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One of the most vibrant locations on a weekday evening in the East End's famous street couldn't be a dining spot or a urban fashion brand temporary shop, it is a chess club – or rather a chess and nightlife hybrid, precisely speaking.

This unique venue represents the surprising blend between the classic game and the city's fervent evening entertainment culture. It was founded by a young entrepreneur, 27, who launched his initial chess club in the summer of 2023 at a more intimate bar in a nearby area, a short distance from the present location at Café 1001 on Brick Lane.

“I wanted to create chess clubs for individuals who share my background and those my age,” he said. “Typically, chess is only placed in spaces that are dominated by senior individuals, which is not inclusive enough.”

Initially, there were just 8 boards shared by sixteen people. Today, a “successful evening” at the weekly club event will draw approximately two hundred eighty people.

Upon arrival, the venue seems more like a DJ event than a chess club. Cocktails are flowing and tunes is playing, but the game boards on each table are not just decorative or there as a novelty: they are all occupied and encircled by a line of onlookers waiting for their chance to play.

Jimmy Ifenayi, in her mid-twenties, has frequented Knight Club regularly for the last several months. “I had no knowledge of chess before my first visit, and the first time I ever played, I competed in a game with a grandmaster. It was a swift win, but it made me fascinated to learn and continue enjoying chess,” she noted.

“This gathering is about 50% social and half people genuinely wanting to engage in chess … It is a nice way to unwind, which avoids visiting a club to meet others my age.”

A Game Revitalized: The Ancient Game in the Modern Age

In recent years, chess has been cemented in the cultural spirit of the times. The popularity of online chess proliferated during the global health crisis, establishing it as one of the most rapidly expanding internet games in the world. Across media, the Netflix series a hit show, along with Sally Rooney’s latest novel Intermezzo, have created a distinct imagery surrounding the sport, which has drawn in a new wave of enthusiasts.

But much of this newfound attraction of the chess night isn't always about the technicalities of the game; instead, it is the simplicity of connecting with others that it facilitates, by taking a chair and playing with someone who could be a complete unknown individual.

“It is a brilliant Trojan horse,” said one organizer, co-founder of Reference Point in London, a bookstore, library, coffee house and bar, which has hosted a well-attended chess club weekly since it began four years ago. His aim is to “remove chess off a pedestal and transform it into similar to billiards in a dive bar”.

“It's a really simple vehicle to meet people. It kind of takes the pressure of the necessity of conversation from socializing with people. One can handle the awkward part of making an introduction and talking to someone over a board instead of with no kind of context involved.”

Growing the Network: Social Gatherings Beyond London

Elsewhere in the UK, Chesscafé is a regular chess night held at a city cafe, just outside the downtown area. “We found that people are seeking spaces where you can go out, interact and have a fun evening outside of visiting a bar or club,” stated its creator and organiser, Karan Singh, in his early twenties.

Together with his friend a partner, 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 college. Within months, Singh reported their event has grown to draw more than one hundred youthful participants to its events.

“Such a venue has a specific reputation to it, about it being quiet. Our approach is to move in the opposite way; it's a social get-together with chess as part of it,” he emphasized.

Learning and Engaging: A New Generation of Chess Enthusiasts

Among numerous attendees, chess clubs are an introduction to the activity. One participant, in her late twenties, is learning how to play chess with fellow attenders of chess night at the venue. Her interest in the pastime was sparked after an pleasurable night dancing and engaging in chess at a previous the club's events.

“It is a unique concept, but it works,” she commented. “It encourages face-to-face interactions rather than digital activities. It's a no-cost neutral ground to encounter strangers. It's inviting, you don't have to necessarily be good at chess.”

Kezia humorously compared the trendiness of chess among the youth to the superficial image of the “ostentatious intellectual”, an effort to feign braininess while projecting the veneer of “coolness”. Whether the chess craze has fostered a authentic passion in the sport is not a notion she is quite convinced by. “It is a wholesome trend, but it’s very much a fad,” she said. “Once you compete against people who are really dedicated about it, it quickly turns less enjoyable.”

Serious Gaming and Community

It may seem like a bit of lighthearted activity for individuals aiming to use a chessboard as a networking tool, but serious players certainly have their role, even if off the dancefloor.

Another organizer, 22, who assists in running Knight Club,says that more skilled players have formed a competitive ranking. “People who are part of the competition will play each other, we'll go to quarter-finals, advanced stages, and then we will finally have a league winner.”

Ryames Chan, 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 almost weekly. “This offers a welcome alternative to playing intense chess; it provides a sense of community,” he expressed.

“It's fascinating to observe how it becomes more of a social activity, because in the past the only individuals who engaged in chess were those who didn't socialize; they simply stayed home. It's typically only two people competing on a chessboard …

“The thing I like about here is that you're not really playing against the digital opponent, you're facing live opponents.”