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One of the most energetic locations on a weekday night in east London's famous street isn't a restaurant or a streetwear label pop-up, it is a chess club – or a chess and nightlife hybrid, precisely speaking.

Knight Club embodies the unlikely blend between the classic game and London's fervent nightlife culture. It was founded by Yusuf Ntahilaja, 27, who launched his initial chess club in the summer of 2023 at a smaller bar in a nearby area, a short distance from the present location at Café 1001 on Brick Lane.

“My goal was to make chess clubs for individuals who share my background and people my age,” he explained. “Usually, chess is only put in spaces that are dominated by senior individuals, which isn't inclusive sufficiently.”

On the first night, there were just eight boards between sixteen people. Now, a “good night” at the weekly Knight Club will draw about two hundred eighty people.

At first glance, Knight Club feels more like a music night than a chess club. Mixed drinks are flowing and tunes is in the air, but the game boards on each table aren't just ornamental or there as a gimmick: they are all occupied and surrounded by a line of onlookers waiting for their turn.

One regular, in her mid-twenties, has frequented the club often for the past four months. “I possessed little understanding of chess prior to my first visit, and the initial occasion I tried it, I competed in a game with a expert player. It was a swift victory, but it made me intrigued to learn and continue enjoying chess,” she noted.

“This gathering is about half social and half participants actually wishing to play chess … It is a pleasant way to decompress, which doesn't involve visiting a club to meet others my generation.”

A Game Revitalized: Chess in the Contemporary Age

In recent years, chess has been firmly established in the cultural zeitgeist. Its appeal of digital chess expanded rapidly throughout the pandemic, making it one of the fastest-growing online games globally. Across media, the streaming series The Queen’s Gambit, along with Sally Rooney’s recent novel Intermezzo, have crafted a certain imagery associated with the game, which has attracted a new wave of players.

But much of this recent attraction of the chess night isn't always about the intricacies of the play; rather, it is the ease of connecting with others that it facilitates, by taking a chair and engaging with a person who may be a complete unknown individual.

“It's a great Trojan horse,” remarked Jonah Freud, co-founder of Reference Point in London, a bookstore, reading room, cafe and lounge, which has hosted a popular chess club every Wednesday since it opened four years ago. Freud’s aim is to “remove chess off a pedestal and make it feel like billiards in a dive bar”.

“It is a really simple vehicle to get to know people. It kind of removes the pressure of the need of small talk away from socializing with people. One can do the awkward bit of introducing yourself and chatting to a new acquaintance over a game instead of with no shared activity involved.”

Growing the Community: Chess Nights Beyond London

In Birmingham, a similar initiative is a recurring chess night held at York’s Cafe, near the city centre. “Our observation was that individuals are looking for spaces where one can socialize, interact and have a good time beyond going to a bar or nightclub,” stated its founder and coordinator, Karan Singh, 21.

Alongside his associate a partner, also young, Singh purchased chessboards, printed flyers and began the chess club in January, during his final year of university. In less than a year, he said their event has grown to attract more than one hundred young participants to its gatherings.

“Such a venue has a specific connotation to it, about it seeming reserved. We really try to move in the contrary way; it is a convivial party with chess involved,” he emphasized.

Learning and Playing: An Alternative Generation of Chess Enthusiasts

Among numerous attendees, chess clubs are an entry point to the activity. One participant, in her late twenties, is learning how to participate in chess with other attenders of chess night at the venue. She became curious in the game was sparked after an pleasurable evening dancing and playing chess at a previous Knight Club's occasions.

“It's a strange concept, but it functions well,” she said. “It promotes face-to-face exchanges rather than digital pastimes. It's a free neutral ground to meet strangers. It is welcoming, one doesn't have to necessarily be good at chess.”

Kezia jokingly likened the popularity of chess with the youth to the superficial image of the “ostentatious intellectual”, an attempt to feign intellectualism while signaling the appearance of “hipness”. Whether the chess trend has fostered a authentic interest in the sport is not a notion she's quite convinced by. “It is a positive phenomenon, but it’s very much a fad,” she observed. “When you compete against opponents who are really serious about it, it rapidly becomes less fun.”

Serious Gaming and Togetherness

It may seem like a some lighthearted activity for those aiming to employ a chessboard as a social vehicle, but serious players do have their place, even if away from the main party area.

Lucia Ene-Lesikar, 22, who assists in organise the club,explains that more skilled players have established a competitive ranking. “Participants who are in the league will face each other, we'll go to quarter-finals, advanced stages, and then we'll eventually have a league winner.”

Ryames Chan, in his twenties, is a serious competitor and chess instructor. He has been the competition for about a twelve months and plays at the club nearly weekly. “This offers a welcome option to playing serious chess; it provides a sense of community,” he expressed.

“It is interesting to observe how it becomes more of a social activity, because previously the sole individuals who engaged in chess were people who rarely go outside; they simply remained home. It is usually just two people competing on a chessboard …

“The thing I like about here is that you're not really playing against the computer, you are facing real people.”