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Among the liveliest locations on a weekday night in east London's Brick Lane isn't a restaurant or a urban fashion label pop-up, it is a chess club – or rather a chess and nightlife combination, precisely speaking.

This unique venue represents the surprising fusion between the classic game and the city'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 more intimate bar in Aldgate, a short distance from the current location at a popular cafe on the iconic lane.

“I wanted to create chess clubs for people who look like me and those my age,” he said. “Usually, chess is only placed in environments that are dominated by older people, which is not inclusive sufficiently.”

Initially, there were just 8 boards shared by 16 people. Now, a “good night” at the regular club event will draw about two hundred eighty people.

At first glance, Knight Club feels closer to a DJ event than a chess club. Cocktails are being served and tunes is playing, but the chessboards on each table are not just decorative or there as a novelty: they are all in use and surrounded by a line of spectators waiting for their turn.

One regular, in her mid-twenties, has been attending Knight Club often for the past four months. “I possessed little understanding of chess before my first visit, and the initial occasion I tried it, I competed in a game against a expert player. It was a quick victory, but it left me fascinated to learn and keep playing chess,” she said.

“This gathering is about 50% social and 50% people actually wishing to play chess … It's a pleasant way to unwind, which avoids visiting a club to see others my age.”

An Activity Revitalized: The Ancient Game in the Contemporary Era

Lately, chess has been firmly established in the cultural zeitgeist. Its appeal of digital chess expanded rapidly throughout the global health crisis, making it one of the most rapidly expanding internet pastimes globally. Across media, the streaming series a hit show, along with Sally Rooney’s latest novel Intermezzo, have crafted a distinct iconography associated with the sport, which has drawn in a fresh wave of enthusiasts.

But a great deal of this recent appeal of the chess night is not always about the technicalities of the play; rather, it is the ease of connecting with others that it facilitates, by taking a seat and engaging with a person who may be a complete stranger.

“It is a great clever disguise,” said one organizer, co-founder of Reference Point in the city, a bookstore, reading room, cafe and bar, which has hosted a well-attended chess club every Wednesday since it began several years back. Freud’s objective is to “remove chess from its elite status and transform it into similar to pool in a casual pub”.

“It is a really easy vehicle to get to know people. It kind of takes the pressure of the need of small talk from interacting with people. You can do the awkward bit of making an introduction and chatting to a new acquaintance across a game instead of with no kind of shared activity involved.”

Growing the Community: Social Gatherings Beyond London

In Birmingham, a similar initiative is a recurring chess event taking place at York’s Cafe, near the downtown area. “We found that people are seeking spaces where one can socialize, interact and have a fun evening outside of going to a pub or club,” stated its creator and organiser, a young leader, in his early twenties.

Alongside his friend a partner, also young, he purchased game sets, created promotional materials and started the chess club in the start of the year, while in his last year of college. In less than a year, Singh said their event has expanded to attract over one hundred young players to its events.

“A chess club has a specific reputation to it, about it being quiet. Our approach is to move in the opposite direction; it is a convivial party with chess as part of it,” he emphasized.

Discovering and Playing: An Alternative Cohort of Chess Enthusiasts

Among numerous attendees, chess clubs are an entry point to the game. Zoë Kezia, 27, is learning how to play chess with fellow attenders of chess night at the venue. She became curious in the game was sparked after an enjoyable night dancing and playing chess at one of Knight Club's occasions.

“It is a unique idea, but it functions well,” she commented. “It encourages in-person exchanges instead of digital pastimes. It's a free third space to meet new people. It's inviting, one doesn't need to necessarily be skilled at chess.”

She jokingly compared the popularity of chess among young people to the superficial image of the “ostentatious intellectual”, an attempt to feign braininess while projecting the appearance of “coolness”. Whether the chess craze has fostered a genuine interest in the game is not a notion she is quite convinced by. “It is a positive trend, but it’s largely a fad,” she said. “Once you're playing against opponents who are really serious about it, it quickly turns less fun.”

Serious Play and Community

It might seem like a bit of lighthearted activity for those aiming to employ a game set as a social vehicle, but serious participants do have their place, even if away from the main party area.

Lucia Ene-Lesikar, in her early twenties, who assists in running Knight Club,says that more skilled attenders have established a league table. “Participants who are in the league will play each other, we'll go to early rounds, advanced stages, and then we'll eventually have a champion.”

A dedicated player, 23, is a competitive competitor and chess instructor. He has been the competition for about a twelve months and participates at the club nearly every week. “This is a welcome option to playing intense chess; it provides a feeling of belonging,” he said.

“It is fascinating to observe how it evolves into increasingly a communal pastime, because previously the sole people who played chess were people who rarely socialize; they simply remained home. It's typically only two people playing on a chessboard …

“The thing I like about this place is that you're not really facing the computer, you are engaging with live opponents.”