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Among the most vibrant locations on a weekday evening in east London's Brick Lane couldn't be a dining spot or a urban fashion brand temporary shop, it's a chess club – or rather a chess and nightlife fusion, to be exact.

Knight Club represents the unlikely blend between the classic game and London's dynamic evening entertainment culture. It was founded by Yusuf Ntahilaja, 27, who began his first chess club in August 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 share my background and people my age,” he said. “Usually, chess is only placed in environments that are dominated by older people, which isn't inclusive enough.”

On the first night, there were just 8 boards shared by sixteen people. Now, a “good night” at the weekly club event will attract about 280 attendees.

At first glance, the venue seems more like a DJ event than a traditional chess meeting. Cocktails are being served and music is in the air, but the chessboards on every table are not just decorative or there as a gimmick: they are all occupied and surrounded by a queue of onlookers eagerly anticipating for their turn.

One regular, in her mid-twenties, has been attending Knight Club regularly for the past four months. “I had little understanding of chess prior to I came here, and the first time I tried it, I played a game with a grandmaster. It was a swift win, but it left me intrigued to learn and continue enjoying chess,” she said.

“The event is about half social and 50% participants actually wanting to play chess … It's a pleasant way to unwind, which avoids visiting a typical nightspot to see others my age.”

An Activity Revitalized: Chess in the Modern Age

Lately, chess has been firmly established in the cultural zeitgeist. Its appeal of online chess proliferated throughout the pandemic, making it one of the most rapidly expanding online games globally. In popular culture, the Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit, as well as Sally Rooney’s recent novel a literary work, have created a distinct imagery associated with the sport, which has attracted a fresh generation of enthusiasts.

However a great deal of this recent appeal of the chess club isn't necessarily about the intricacies of the game; instead, it is the simplicity of social interaction that it facilitates, by pulling up a chair and engaging with a person who may be a complete stranger.

“It is a brilliant clever disguise,” said Jonah Freud, founder of Reference Point in the city, a bookshop, reading room, coffee house and lounge, which has hosted a popular chess club every Wednesday since it opened several years back. Freud’s objective is to “take chess from its elite status and make it feel similar to billiards in a casual pub”.

“It's a really easy vehicle to get to know people. It somewhat removes the pressure of the need of small talk from socializing with people. You can do the awkward bit of introducing yourself and chatting to a new acquaintance over a board instead of with no kind of shared activity around it.”

Expanding the Community: Chess Nights Beyond the Capital

In Birmingham, Chesscafé is a regular chess night taking place at a city cafe, near the downtown area. “We found that people are looking for spaces where one can socialize, interact and enjoy a fun evening outside of visiting a pub or nightclub,” said its creator and coordinator, Karan Singh, in his early twenties.

Together with his friend Abdirahim Haji, also young, Singh bought game sets, printed promotional materials and started the chess club in January, while in his last year of university. In less than a year, he said their event has expanded to draw more than one hundred youthful participants to its events.

“Such a venue has a particular reputation associated with it, about it seeming quiet. Our approach is to go the contrary way; it's a convivial party with chess involved,” he said.

Learning and Playing: An Alternative Cohort of Chess Enthusiasts

Among numerous attendees, chess clubs are an entry point to the activity. Zoë Kezia, in her late twenties, is picking up how to play chess with other attenders of chess night at Reference Point. Her interest in the pastime was piqued after an enjoyable evening dancing and engaging in chess at one of the club's events.

“It's a unique idea, but it functions well,” she commented. “It encourages face-to-face exchanges rather than digital activities. It's a free neutral ground to encounter new people. It's inviting, you don't have to necessarily be skilled at chess.”

She jokingly likened the trendiness of chess with young people to the superficial image of the “performative male”, an attempt to feign intellectualism while signaling the veneer of “coolness”. Whether the chess craze has cultivated a authentic interest in the sport is not something she's entirely convinced by. “It's a wholesome phenomenon, but it’s largely a fad,” she said. “Once you're playing with opponents who are truly dedicated about it, it rapidly becomes less fun.”

Competitive Play and Togetherness

It may all be a bit of fun and games for those aiming to use a game set as a networking tool, but competitive participants certainly have their role, even if off the main party area.

Lucia Ene-Lesikar, in her early twenties, who assists in running Knight Club,explains that more competitive attenders have formed a competitive ranking. “Participants who are part of the competition will face one another, we will go to quarter-finals, semi-finals, and then we will finally have a league winner.”

A dedicated player, in his twenties, is a competitive competitor and chess teacher. He has been in the league for about a twelve months and plays at the club nearly weekly. “This is a welcome alternative to playing intense chess; it gives a feeling of community,” he expressed.

“It's fascinating to observe how it becomes increasingly a social pastime, because previously the sole people who played chess were those who didn't socialize; they simply remained home. It's typically only two people playing on a chessboard …

“The thing appeals to me about here is that one isn't really playing against the digital opponent, you're engaging with real people.”