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One of the liveliest spots on a weekday night in east London's Brick Lane couldn't be a dining spot or a streetwear brand pop-up, it is a chess gathering – or a chess and nightlife hybrid, precisely speaking.

Knight Club embodies the unlikely fusion between chess and the city's fervent evening entertainment culture. It was started by a young entrepreneur, in his late twenties, who launched his initial chess club in the summer of 2023 at a smaller bar in Aldgate, not too far from the present location at Café 1001 on Brick Lane.

“My goal was to make chess clubs for people who share my background and people my age,” he said. “Usually, chess is only placed in spaces that are full of older people, which is not inclusive sufficiently.”

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

Upon arrival, Knight Club feels closer to a DJ event than a chess club. Mixed drinks are flowing and tunes is playing, but the game boards on each table aren't just decorative or there as a novelty: they are all occupied and encircled by a line of onlookers eagerly anticipating for their chance to play.

Jimmy Ifenayi, 24, has frequented Knight Club regularly for the past several months. “I possessed little understanding of chess prior to my first visit, and the initial occasion I tried it, I played a game with a grandmaster. It was a quick win, but it left me fascinated to learn and continue enjoying chess,” she noted.

“The event is about 50% networking and 50% people actually wanting to play chess … It's a nice way to unwind, which avoids visiting a club to see other people my generation.”

An Activity Reborn: The Ancient Game in the Modern Era

Lately, chess has been cemented in the societal zeitgeist. Its appeal of digital chess proliferated throughout the pandemic, making it one of the most rapidly expanding online pastimes in the world. Across media, the streaming series The Queen’s Gambit, along with the author's latest novel Intermezzo, have created a distinct imagery associated with the sport, which has drawn in a new wave of players.

However a great deal of this recent appeal of the chess night is not always about the intricacies of the play; instead, it is the ease of social interaction that it enables, by pulling up a chair and playing with someone who could be a total unknown individual.

“It is a brilliant clever disguise,” said Jonah Freud, founder of a local venue in London, a bookshop, reading room, cafe and lounge, which has hosted a popular chess club weekly since it opened four years ago. His objective is to “take chess from its elite status and make it feel similar to pool in a dive bar”.

“It's a very easy tool to get to know people. It kind of removes the weight of the need of small talk away from socializing with people. One can handle the awkward bit of introducing yourself and talking to someone over a game instead of with no kind of context involved.”

Expanding the Network: Chess Nights Outside London

Elsewhere in the UK, Chesscafé is a regular chess night held at York’s Cafe, just outside the city centre. “We found that people are looking for spaces where one can socialize, interact and enjoy a fun evening beyond going to a pub or club,” said its founder and coordinator, a young leader, in his early twenties.

Alongside his friend Abdirahim Haji, also young, he bought game sets, created flyers and started the chess club in January, while in his final year of college. Within months, Singh reported their event has grown to attract more than one hundred young players to its gatherings.

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

Learning and Engaging: An Alternative Generation of Players

Among numerous attendees, chess clubs are an introduction to the game. Zoë Kezia, 27, is learning how to play chess with other attenders of the weekly event at the venue. She became curious in the game was sparked after an enjoyable night moving to music and engaging in chess at one of the club's occasions.

“It is a strange concept, but it functions well,” she commented. “It encourages face-to-face interactions rather than digital pastimes. It is a no-cost neutral ground to meet new people. It is welcoming, one doesn't have to necessarily be skilled at chess.”

Kezia jokingly compared the trendiness of chess among the youth to the facade of the “ostentatious intellectual”, an attempt to simulate braininess while signaling the veneer of “coolness”. Whether the chess craze has cultivated a authentic passion in the sport isn't a notion she's quite sure about. “It's a positive trend, but it’s very much a fad,” she said. “Once you compete with people who are really serious about it, it rapidly turns less enjoyable.”

Serious Play and Togetherness

It may seem like a some fun and games for those looking to use a chessboard as a social vehicle, but competitive participants certainly have their role, even if off the dancefloor.

Lucia Ene-Lesikar, 22, who helps running Knight Club,says that more competitive attenders have formed a competitive ranking. “People who are in the league will play one another, we will progress to quarter-finals, advanced stages, and then we'll finally have a champion.”

Ryames Chan, in his twenties, is a serious player and chess teacher. He joined in the league for about a year and plays at the club almost every week. “This is a nice alternative to playing intense chess; it provides a sense of belonging,” he expressed.

“It's interesting to observe how it becomes more of a social pastime, because previously the only individuals who played chess were those who didn't go outside; they simply stayed home. It is typically only a pair competing on a chessboard …

“The thing appeals to me about here is that you're not really facing the digital opponent, you're facing real people.”