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Among the most energetic spots on a weekday night in east London's Brick Lane couldn't be a restaurant or a urban fashion label pop-up, it's a chess club – or a chess club-nightclub fusion, to be exact.

Knight Club embodies the surprising crossover between the classic game and London's fervent evening entertainment culture. It was started by Yusuf Ntahilaja, 27, who launched his initial chess club in August 2023 at a more intimate bar in a nearby area, a short distance from the current location at Café 1001 on Brick Lane.

“My goal was to create chess clubs for people who share my background and people my generation,” he said. “Typically, chess is only placed in environments that are full of senior individuals, which is not diverse enough.”

Initially, there were just 8 boards shared by sixteen people. Today, a “successful evening” at the regular club event will draw approximately 280 attendees.

Upon arrival, Knight Club seems more like a music night than a chess club. Mixed drinks are flowing and music is in the air, but the game boards on each table aren't just decorative or there as a novelty: they are all in use and surrounded by a queue of spectators eagerly anticipating for their chance to play.

One regular, 24, has frequented the club often for the last four months. “I possessed no knowledge of chess prior to I came here, and the initial occasion I ever played, I played a game against a expert player. That was a swift victory, but it left me fascinated to learn and keep playing chess,” she said.

“The event is about half networking and 50% participants genuinely wanting to play chess … It's a pleasant way to relax, which avoids going to a typical nightspot to see other people my age.”

A Game Reborn: Chess in the Modern Age

Lately, chess has been cemented in the cultural zeitgeist. Its appeal of digital chess expanded rapidly during the pandemic, making it one of the fastest-growing online pastimes in the world. Across media, the streaming series The Queen’s Gambit, along with the author's recent novel a literary work, have crafted a certain iconography associated with the game, which has attracted a fresh generation of enthusiasts.

However much of this newfound appeal of the chess club isn't always about the intricacies of the play; instead, it is the ease of social interaction that it enables, by pulling up a seat and engaging with a person who may be a complete stranger.

“It is a brilliant clever disguise,” remarked Jonah Freud, founder of Reference Point in London, a bookshop, library, cafe and bar, which has hosted a popular chess club every Wednesday since it opened four years ago. His aim is to “take chess from its elite status and transform it into similar to pool in a casual pub”.

“It's a very easy tool 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 a new acquaintance over a board instead of with no shared activity around it.”

Expanding the Network: Chess Nights Beyond London

Elsewhere in the UK, a similar initiative is a regular chess event held at a city cafe, near the downtown area. “Our observation was that people are looking for spaces where one can go out, socialise and enjoy a fun evening outside of going to a pub or nightclub,” stated its founder and coordinator, Karan Singh, 21.

Alongside his associate a partner, also young, Singh bought chessboards, created promotional materials and began the chess club in January, during his last year of college. In less than a year, he reported Chesscafé has expanded to attract over 100 youthful players to its gatherings.

“A chess club has a particular reputation to it, about it being quiet. Our approach is to go the contrary direction; it's a convivial party with chess involved,” he emphasized.

Learning and Playing: An Alternative Generation of Players

Among numerous attendees, chess clubs are an entry point to the activity. One participant, 27, is picking up how to participate in chess with fellow visitors of the weekly event at Reference Point. Her interest in the pastime was sparked after an pleasurable night dancing and engaging in chess at a previous Knight Club's occasions.

“It's a unique idea, but it works,” she said. “It promotes in-person interactions instead of screen-based activities. It's a free neutral ground to meet new people. It's inviting, you don't need to necessarily be skilled at chess.”

Kezia humorously likened the trendiness of chess with young people to the facade of the “performative male”, an attempt to feign braininess while projecting the appearance of “hipness”. Whether the chess craze has cultivated a authentic passion in the game is not a notion she is quite sure about. “It is a positive phenomenon, but it’s largely a fad,” she said. “When you're playing with opponents who are truly serious about it, it rapidly turns less fun.”

Competitive Gaming and Community

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

Another organizer, in her early twenties, who helps organise the club,says that more competitive players have established a league table. “People who are in the league will face one another, we will progress to early rounds, advanced stages, and then we will eventually have a league winner.”

A dedicated player, in his twenties, is a competitive competitor and chess instructor. He has been in the league for about a twelve months and plays at the club almost every week. “This offers a nice alternative to playing intense chess; it provides a sense of belonging,” he expressed.

“It is fascinating to see how it evolves into increasingly a social pastime, because previously the sole individuals who engaged in chess were those who didn't go outside; they simply stayed home. It is typically only two people competing on a chessboard …

“The thing appeals to me about this place is that you're not really playing against the digital opponent, you are facing live opponents.”