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Among the liveliest locations on a weekday evening in east London's Brick Lane isn't a restaurant or a streetwear label pop-up, it's a chess club – or a chess and nightlife combination, to be exact.

This unique venue embodies the surprising blend between the classic game and London's dynamic evening entertainment scene. It was founded by Yusuf Ntahilaja, in his late twenties, who launched his first chess club in the summer of 2023 at a smaller bar in Aldgate, not too far from the present location at a popular cafe 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 full of older people, which is not diverse sufficiently.”

On the first night, there were just eight boards shared by sixteen people. Today, a “successful evening” at the regular Knight Club will draw about 280 attendees.

Upon arrival, Knight Club feels closer to a DJ event than a chess club. Mixed drinks are flowing and music is playing, but the chessboards on each table aren't just ornamental or there as a novelty: they are all in use and surrounded by a queue of spectators waiting for their turn.

One regular, in her mid-twenties, has frequented Knight Club often for the past four months. “I possessed no knowledge of chess before I came here, and the first time I tried it, I competed in a game with a grandmaster. That was a swift win, but it made me fascinated to learn and keep playing chess,” she noted.

“This gathering is about half social and half participants genuinely wishing to play chess … It is a nice way to decompress, which doesn't involve going to a club to see other people my generation.”

An Activity Revitalized: The Ancient Game in the Contemporary Age

Lately, chess has been cemented in the societal spirit of the times. Its appeal of online chess proliferated during the pandemic, establishing it as one of the most rapidly expanding 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 iconography associated with the game, which has attracted a fresh wave of players.

However much of this newfound attraction of the chess night is not always about the technicalities of the game; instead, it is the simplicity of connecting with others that it facilitates, by pulling up a chair and engaging with a person who may be a total unknown individual.

“It is a brilliant Trojan horse,” said one organizer, co-founder of a local venue in London, a bookshop, reading room, coffee house and lounge, which has hosted a popular chess club weekly since it began four years ago. Freud’s aim is to “take chess from its elite status and make it feel similar to pool in a casual pub”.

“It's a very easy vehicle to get to know people. It kind of removes the weight of the necessity of conversation from socializing with people. One can do the awkward bit of making an introduction and chatting to someone over a game instead of with no kind of context involved.”

Expanding the Community: Social Gatherings Outside London

In Birmingham, a similar initiative is a regular chess night taking place at a city cafe, near the city centre. “Our observation was that people are looking for places where one can go out, interact and enjoy a fun evening outside of visiting a bar or club,” stated its founder and coordinator, a young leader, 21.

Alongside his associate a partner, also young, he bought chessboards, printed promotional materials and began the chess club in January, during his last year of college. Within months, Singh said their event has expanded to attract more than one hundred youthful participants to its gatherings.

“Such a venue has a particular connotation to it, about it seeming quiet. We really try to go the contrary direction; it's a social get-together with chess as part of it,” he emphasized.

Discovering and Playing: A New Cohort of Chess Enthusiasts

For many, chess clubs are an introduction to the activity. Zoë Kezia, in her late twenties, is learning how to play chess with fellow attenders of chess night at the venue. Her interest in the pastime was sparked after an pleasurable evening moving to music and engaging in chess at one of the club's events.

“It's a strange concept, but it works,” she said. “It promotes in-person interactions rather than digital activities. It's a free 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 among the youth to the facade of the “performative male”, an effort to simulate braininess while signaling the veneer of “hipness”. Whether the chess trend has fostered a authentic interest in the sport is not a notion she's quite sure about. “It's a positive phenomenon, but it’s largely a fad,” she said. “Once you're playing with opponents who are truly dedicated about it, it quickly turns less fun.”

Serious Gaming and Community

It may all be a some fun and games for individuals aiming to employ a game set as a networking tool, but serious players certainly have their role, albeit off the dancefloor.

Another organizer, in her early twenties, who helps organise the club,explains that increasingly skilled players have established a competitive ranking. “Participants who are part of the competition will play each other, we'll progress to quarter-finals, advanced stages, and then we'll finally have a champion.”

Ryames Chan, in his twenties, is a serious competitor and chess instructor. He joined in the league for about a year and participates at the club nearly every week. “This is a nice alternative to engaging in serious chess; it gives a sense of belonging,” he said.

“It's interesting to see how it evolves into more of a social pastime, because in the past the only people who engaged in chess were those who didn't go outside; they simply remained home. It's typically just a pair competing on a game board …

“What I like about here is that one isn't actually facing the computer, you're facing real people.”