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Among the liveliest locations on a weekday night in east London's Brick Lane couldn't be a dining spot or a streetwear label temporary shop, it's a chess club – or a chess and nightlife combination, precisely speaking.

Knight Club represents the unlikely crossover between the classic game and the city's dynamic nightlife scene. It was founded by a young entrepreneur, in his late twenties, who began his first chess club in the summer of 2023 at a smaller bar in Aldgate, a short distance from the current location at Café 1001 on the iconic lane.

“My goal was to create chess clubs for people who look like me and those my generation,” he explained. “Typically, chess is only placed in spaces that are dominated by senior individuals, which is not inclusive enough.”

Initially, there were just 8 boards between 16 people. Now, a “successful evening” at the weekly club event will draw about 280 attendees.

Upon arrival, Knight Club seems closer to a music night than a chess club. Mixed drinks are being served and music is playing, but the chessboards on each table are not just ornamental or there as a novelty: they are all occupied and encircled by a queue of spectators eagerly anticipating for their turn.

Jimmy Ifenayi, 24, has been attending the club often for the last several months. “I possessed little understanding of chess prior to I came here, and the first time I tried it, I competed in a game with a expert player. That was a quick victory, but it left me intrigued to study and keep playing chess,” she noted.

“The event is about 50% social and half participants actually wanting to play chess … It is a nice way to decompress, which avoids visiting a typical nightspot to meet other people my generation.”

An Activity Revitalized: Chess in the Modern Era

In recent years, chess has been firmly established in the societal spirit of the times. The popularity of online chess proliferated throughout the global health crisis, making it one of the fastest-growing internet pastimes in the world. Across media, the streaming series a hit show, along with Sally Rooney’s latest novel a literary work, have created a certain iconography associated with the game, which has drawn in a new generation of enthusiasts.

But a great deal of this newfound appeal of the chess club is not necessarily about the intricacies of the play; instead, it is the ease of social interaction that it enables, by pulling up a seat and playing with someone who may be a complete unknown individual.

“It is a great Trojan horse,” remarked Jonah Freud, founder of a local venue in London, a bookstore, library, coffee house and lounge, which has hosted a popular chess club weekly since it opened several years back. His aim is to “take chess from its elite status and transform it into similar to pool in a dive bar”.

“It is a very easy vehicle to meet people. It kind of removes the pressure of the necessity of conversation away from interacting with people. You can do the awkward part of making an introduction and chatting to a new acquaintance across a board rather than with no shared activity around it.”

Expanding the Community: Chess Nights Outside the Capital

In Birmingham, Chesscafé is a recurring chess event taking place at a city cafe, near the downtown area. “Our observation was that individuals are seeking spaces where you can go out, interact and enjoy a fun evening beyond going to a pub or nightclub,” said its creator and organiser, Karan Singh, in his early twenties.

Alongside his friend a partner, also young, Singh purchased game sets, printed flyers and started the chess club in January, while in his last year of university. In less than a year, he reported Chesscafé has grown to draw more than 100 young players to its gatherings.

“A chess club has a particular reputation associated with it, about it seeming quiet. Our approach is to move in the contrary direction; it is a convivial get-together with chess as part of it,” he emphasized.

Discovering and Engaging: A New Cohort of Chess Enthusiasts

Among numerous attendees, chess clubs are an entry point to the activity. Zoë Kezia, in her late twenties, is learning how to play chess with other attenders of chess night at Reference Point. Her interest in the pastime was piqued after an pleasurable night dancing and engaging in chess at one of Knight Club's occasions.

“It's a strange idea, but it works,” she commented. “It encourages face-to-face interactions rather than digital activities. It's a no-cost third space to encounter strangers. It's welcoming, you don't need to necessarily be skilled at chess.”

Kezia humorously compared the trendiness of chess with young people to the superficial image of the “ostentatious intellectual”, an attempt to simulate braininess while projecting the veneer of “coolness”. If the chess trend has fostered a authentic passion in the game isn't something she's entirely convinced by. “It is a positive phenomenon, but it’s very much a fad,” she observed. “When you're playing with people who are truly dedicated about it, it rapidly becomes less enjoyable.”

Competitive Play and Togetherness

It may seem like a some lighthearted activity for those looking to employ a game set as a networking tool, but competitive participants do have their role, albeit away from the dancefloor.

Another organizer, 22, who helps running Knight Club,says that more competitive players have formed a league table. “People who are part of the competition will play each other, we will go to quarter-finals, advanced stages, and then we will eventually have a league winner.”

Ryames Chan, 23, is a serious player and chess teacher. He joined the competition for about a twelve months and participates at the club almost every week. “This offers a welcome option to playing intense chess; it provides a feeling of belonging,” he said.

“It is interesting to observe how it evolves into more of a social pastime, because in the past the sole people who engaged in chess were those who rarely go outside; they simply stayed home. It's typically just two people playing on a chessboard …

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