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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 label temporary shop, it is a chess gathering – or rather a chess club-nightclub hybrid, to be exact.

Knight Club embodies the unlikely fusion between chess and London's dynamic evening entertainment culture. 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 Aldgate, not too far from the present location at Café 1001 on Brick Lane.

“My goal was to create chess clubs for people who look like me and those my generation,” he said. “Typically, chess is only placed in spaces that are dominated by older people, which isn't diverse sufficiently.”

On the first night, there were just 8 boards shared by 16 people. Today, a “good night” at the regular club event will attract approximately 280 people.

At first glance, the venue seems closer to a music night than a chess club. Cocktails are flowing and music is playing, but the game boards on each table are not just ornamental or there as a novelty: they are all in use and surrounded by a queue of onlookers eagerly anticipating for their turn.

Jimmy Ifenayi, 24, has frequented the club regularly for the past four months. “I possessed little understanding of chess prior to my first visit, and the initial occasion I tried it, I competed in a game against a grandmaster. That was a quick victory, but it made me intrigued to study and continue enjoying chess,” she noted.

“The event is about half social and half participants actually wanting to play chess … It is a nice way to decompress, which doesn't involve going to a club to see other people my generation.”

A Game Revitalized: The Ancient Game in the Contemporary Era

Lately, chess has been firmly established in the societal spirit of the times. The popularity of digital chess proliferated throughout the pandemic, establishing it as one of the fastest-growing online pastimes globally. In popular culture, the Netflix series a hit show, as well as Sally Rooney’s recent novel Intermezzo, have created a certain imagery associated with the sport, which has attracted a fresh wave of players.

But much of this newfound attraction of the chess night isn't always about the technicalities of the game; rather, it is the ease of social interaction that it facilitates, by pulling up a chair and playing with someone who may be a complete unknown individual.

“It's a great clever disguise,” said Jonah Freud, co-founder of a local venue in London, a bookstore, reading room, coffee house and bar, which has hosted a popular chess club weekly since it began four years ago. His aim is to “remove chess off a pedestal and transform it into similar to billiards in a dive bar”.

“It's a very easy vehicle to get to know people. It kind of takes the weight of the need of conversation from interacting with people. One can do the uncomfortable part of introducing yourself and talking to a new acquaintance across a board instead of with no shared activity around it.”

Growing the Community: Chess Nights Beyond London

In Birmingham, a similar initiative is a recurring chess event taking place at a city cafe, near the downtown area. “Our observation was that people are looking for places where one can go out, interact and have a fun evening outside of going to a bar or club,” stated its founder and organiser, Karan Singh, 21.

Together with his friend Abdirahim Haji, also young, Singh purchased game sets, printed promotional materials and began the chess club in the start of the year, while in his final year of university. In less than a year, Singh said Chesscafé has grown to draw more than one hundred young players to its events.

“A chess club has a particular connotation associated with it, about it being reserved. We really try to go the opposite way; it's a convivial party with chess as part of it,” he emphasized.

Discovering and Playing: An Alternative Generation of Chess Enthusiasts

For many, chess clubs are an entry point to the activity. Zoë Kezia, 27, is learning how to participate in chess with fellow visitors of the weekly event at the venue. Her interest in the game was piqued after an pleasurable night dancing and playing chess at a previous Knight Club's occasions.

“It is a strange idea, but it functions well,” she commented. “It encourages face-to-face interactions rather than digital pastimes. It's a no-cost third space to meet new people. It's welcoming, you don't need to necessarily be good at chess.”

She humorously compared the trendiness of chess with the youth to the superficial image of the “ostentatious intellectual”, an effort to simulate braininess while signaling the veneer of “hipness”. Whether the chess craze has cultivated a authentic interest in the sport isn't a notion she's entirely convinced by. “It's a positive trend, but it’s very much a trend,” she said. “When you're playing against opponents who are truly dedicated about it, it rapidly becomes less enjoyable.”

Serious Gaming and Community

It may all be a bit of lighthearted activity for individuals looking to use a game set as a networking tool, but competitive players do have their place, albeit off the dancefloor.

Another organizer, 22, who assists in organise the club,explains that more competitive players have formed a league table. “Participants who are in the league will play each other, we will go to early rounds, advanced stages, and then we will eventually have a champion.”

A dedicated player, in his twenties, is a serious player and chess instructor. He has been the competition for about a year and plays at the club nearly weekly. “This is a nice option to engaging in intense chess; it provides a feeling of belonging,” he expressed.

“It is fascinating to see how it becomes increasingly a social pastime, because in the past the sole individuals who played chess were people who didn't go outside; they simply remained home. It's typically just a pair playing on a game board …

“What appeals to me about here is that one isn't really facing the digital opponent, you are facing live opponents.”