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Among the most energetic spots on a weekday night in east London's Brick Lane isn't a restaurant or a streetwear brand temporary shop, it is a chess club – or a chess and nightlife hybrid, to be exact.

Knight Club embodies the unlikely crossover between the classic game and the city's dynamic 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 a nearby area, a short distance 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 people my generation,” he explained. “Typically, chess is only put in environments that are full of senior individuals, which isn't diverse sufficiently.”

Initially, there were only eight boards shared by 16 people. Now, a “successful evening” at the regular club event will draw about two hundred eighty attendees.

Upon arrival, the venue seems more like a DJ event than a traditional chess meeting. Cocktails are being served and music is playing, but the game boards on each table aren't just decorative or there as a novelty: they are all occupied and surrounded by a queue of spectators waiting for their chance to play.

Jimmy Ifenayi, in her mid-twenties, has been attending the club often for the last several months. “I had little understanding of chess prior to I came here, and the initial occasion I tried it, I competed in a game with a grandmaster. That was a quick victory, but it left me intrigued to study and continue enjoying chess,” she noted.

“This gathering is about half social and half participants actually wishing to engage in chess … It's a nice way to relax, which avoids going to a typical nightspot to see others my generation.”

An Activity Revitalized: The Ancient Game in the Modern Era

In recent years, chess has been firmly established in the cultural spirit of the times. Its appeal of digital chess expanded rapidly throughout the pandemic, making it one of the most rapidly expanding online games in the world. Across media, the streaming series a hit show, along with Sally Rooney’s recent novel a literary work, have crafted a distinct iconography surrounding the sport, which has drawn in a new wave of players.

But a great deal of this recent appeal of the chess club is not necessarily about the technicalities of the play; rather, it is the ease of connecting with others that it facilitates, by taking a seat and playing with a person who could be a total stranger.

“It is a brilliant clever disguise,” remarked one organizer, co-founder of Reference Point in the city, a bookstore, library, cafe and lounge, which has hosted a well-attended chess club weekly since it began several years back. Freud’s aim is to “take chess off a pedestal and make it feel like billiards in a dive bar”.

“It's a really easy tool to get to know people. It somewhat removes the weight of the necessity of small talk from interacting with people. You can do the uncomfortable bit of introducing yourself and talking to someone over a board rather than with no context involved.”

Growing the Network: Social Gatherings Outside the Capital

In Birmingham, Chesscafé is a recurring chess night held at a city cafe, near the city centre. “We found that individuals are seeking places where one can socialize, socialise and have a good time beyond going to a pub or club,” stated its creator and organiser, a young leader, 21.

Alongside his associate Abdirahim Haji, 21, Singh bought game sets, created promotional materials and started the chess club in the start of the year, during his last year of college. Within months, he said their event has grown to attract over one hundred young participants to its events.

“A chess club has a particular reputation to it, about it being quiet. Our approach is to go the contrary direction; it's a social party with chess as part of it,” he said.

Discovering and Engaging: A New Generation of Players

For many, chess clubs are an introduction to the game. One participant, 27, is picking up how to participate in chess with other visitors of the weekly event at the venue. She became curious in the pastime was sparked after an pleasurable night moving to music and engaging in chess at a previous the club's events.

“It's a unique concept, but it functions well,” she said. “It promotes face-to-face interactions rather than digital pastimes. It is a free third space to encounter new people. It is inviting, you don't need to necessarily be good at chess.”

She jokingly likened the popularity of chess with young people to the facade of the “ostentatious intellectual”, an effort to simulate intellectualism while signaling the veneer of “hipness”. If the chess craze has fostered a genuine interest in the sport isn't a notion she is quite sure about. “It's a wholesome phenomenon, but it’s largely a trend,” she said. “When you compete against opponents who are really dedicated about it, it rapidly becomes less enjoyable.”

Competitive Play and Community

It may seem like a bit of fun and games for individuals looking to employ a game set as a networking tool, but serious participants certainly have their role, albeit off the dancefloor.

Lucia Ene-Lesikar, 22, who helps running the club,says that more skilled players have formed a competitive ranking. “People who are in the league will play one another, we'll progress to quarter-finals, semi-finals, and then we will eventually have a champion.”

Ryames Chan, 23, is a serious competitor and chess instructor. He has been in the league for about a twelve months and plays at the club nearly every week. “This is a nice option to playing intense chess; it gives a feeling of belonging,” he expressed.

“It's fascinating to observe how it evolves into more of a social pastime, because previously the sole people who engaged in chess were people who didn't socialize; they just stayed home. It's usually only a pair playing on a game board …

“What I like about this place is that you're not actually facing the digital opponent, you're facing real people.”