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One of the most vibrant locations on a Tuesday evening in east London's famous street isn't a dining spot or a streetwear label pop-up, it is a chess gathering – or a chess and nightlife fusion, to be exact.

This unique venue represents the unlikely crossover between the classic game and the city's fervent nightlife scene. It was started by a young entrepreneur, in his late twenties, who began his initial chess club in the summer of 2023 at a more intimate bar in Aldgate, a short distance from the present location at Café 1001 on Brick Lane.

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

On the first night, there were just eight boards shared by sixteen people. Now, a “good night” at the weekly club event will attract about two hundred eighty attendees.

At first glance, Knight Club seems more like a DJ event than a chess club. Mixed drinks are being served and tunes is playing, but the game boards on every table are not just ornamental or there as a gimmick: they are all in use and surrounded by a line of onlookers waiting for their chance to play.

One regular, in her mid-twenties, has been attending Knight Club regularly for the past several months. “I had no knowledge of chess prior to my first visit, and the first time I tried it, I played a game against a grandmaster. It was a quick victory, but it made me fascinated to study and keep playing chess,” she noted.

“This gathering is about half networking and 50% people actually wanting to play chess … It is a nice way to unwind, which avoids going to a typical nightspot to meet others my age.”

An Activity Reborn: Chess in the Modern Era

In recent years, chess has been cemented in the cultural zeitgeist. Its appeal of digital chess expanded rapidly throughout the global health crisis, establishing it as one of the fastest-growing online pastimes globally. In popular culture, the streaming series The Queen’s Gambit, along with the author's recent novel a literary work, have crafted a distinct iconography associated with the game, which has drawn in a new wave of enthusiasts.

But much of this newfound attraction of the chess club is not always about the intricacies of the play; rather, it is the ease of connecting with others that it facilitates, by pulling up a seat and playing with someone who may be a complete stranger.

“It is a great clever disguise,” remarked one organizer, co-founder of a local venue in London, a bookstore, library, cafe and lounge, which has hosted a well-attended chess club weekly since it opened four years ago. Freud’s objective is to “take chess from its elite status and transform it into similar to pool in a casual pub”.

“It is a very simple vehicle to get to know people. It somewhat takes the weight of the necessity of small talk from socializing with people. You can do the awkward part of making an introduction and chatting to someone across a game rather than with no kind of shared activity involved.”

Growing the Community: Chess Nights Outside the Capital

Elsewhere in the UK, Chesscafé is a regular chess night held at a city cafe, just outside the downtown area. “Our observation was that individuals are seeking places where one can go out, interact and enjoy a good time beyond visiting a bar or club,” said its founder and coordinator, Karan Singh, 21.

Together with his associate Abdirahim Haji, also young, Singh bought game sets, created flyers and began the chess club in the start of the year, while in his final year of college. In less than a year, Singh said their event has grown to attract more than one hundred young participants to its events.

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

Discovering and Playing: A New Cohort of Players

Among numerous attendees, chess clubs are an entry point to the game. Zoë Kezia, in her late twenties, 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 evening moving to music and engaging in chess at a previous Knight Club's events.

“It's a strange idea, but it works,” she said. “It encourages face-to-face interactions instead of screen-based pastimes. It's a free neutral ground to meet strangers. It is welcoming, one doesn't need to necessarily be skilled at chess.”

Kezia jokingly compared the trendiness of chess with young people to the facade of the “ostentatious intellectual”, an effort to feign intellectualism while signaling the veneer of “coolness”. Whether the chess trend has fostered a authentic interest in the game isn't something she's quite sure about. “It's a positive trend, but it’s very much a trend,” she said. “Once you compete with people who are truly dedicated about it, it rapidly turns less fun.”

Serious Play and Togetherness

It might all be a some lighthearted activity for those looking to employ a chessboard as a social vehicle, but competitive players do have their role, albeit away from the dancefloor.

Another organizer, 22, who assists in organise the club,explains that more competitive players have formed a competitive ranking. “People who are in the league will play one another, we will progress to quarter-finals, advanced stages, and then we'll eventually have a champion.”

Ryames Chan, 23, is a serious player and chess teacher. He joined in the league for about a twelve months and plays at the club nearly weekly. “This is a welcome alternative to playing intense chess; it provides a sense of community,” he said.

“It is fascinating to observe how it evolves into increasingly a communal activity, because in the past the only individuals who played chess were people who rarely socialize; they just remained home. It is usually only a pair playing on a game board …

“What I like about here is that you're not actually facing the digital opponent, you're engaging with real people.”