspot to see other people my age.”

A Game Revitalized: Chess in the Modern Era

In recent years, chess has been cemented in the societal zeitgeist. The popularity of digital chess expanded rapidly throughout the global health crisis, establishing it as one of the most rapidly expanding online pastimes globally. In popular culture, the Netflix series a hit show, along with Sally Rooney’s latest novel Intermezzo, have crafted a distinct imagery surrounding the game, which has drawn in a fresh wave of players.

However a great deal of this newfound attraction of the chess club isn't necessarily about the intricacies of the play; rather, it is the ease of connecting with others that it facilitates, by pulling up a seat and engaging with someone who may be a complete stranger.

“It's a brilliant Trojan horse,” remarked Jonah Freud, co-founder of Reference Point in the city, a bookshop, reading room, coffee house and lounge, which has organized a well-attended chess club every Wednesday since it opened several years back. Freud’s objective is to “take chess from its elite status and transform it into like billiards in a dive bar”.

“It is a very simple tool to get to know people. It kind of takes the pressure of the necessity of conversation from socializing with people. You can handle the uncomfortable bit of introducing yourself and chatting to someone across a board instead of with no kind of shared activity involved.”

Expanding the Network: Social Gatherings Beyond London

In Birmingham, Chesscafé is a recurring chess event held at York’s Cafe, just outside the downtown area. “We found that individuals are looking for places where you can socialize, interact and have a fun evening beyond visiting a bar or nightclub,” stated its creator and coordinator, a young leader, 21.

Together with his friend a partner, 21, Singh bought chessboards, printed flyers and started the chess club in the start of the year, during his last year of university. Within months, he said Chesscafé has expanded to draw over one hundred youthful participants to its events.

“A chess club has a particular connotation associated with it, about it seeming quiet. Our approach is to go the contrary way; it's a convivial party with chess involved,” he emphasized.

Learning and Playing: A New Generation of Chess Enthusiasts

For many, chess clubs are an introduction to the game. Zoë Kezia, in her late twenties, is picking up how to participate in chess with fellow attenders of chess night at the venue. Her interest in the pastime was piqued after an enjoyable evening moving to music and engaging in chess at a previous Knight Club's events.

“It's a unique idea, but it functions well,” she commented. “It promotes in-person interactions instead of screen-based pastimes. It is a no-cost third space to meet strangers. It is inviting, you don't need to necessarily be good at chess.”

Kezia humorously likened the trendiness of chess with the youth to the superficial image of the “performative male”, an attempt to simulate braininess while signaling the veneer of “hipness”. If the chess trend has cultivated a genuine interest in the sport is not a notion she is quite sure about. “It's a positive phenomenon, but it’s very much a fad,” she said. “When you're playing against opponents who are really dedicated about it, it quickly turns less fun.”

Competitive Play and Community

It might seem like a bit of lighthearted activity for individuals aiming to employ a chessboard as a social vehicle, but competitive players do have their role, albeit off the dancefloor.

Lucia Ene-Lesikar, in her early twenties, who assists in running the club,says that more competitive attenders have established a league table. “Participants who are in the league will face each other, we'll progress to early rounds, semi-finals, and then we will finally have a league winner.”

A dedicated player, in his twenties, is a serious player and chess instructor. He has been in the league for about a year and plays at the club almost weekly. “This is a welcome alternative to playing serious chess; it gives a feeling of community,” he said.

“It is interesting to see how it becomes more of a communal pastime, because previously the only people who played chess were people who didn't go outside; they just stayed home. It is typically only two people playing on a chessboard …

“The thing I like about this place is that one isn't really playing against the digital opponent, you are facing real people.”