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Among the most vibrant locations on a weekday evening in the East End's Brick Lane couldn't be a restaurant or a urban fashion label temporary shop, it is a chess gathering – or a chess club-nightclub combination, to be exact.

Knight Club represents the unlikely blend between chess and London's fervent nightlife scene. It was founded by Yusuf Ntahilaja, 27, who began his initial chess club in the summer of 2023 at a more intimate bar in a nearby area, a short distance from the current location at a popular cafe on Brick Lane.

“My goal was to create chess clubs for people who look like me and people my age,” he explained. “Typically, chess is only placed in spaces that are full of older people, which is not diverse enough.”

Initially, there were only eight boards shared by sixteen people. Now, a “successful evening” at the regular club event will draw approximately 280 people.

At first glance, Knight Club seems closer to a music night than a traditional chess meeting. Cocktails are flowing and tunes is in the air, but the game boards on each table aren't just decorative or there as a gimmick: they are all occupied and encircled by a queue of onlookers waiting for their turn.

One regular, in her mid-twenties, has frequented the club often for the last four months. “I had little understanding of chess prior to I came here, and the first time I ever played, I played a game against a expert player. That was a quick win, but it made me intrigued to study and keep playing chess,” she noted.

“This gathering is about half social and half people actually wishing to engage in chess … It is a nice way to unwind, which avoids visiting a typical nightspot to meet others my age.”

A Game Reborn: Chess in the Contemporary Age

In recent years, chess has been firmly established in the societal zeitgeist. The popularity of digital chess proliferated during the pandemic, establishing it as one of the fastest-growing online games in the world. In popular culture, the Netflix series a hit show, along with the author's latest novel Intermezzo, have crafted a certain iconography associated with the sport, which has attracted a fresh wave of enthusiasts.

However a great deal of this recent appeal of the chess club isn't always about the technicalities of the play; rather, it is the ease of connecting with others that it enables, by pulling up a chair and engaging with a person who could be a total unknown individual.

“It's a brilliant Trojan horse,” remarked Jonah Freud, founder of a local venue in the city, a bookstore, reading room, coffee house and bar, which has hosted a well-attended chess club weekly since it opened several years back. Freud’s aim is to “remove chess from its elite status and make it feel like pool in a casual pub”.

“It's a very easy vehicle to meet people. It kind of takes the weight of the necessity of small talk from socializing with people. You can do the uncomfortable bit of introducing yourself and chatting to someone over a game instead of with no kind of shared activity involved.”

Growing the Network: Chess Nights Beyond London

Elsewhere in the UK, Chesscafé is a recurring chess night held at a city cafe, near the downtown area. “We found that people are seeking places where you can socialize, socialise and have a fun evening outside of going to a bar or club,” said its founder and coordinator, Karan Singh, in his early twenties.

Alongside his associate a partner, 21, he bought game sets, printed flyers and started the chess club in January, during his final year of university. In less than a year, he reported Chesscafé has expanded to attract over 100 youthful participants to its events.

“Such a venue has a specific connotation associated with it, about it being reserved. We really try to go the contrary way; it's a convivial party with chess involved,” he said.

Learning and Engaging: A New Cohort of Chess Enthusiasts

For many, chess clubs are an entry point to the activity. One participant, 27, is learning how to participate in chess with other attenders of the weekly event at the venue. Her interest in the pastime was sparked after an enjoyable night moving to music and playing chess at a previous the club's occasions.

“It is a strange idea, but it functions well,” she said. “It promotes in-person exchanges rather than screen-based pastimes. It's a no-cost third space to encounter new people. It is welcoming, one doesn't have to necessarily be skilled at chess.”

She jokingly likened the popularity of chess among the youth to the superficial image of the “ostentatious intellectual”, an effort to feign intellectualism while projecting the appearance of “hipness”. Whether the chess craze has fostered a authentic passion in the sport isn't something she is entirely sure about. “It is a positive phenomenon, but it’s largely a trend,” she observed. “When you compete with opponents who are truly dedicated about it, it quickly turns less fun.”

Competitive Gaming and Community

It may seem like a bit of lighthearted activity for those aiming to use a game set as a social vehicle, but competitive participants certainly have their place, even if off the dancefloor.

Another organizer, in her early twenties, who helps running the club,explains that more skilled attenders have formed a league table. “People who are in the league will play one another, we will progress to quarter-finals, semi-finals, and then we will finally have a champion.”

Ryames Chan, in his twenties, is a competitive player and chess instructor. He joined in the league for about a twelve months and plays at the club almost weekly. “This is a nice option to playing intense chess; it gives a sense of community,” he expressed.

“It is fascinating to observe how it evolves into increasingly a communal activity, because in the past the sole individuals who engaged in chess were those who rarely go outside; they simply remained home. It's typically only a pair competing on a game board …

“The thing appeals to me about here is that you're not actually facing the computer, you're engaging with real people.”