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

Knight Club represents the surprising crossover between chess and London's dynamic nightlife culture. It was started by Yusuf Ntahilaja, in his late twenties, who began his initial chess club in August 2023 at a smaller bar in Aldgate, a short distance from the present location at a popular cafe on Brick Lane.

“I wanted to make chess clubs for individuals who share my background and people my age,” he explained. “Usually, chess is only placed in spaces that are full of older people, which isn't inclusive enough.”

On the first night, there were just 8 boards shared by 16 people. Today, a “successful evening” at the regular club event will attract about 280 attendees.

Upon arrival, the venue seems more like a DJ event than a chess club. Cocktails are flowing and tunes is in the air, but the chessboards on each table aren't just decorative or there as a gimmick: they are all occupied and surrounded by a queue of spectators waiting for their turn.

One regular, 24, has frequented the club regularly for the last four months. “I had no knowledge of chess before I came here, and the initial occasion I ever played, I competed in a game with a expert player. It was a quick win, but it made me intrigued to learn and continue enjoying chess,” she noted.

“This gathering is about half social and half participants genuinely wishing to engage in chess … It is a pleasant way to relax, which doesn't involve going to a club to meet others my generation.”

An Activity Reborn: The Ancient Game in the Contemporary Age

Lately, chess has been firmly established in the societal zeitgeist. The popularity of digital chess proliferated throughout the global health crisis, establishing it as one of the most rapidly expanding online pastimes in the world. In popular culture, the Netflix series a hit show, along with the author's latest novel a literary work, have crafted a distinct imagery associated with the game, which has attracted a fresh wave of enthusiasts.

However much of this recent appeal of the chess club isn't necessarily about the technicalities of the play; instead, it is the simplicity of connecting with others that it facilitates, by taking a chair and playing with a person who may be a complete stranger.

“It's a great clever disguise,” said one organizer, founder of Reference Point in the city, a bookshop, reading room, cafe and lounge, which has organized a popular chess club weekly since it began several years back. His aim is to “remove chess from its elite status and make it feel similar to pool in a dive bar”.

“It's a really easy tool to meet people. It somewhat takes the pressure of the necessity of conversation away from socializing with people. You can handle the uncomfortable part of introducing yourself and talking to someone over a game instead of with no kind of context involved.”

Growing the Community: Social Gatherings Outside London

Elsewhere in the UK, Chesscafé is a regular chess event held at York’s Cafe, just outside the city centre. “Our observation was that people are seeking spaces where you can socialize, socialise and enjoy a fun evening beyond visiting a pub or club,” stated its creator and coordinator, a young leader, in his early twenties.

Together with his friend a partner, 21, he bought game sets, created flyers and started the chess club in January, during his last year of university. Within months, he said Chesscafé has grown to attract more than one hundred youthful players to its gatherings.

“Such a venue has a particular reputation to it, about it being quiet. We really try to move in the contrary way; it's a social get-together with chess as part of it,” he said.

Discovering and Playing: An Alternative Cohort of Chess Enthusiasts

Among numerous attendees, chess clubs are an entry point to the activity. One participant, in her late twenties, is picking up how to participate in chess with fellow attenders of the weekly event at the venue. She became curious in the pastime was sparked after an enjoyable night moving to music and engaging in chess at one of Knight Club's occasions.

“It is a strange idea, but it works,” she commented. “It promotes in-person interactions instead of screen-based activities. It's a free neutral ground to meet new people. It's welcoming, one doesn't have to necessarily be good at chess.”

She jokingly compared the trendiness of chess with young people to the superficial image of the “ostentatious intellectual”, an attempt to feign intellectualism while signaling the appearance of “hipness”. If the chess trend has fostered a genuine interest in the sport is not a notion she is entirely convinced by. “It's a wholesome phenomenon, but it’s very much a fad,” she observed. “Once you're playing against opponents who are truly dedicated about it, it quickly becomes less enjoyable.”

Competitive Play and Togetherness

It may seem like a bit of lighthearted activity for individuals aiming to employ a game set as a networking tool, but serious participants certainly have their place, albeit off the dancefloor.

Another organizer, 22, who assists in organise the club,explains that increasingly competitive players have established a league table. “Participants who are in the league will face one another, we will go to quarter-finals, advanced stages, and then we'll eventually have a champion.”

A dedicated player, in his twenties, is a serious competitor and chess teacher. He joined the competition for about a year and participates at the club almost weekly. “This offers a welcome option to engaging in serious chess; it provides a feeling of community,” he said.

“It is interesting to see how it evolves into more of a social activity, because in the past the sole individuals who played chess were people who didn't go outside; they just stayed home. It's usually just a pair competing on a game board …

“What appeals to me about here is that one isn't actually facing the computer, you are engaging with live opponents.”