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One of the liveliest locations on a weekday evening in east London's Brick Lane couldn't be a dining spot or a streetwear brand pop-up, it's a chess club – or rather a chess and nightlife fusion, to be exact.

Knight Club represents the surprising fusion between the classic game and London's dynamic nightlife culture. It was started by Yusuf Ntahilaja, 27, who launched his initial chess club in the summer of 2023 at a more intimate bar in a nearby area, not too far from the current location at a popular cafe on Brick Lane.

“I wanted to make chess clubs for people who share my background and people my generation,” he said. “Typically, chess is only placed in spaces that are dominated by senior individuals, which isn't diverse sufficiently.”

Initially, there were only eight boards between sixteen people. Today, a “good night” at the weekly club event will draw approximately two hundred eighty people.

At first glance, the venue feels closer to a DJ event than a traditional chess meeting. Cocktails are being served and music is playing, but the chessboards on each table aren't just decorative or there as a gimmick: they are all occupied and encircled by a queue of onlookers eagerly anticipating for their turn.

One regular, in her mid-twenties, has been attending Knight Club regularly for the last several months. “I possessed little understanding of chess prior to my first visit, and the initial occasion I ever played, I competed in a game against a grandmaster. That was a swift victory, but it left me intrigued to study and keep playing chess,” she said.

“The event is about 50% networking and 50% people actually wanting to engage in chess … It is a pleasant way to relax, which doesn't involve visiting a typical nightspot to see other people my generation.”

An Activity Revitalized: The Ancient Game in the Contemporary Era

In recent years, chess has been cemented in the societal zeitgeist. Its appeal of online chess proliferated throughout the global health crisis, establishing it as one of the fastest-growing online games globally. In popular culture, the streaming series The Queen’s Gambit, as well as the author's latest novel a literary work, have created a distinct iconography surrounding the sport, which has attracted a fresh wave of players.

However a great deal of this newfound appeal of the chess club isn't necessarily about the technicalities of the play; rather, it is the ease of connecting with others that it facilitates, by taking a chair and playing with a person who could be a complete unknown individual.

“It is a great Trojan horse,” said one organizer, founder of Reference Point in the city, a bookstore, reading room, cafe and lounge, which has organized a popular chess club every Wednesday since it opened several years back. Freud’s aim is to “remove chess off a pedestal and make it feel similar to billiards in a dive bar”.

“It is a very simple vehicle to get to know people. It kind of removes the pressure of the necessity of small talk away from interacting with people. One can handle the awkward part of making an introduction and chatting to someone over a game instead of with no shared activity involved.”

Growing the Community: Chess Nights Beyond London

In Birmingham, a similar initiative is a regular chess event held at York’s Cafe, just outside the city centre. “We found that people are looking for places where one can socialize, socialise and have a good time beyond visiting a bar or nightclub,” said its founder and coordinator, a young leader, 21.

Together with his associate a partner, 21, he bought game sets, created flyers and started the chess club in the start of the year, during his last year of college. In less than a year, Singh reported their event has grown to draw more than 100 youthful players to its gatherings.

“A chess club has a particular connotation associated with it, about it being reserved. Our approach is to go the opposite way; it's a social party with chess involved,” he said.

Discovering and Playing: A New Cohort of Chess Enthusiasts

For many, chess clubs are an entry point to the game. One participant, 27, is learning how to participate in chess with other visitors of chess night at Reference Point. She became curious in the game was sparked after an pleasurable evening dancing and engaging in chess at a previous Knight Club's events.

“It's a strange concept, but it works,” she said. “It promotes face-to-face exchanges rather than screen-based pastimes. It is a no-cost third space to meet new people. It's welcoming, you don't need to necessarily be skilled at chess.”

She jokingly likened the popularity of chess among young people to the superficial image of the “performative male”, an attempt to feign braininess while projecting the veneer of “coolness”. Whether the chess trend has fostered a genuine interest in the sport is not a notion she is quite convinced by. “It is a wholesome phenomenon, but it’s very much a trend,” she observed. “Once you're playing against people who are truly dedicated about it, it quickly becomes less fun.”

Competitive Play and Community

It might all be a some lighthearted activity for individuals looking to use a chessboard as a social vehicle, but competitive participants certainly have their place, even if off the main party area.

Another organizer, 22, who helps organise Knight Club,says that increasingly skilled attenders 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'll eventually have a league winner.”

Ryames Chan, 23, is a serious player and chess instructor. He joined the competition for about a twelve months and plays at the club nearly weekly. “This is a nice option to engaging in intense chess; it gives a sense of community,” he said.

“It's fascinating to see how it becomes increasingly a communal pastime, because previously the sole individuals who engaged in chess were people who rarely go outside; they just remained home. It's typically only two people playing on a game board …

“What I like about this place is that one isn't really playing against the computer, you are facing real people.”