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One of the most vibrant venues on a Tuesday evening in east London's Brick Lane couldn't be a dining spot or a streetwear label pop-up, it is a chess gathering – or a chess club-nightclub fusion, to be exact.

This unique venue embodies the surprising blend between chess and London's fervent nightlife scene. It was started by a young entrepreneur, 27, who launched his initial chess club in the summer of 2023 at a smaller bar in Aldgate, not too far from the current location at a popular cafe on the iconic lane.

“My goal was to make chess clubs for people who look like me and people my generation,” he said. “Typically, chess is only put in spaces that are full of older people, which is not inclusive sufficiently.”

On the first night, there were just eight boards between sixteen people. Today, a “successful evening” at the regular club event will draw about two hundred eighty attendees.

Upon arrival, Knight Club seems more like a DJ event than a traditional chess meeting. Mixed drinks are being served and tunes is playing, but the game boards on each table aren't just ornamental or there as a novelty: they are all occupied and surrounded by a line of onlookers waiting for their chance to play.

Jimmy Ifenayi, in her mid-twenties, has frequented Knight Club regularly for the past several months. “I possessed little understanding of chess before my first visit, and the initial occasion I tried it, I played a game against a grandmaster. It was a swift win, but it made me intrigued to study and continue enjoying chess,” she noted.

“The event is about 50% social and 50% people actually wanting to engage in chess … It is a nice way to unwind, which doesn't involve visiting a club to see others my age.”

An Activity Reborn: The Ancient Game in the Modern Age

Lately, chess has been cemented in the cultural zeitgeist. Its appeal of digital chess proliferated throughout the global health crisis, making it one of the most rapidly expanding internet games globally. In popular culture, the streaming series a hit show, along with the author's recent novel Intermezzo, have created a distinct imagery surrounding the sport, which has attracted a fresh generation of enthusiasts.

But a great deal of this newfound attraction of the chess night isn't necessarily about the technicalities of the game; rather, it is the ease of connecting with others that it enables, by pulling up a chair and playing with someone who may be a total stranger.

“It's a brilliant clever disguise,” remarked one organizer, founder of a local venue in London, a bookshop, library, cafe and lounge, which has hosted a popular chess club weekly since it opened several years back. His aim is to “take chess off a pedestal and transform it into like pool in a casual pub”.

“It's a really easy tool to get to know people. It somewhat removes the weight of the necessity of conversation from interacting with people. One can do the awkward part of making an introduction and chatting to a new acquaintance across a game instead of with no kind of context around it.”

Growing the Network: Social Gatherings Outside London

In Birmingham, a similar initiative is a recurring chess night held at a city cafe, near the city centre. “Our observation was that people are looking for places where you can go out, interact and have a fun evening beyond visiting a pub or club,” said its creator and coordinator, Karan Singh, 21.

Together with his associate Abdirahim Haji, also young, he bought game sets, created promotional materials and began the chess club in the start of the year, while in his final year of university. In less than a year, he said their event has grown to attract more than one hundred youthful players to its gatherings.

“Such a venue has a particular connotation to it, about it seeming reserved. Our approach is to move in the opposite way; it is a convivial get-together with chess as part of it,” he said.

Learning and Engaging: An Alternative Cohort of Chess Enthusiasts

For many, chess clubs are an introduction to the game. Zoë Kezia, 27, is picking up how to play chess with other visitors of the weekly event at the venue. Her interest in the game was sparked after an pleasurable night dancing and engaging in chess at one of Knight Club's occasions.

“It is a unique idea, but it functions well,” she commented. “It promotes face-to-face exchanges rather than screen-based activities. It is a free third space to meet new people. It is inviting, one doesn't need to necessarily be good at chess.”

She jokingly compared the trendiness of chess with young people to the facade of the “performative male”, an effort to simulate intellectualism while projecting the appearance of “coolness”. If the chess craze has fostered a authentic interest in the game is not something she is entirely convinced by. “It's a wholesome trend, but it’s largely a trend,” she observed. “Once you compete against opponents who are truly dedicated about it, it quickly turns less enjoyable.”

Serious Gaming and Togetherness

It might seem like a some fun and games for those looking to employ a game set as a social vehicle, but serious players certainly have their place, albeit off the dancefloor.

Lucia Ene-Lesikar, in her early twenties, who assists in organise Knight Club,explains that increasingly competitive attenders have established a competitive ranking. “People who are part of the competition will face one another, we'll progress to early rounds, semi-finals, and then we will eventually have a league winner.”

A dedicated player, in his twenties, is a competitive competitor and chess teacher. He has been in the league for about a year and participates at the club nearly weekly. “This is a welcome option to playing serious chess; it gives a sense of community,” he expressed.

“It is interesting to see how it evolves into more of a communal pastime, because previously the only people who played chess were people who didn't socialize; they just stayed home. It's usually just two people playing on a game board …

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