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Among the liveliest locations on a Tuesday night in the East End's Brick Lane couldn't be a restaurant or a urban fashion label pop-up, it's a chess club – or rather a chess club-nightclub combination, precisely speaking.

This unique venue embodies the surprising crossover between chess and the city's fervent evening entertainment culture. It was started by a young entrepreneur, in his late twenties, who began his initial chess club in August 2023 at a smaller bar in Aldgate, not too far from the present location at a popular cafe on the iconic lane.

“I wanted to create chess clubs for people who look like me and those my generation,” he said. “Usually, chess is only placed in environments that are full of senior individuals, which is not diverse enough.”

On the first night, there were just eight boards between 16 people. Now, a “successful evening” at the regular club event will attract about 280 people.

At first glance, Knight Club feels closer to a music night than a traditional chess meeting. Mixed drinks are being served and tunes is in the air, but the game boards on each table are not just decorative 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, in her mid-twenties, has been attending the club regularly for the last several months. “I possessed little understanding of chess before my first visit, and the initial occasion I ever played, I played a game with a expert player. It was a quick win, but it left me intrigued to study and continue enjoying chess,” she said.

“This gathering is about half networking and 50% people genuinely wanting to engage in chess … It's a pleasant way to decompress, which avoids visiting a club to meet others my age.”

A Game Reborn: Chess in the Modern Era

Lately, chess has been cemented in the societal zeitgeist. The popularity of online chess proliferated throughout the global health crisis, making it one of the fastest-growing internet games globally. Across media, the Netflix series a hit show, as well as Sally Rooney’s recent novel Intermezzo, have created a distinct iconography surrounding the sport, which has attracted a fresh generation of players.

But a great deal of this recent appeal of the chess club is not necessarily about the intricacies of the game; instead, it is the ease of connecting with others that it enables, by taking a seat and playing with someone who could be a complete unknown individual.

“It is a brilliant Trojan horse,” said Jonah Freud, founder of a local venue in the city, a bookshop, reading room, cafe and bar, which has hosted a well-attended chess club every Wednesday since it began several years back. Freud’s objective is to “remove chess from its elite status and transform it into like billiards in a dive bar”.

“It's a really easy vehicle to meet people. It kind of takes the pressure of the need of small talk away from interacting with people. One can handle the uncomfortable part of making an introduction and talking to someone across a board instead of with no kind of context around it.”

Growing the Network: Chess Nights Outside London

Elsewhere in the UK, a similar initiative is a recurring chess night held at York’s Cafe, just outside the downtown area. “Our observation was that individuals are looking for spaces where you can socialize, interact and enjoy a good time outside of going to a bar or nightclub,” stated its creator and coordinator, Karan Singh, 21.

Together with his associate a partner, 21, Singh purchased game sets, created flyers and began the chess club in the start of the year, while in his final year of college. In less than a year, Singh said Chesscafé has grown to draw more than one hundred young participants to its events.

“A chess club has a specific connotation to it, about it seeming quiet. Our approach is to go the contrary way; it is a convivial party with chess involved,” he emphasized.

Learning and Engaging: An Alternative Generation of Chess Enthusiasts

Among numerous attendees, chess clubs are an introduction to the activity. One participant, in her late twenties, is picking up 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 engaging in chess at one of Knight Club's events.

“It's a strange idea, but it functions well,” she said. “It promotes face-to-face interactions rather than digital pastimes. It is a free third space to meet new people. It's inviting, one doesn't have to necessarily be good at chess.”

Kezia humorously compared the popularity of chess with the youth to the facade of the “ostentatious intellectual”, an attempt to feign braininess while projecting the appearance of “hipness”. Whether the chess trend has cultivated a authentic passion in the sport is not something she's entirely sure about. “It's a wholesome trend, but it’s very much a fad,” she said. “Once you're playing with people who are really dedicated about it, it rapidly becomes less fun.”

Competitive Gaming and Togetherness

It may seem like a some lighthearted activity for individuals looking to use a game set as a networking tool, but competitive players certainly have their role, even if away from the dancefloor.

Lucia Ene-Lesikar, in her early twenties, who assists in organise the club,explains that more competitive attenders have formed a competitive ranking. “Participants who are part of the competition will face one another, we'll go to early rounds, semi-finals, and then we'll finally have a champion.”

Ryames Chan, 23, is a serious competitor and chess teacher. He joined the competition for about a twelve months and participates at the club almost weekly. “This is a nice alternative to playing serious chess; it provides a feeling of belonging,” he said.

“It is interesting to see how it evolves into increasingly a social pastime, because previously the sole people who engaged in chess were people who didn't socialize; they just remained home. It is typically only two people playing on a game board …

“What I like about this place is that one isn't actually facing the computer, you are engaging with real people.”