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One of the liveliest venues on a weekday night in east London's famous street isn't a restaurant or a urban fashion label pop-up, it is a chess gathering – or rather a chess club-nightclub hybrid, precisely speaking.

This unique venue embodies the unlikely fusion between chess and London's dynamic evening entertainment culture. It was founded by Yusuf Ntahilaja, in his late twenties, who began his initial chess club in the summer of 2023 at a more intimate bar in Aldgate, not too far from the present location at a popular cafe on Brick Lane.

“My goal was to create chess clubs for people who look like me and people my generation,” he said. “Typically, chess is only put in environments that are dominated by older people, which is not inclusive enough.”

Initially, there were just 8 boards shared by sixteen people. Today, a “successful evening” at the regular Knight Club will draw about two hundred eighty attendees.

Upon arrival, Knight Club seems closer to a music night than a chess club. Mixed drinks are flowing and tunes is in the air, but the game boards on every table are not just ornamental or there as a novelty: they are all in use and encircled by a line of onlookers eagerly anticipating for their chance to play.

One regular, 24, has frequented Knight Club often for the last several months. “I had no knowledge of chess prior to my first visit, and the first time I ever played, I played a game against a expert player. It was a quick win, but it left me fascinated to learn and keep playing chess,” she noted.

“This gathering is about 50% networking and half people genuinely wanting to play chess … It's a nice way to relax, which avoids visiting a typical nightspot to meet others my age.”

A Game Reborn: Chess in the Modern Age

Lately, chess has been firmly established in the societal spirit of the times. The popularity of online chess proliferated during the global health crisis, making it one of the fastest-growing online pastimes in the world. Across media, the streaming series The Queen’s Gambit, along with the author's recent novel Intermezzo, have crafted a distinct iconography associated with the sport, which has attracted a new generation of enthusiasts.

However much of this newfound appeal of the chess club isn't always about the intricacies of the game; rather, it is the ease of connecting with others that it facilitates, by taking a seat and engaging with someone who may be a total stranger.

“It is a brilliant clever disguise,” remarked one organizer, co-founder of Reference Point in London, a bookshop, reading room, cafe and bar, which has hosted a popular chess club weekly since it opened several years back. His aim is to “remove chess off a pedestal and make it feel like pool in a dive bar”.

“It's a very simple tool to get to know people. It kind of takes the pressure of the need of small talk from socializing with people. You can handle the awkward part of making an introduction and chatting to someone over a board rather than with no kind of context involved.”

Growing the Network: Social Gatherings Outside the Capital

In Birmingham, Chesscafé is a recurring chess event taking place at York’s Cafe, near the downtown area. “We found that individuals are seeking places where one can socialize, socialise and have a good time outside of visiting a pub or club,” said its creator and organiser, a young leader, 21.

Together with his associate Abdirahim Haji, 21, he bought chessboards, printed promotional materials and began the chess club in the start of the year, while in his final year of college. Within months, he reported Chesscafé has grown to draw over one hundred youthful players to its events.

“Such a venue has a specific connotation associated with it, about it being reserved. Our approach is to go the opposite way; it's a convivial party with chess as part of it,” he emphasized.

Discovering and Playing: A New Generation of Players

Among numerous attendees, chess clubs are an introduction to the game. Zoë Kezia, in her late twenties, is learning how to participate in chess with other attenders of chess night at Reference Point. She became curious in the pastime was sparked after an enjoyable evening moving to music and playing chess at one of Knight Club's occasions.

“It is a strange concept, but it works,” she said. “It encourages face-to-face interactions rather than digital activities. It is a no-cost neutral ground to encounter strangers. It is inviting, one doesn't need to necessarily be good at chess.”

She humorously compared the trendiness of chess with the youth to the facade of the “performative male”, an attempt to feign braininess while projecting the appearance of “coolness”. Whether the chess craze has cultivated a genuine passion in the sport isn't something she's entirely sure about. “It's a wholesome phenomenon, but it’s very much a fad,” she observed. “Once you're playing with people who are really dedicated about it, it rapidly turns less enjoyable.”

Serious Gaming and Togetherness

It might all be a some lighthearted activity for individuals looking to use a game set as a networking tool, but competitive participants do have their role, even if off the dancefloor.

Lucia Ene-Lesikar, in her early twenties, who helps running the club,explains that increasingly competitive players have established a league table. “People who are part of the competition will play each other, we will go to early rounds, advanced stages, and then we will eventually have a league winner.”

A dedicated player, in his twenties, is a competitive player and chess teacher. He has been in the league for about a twelve months and participates at the club nearly every week. “This offers a welcome option to playing serious chess; it provides a feeling of community,” he expressed.

“It is fascinating to see how it becomes more of a social activity, because in the past the sole individuals who engaged in chess were people who didn't go outside; they simply stayed home. It is typically only a pair competing on a game board …

“What I like about this place is that you're not actually facing the digital opponent, you're facing live opponents.”