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Among the liveliest venues on a Tuesday night in east London's famous street couldn't be a dining spot or a urban fashion label pop-up, it is a chess club – or a chess club-nightclub hybrid, to be exact.

Knight Club represents the unlikely blend between the classic game and London's fervent evening entertainment culture. It was founded by a young entrepreneur, in his late twenties, who launched his initial chess club in the summer of 2023 at a smaller bar in a nearby area, a short distance from the present location at Café 1001 on Brick Lane.

“My goal was to make chess clubs for individuals who look like me and those my age,” he said. “Typically, chess is only placed in environments that are full of older people, which is not diverse sufficiently.”

Initially, there were only 8 boards between 16 people. Now, a “successful evening” at the regular Knight Club will attract approximately two hundred eighty attendees.

At first glance, Knight Club feels more like a music night than a chess club. Cocktails are being served and tunes is playing, but the chessboards on every table are not just ornamental or there as a novelty: they are all in use and surrounded by a line of onlookers eagerly anticipating for their chance to play.

Jimmy Ifenayi, 24, has been attending the club regularly for the past four months. “I possessed little understanding of chess before my first visit, and the initial occasion I tried it, I competed in a game with a grandmaster. It was a swift victory, but it left me intrigued to study and continue enjoying chess,” she said.

“The event is about 50% social and 50% people actually wanting to play chess … It's a pleasant way to decompress, which doesn't involve visiting a club to see others my generation.”

An Activity Reborn: The Ancient Game in the Modern Era

Lately, chess has been cemented in the societal spirit of the times. Its appeal of online chess expanded rapidly during the global health crisis, establishing it as one of the most rapidly expanding internet games in the world. Across media, the Netflix series a hit show, as well as the author's recent novel Intermezzo, have created a certain iconography surrounding the sport, which has attracted a new generation of players.

But much of this recent appeal of the chess night isn't necessarily about the intricacies of the play; instead, it is the ease of connecting with others that it facilitates, by taking a seat and engaging with someone who could be a complete unknown individual.

“It is a brilliant clever disguise,” remarked Jonah Freud, co-founder of Reference Point in London, a bookstore, library, coffee house and lounge, which has organized a popular chess club every Wednesday since it opened four years ago. Freud’s objective is to “take chess off a pedestal and transform it into similar to billiards in a dive bar”.

“It's a really easy tool to get to know people. It somewhat takes the pressure of the need of small talk from socializing with people. One can handle the uncomfortable bit of introducing yourself and talking to a new acquaintance across a board instead of with no kind of shared activity around it.”

Expanding the Network: Social Gatherings Outside London

Elsewhere in the UK, a similar initiative is a regular chess night held at York’s Cafe, just outside the city centre. “Our observation was that people are looking for spaces where you can socialize, socialise and enjoy a fun evening outside of going to a pub or nightclub,” stated its founder and organiser, Karan Singh, in his early twenties.

Together with his associate Abdirahim Haji, also young, Singh purchased chessboards, created promotional materials and started the chess club in the start of the year, while in his last year of college. In less than a year, Singh reported their event has expanded to draw more than 100 young participants to its events.

“A chess club has a specific reputation to it, about it seeming quiet. We really try to go the contrary way; it is a social party with chess as part of it,” he said.

Learning and Playing: An Alternative Cohort of Players

Among numerous attendees, chess clubs are an introduction to the game. Zoë Kezia, 27, is picking up how to participate in chess with other visitors of chess night at the venue. She became curious in the game was piqued after an enjoyable evening moving to music and playing chess at one of Knight Club's events.

“It is a unique concept, but it works,” she commented. “It encourages face-to-face interactions rather than screen-based pastimes. It's a free third space to meet new people. It is inviting, one doesn't need to necessarily be skilled at chess.”

Kezia humorously compared the popularity of chess among the youth to the superficial image of the “performative male”, an effort to feign intellectualism while signaling the appearance of “coolness”. Whether the chess craze has cultivated a authentic interest in the game isn't a notion she is entirely convinced by. “It's a wholesome phenomenon, but it’s very much a trend,” she said. “Once you compete against opponents who are really serious about it, it rapidly becomes less enjoyable.”

Serious Play and Community

It might seem like a some fun and games for individuals aiming to employ a game set as a social vehicle, but serious players do have their role, even if away from the main party area.

Another organizer, in her early twenties, who assists in running the club,says that more skilled players have established a league table. “People who are in the league will face each other, we will go to early rounds, semi-finals, and then we will finally have a champion.”

Ryames Chan, in his twenties, is a competitive competitor and chess teacher. He joined in the league for about a year and plays at the club almost every week. “This is a welcome option to engaging in serious chess; it gives a sense of belonging,” he expressed.

“It is interesting to observe how it becomes increasingly a social activity, because in the past the sole people who engaged in chess were people who rarely socialize; they just stayed home. It is usually only a pair playing on a chessboard …

“The thing I like about here is that you're not actually facing the digital opponent, you're facing live opponents.”