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One of the liveliest locations on a Tuesday evening in the East End'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 fusion, to be exact.

Knight Club embodies the unlikely blend between chess and the city's fervent nightlife culture. It was started by Yusuf Ntahilaja, 27, who began his first chess club in the summer of 2023 at a more intimate bar in a nearby area, not too far from the current location at Café 1001 on Brick Lane.

“I wanted to create chess clubs for people who share my background and people my age,” he explained. “Typically, chess is only put in environments that are dominated by senior individuals, which is not inclusive sufficiently.”

On the first night, there were just eight boards between 16 people. Now, a “good night” at the weekly Knight Club will draw approximately 280 attendees.

At first glance, Knight Club feels closer to a music night than a traditional chess meeting. 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 in use and encircled by a queue of onlookers waiting for their chance to play.

Jimmy Ifenayi, 24, has frequented Knight Club often for the last several months. “I had little understanding of chess before I came here, 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 study and continue enjoying chess,” she said.

“This gathering is about 50% networking and 50% participants actually wishing to play chess … It is a nice way to relax, which avoids going to a typical nightspot to see others my age.”

An Activity Reborn: The Ancient Game in the Contemporary Age

In recent years, chess has been firmly established in the societal spirit of the times. The popularity of online chess proliferated during the pandemic, making it one of the most rapidly expanding internet games in the world. Across media, the streaming series a hit show, as well as Sally Rooney’s latest novel a literary work, have crafted a distinct imagery surrounding the game, which has drawn in a fresh generation of players.

However much of this newfound appeal of the chess club is not always about the intricacies of the play; instead, it is the simplicity of connecting with others that it facilitates, by taking a seat and engaging with a person who could be a total unknown individual.

“It's a great Trojan horse,” remarked one organizer, founder of a local venue in London, a bookshop, library, coffee house and bar, which has hosted a well-attended chess club every Wednesday since it opened four years ago. Freud’s objective is to “take chess from its elite status and transform it into similar to billiards in a casual pub”.

“It is a very simple tool to get to know people. It somewhat removes the pressure of the necessity of small talk from interacting with people. You can handle the uncomfortable bit of introducing yourself and talking to a new acquaintance across a board instead of with no kind of shared activity around it.”

Growing the Community: Social Gatherings Beyond the Capital

Elsewhere in the UK, a similar initiative is a recurring chess event taking place at York’s Cafe, just outside the city centre. “We found that individuals are looking for places where one can socialize, interact and have a fun evening beyond going to a pub or club,” stated its founder and organiser, Karan Singh, 21.

Alongside his associate Abdirahim Haji, 21, he bought chessboards, created promotional materials and started the chess club in the start of the year, while in his last year of university. Within months, he reported Chesscafé has expanded to attract over 100 young players to its events.

“A chess club has a specific reputation to it, about it seeming reserved. We really try to move in the opposite direction; it is a convivial get-together with chess involved,” he said.

Learning and Playing: A New Cohort of Chess Enthusiasts

For many, chess clubs are an introduction to the game. Zoë Kezia, 27, is learning how to play chess with other visitors of chess night at the venue. Her interest in the game was sparked after an pleasurable evening moving to music and engaging in chess at one of Knight Club's events.

“It is a strange idea, but it works,” she commented. “It promotes in-person interactions instead of digital pastimes. It's a no-cost third space to encounter new people. It is welcoming, one doesn't need to necessarily be skilled at chess.”

Kezia humorously compared the popularity of chess with young people to the facade of the “ostentatious intellectual”, an effort to feign intellectualism while projecting the veneer of “coolness”. If the chess trend has fostered a genuine passion in the sport is not something she is entirely convinced by. “It's a positive phenomenon, but it’s very much a fad,” she said. “Once you're playing against people who are truly serious about it, it quickly becomes less enjoyable.”

Competitive Gaming and Community

It may seem like a some lighthearted activity for individuals aiming to use a chessboard as a social vehicle, but serious participants certainly have their role, albeit away from the dancefloor.

Another organizer, in her early twenties, who helps organise Knight Club,explains that more skilled attenders have established a league table. “Participants who are in the league will play each other, we'll progress to early rounds, semi-finals, and then we will finally have a league winner.”

A dedicated player, 23, is a serious competitor and chess instructor. He has been the competition for about a year and plays at the club nearly every week. “This is a welcome alternative to engaging in intense chess; it provides a sense of belonging,” he expressed.

“It's interesting to observe how it evolves into increasingly a communal pastime, because previously the sole people who played chess were those who rarely go outside; they just stayed home. It's usually just a pair competing on a chessboard …

“The thing I like about here is that one isn't actually playing against the digital opponent, you are facing real people.”