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One of the most vibrant spots on a Tuesday night in east London's Brick Lane couldn't be a restaurant or a urban fashion label pop-up, it is a chess club – or rather a chess club-nightclub hybrid, precisely speaking.

This unique venue represents the surprising blend between chess and the city's fervent nightlife culture. It was started by Yusuf Ntahilaja, in his late twenties, who launched his first chess club in August 2023 at a more intimate bar in a nearby area, not too far from the current location at Café 1001 on the iconic lane.

“My goal was to make chess clubs for people who share my background and people my age,” he said. “Typically, chess is only placed in spaces that are full of older people, which isn't inclusive enough.”

On the first night, there were just 8 boards between sixteen people. Today, a “good night” at the weekly club event will attract approximately two hundred eighty attendees.

Upon arrival, Knight Club seems closer to a music night than a chess club. Cocktails are being served and tunes is in the air, but the game boards on each table are not just ornamental or there as a gimmick: they are all occupied and encircled by a queue of spectators eagerly anticipating for their chance to play.

One regular, 24, has frequented Knight Club regularly for the past several months. “I had no knowledge of chess prior to my first visit, and the initial occasion I tried it, I competed in a game with a expert player. That was a swift victory, but it made me intrigued to learn and keep playing chess,” she said.

“The event is about 50% networking and half participants actually wishing to engage in chess … It is a pleasant way to unwind, which doesn't involve visiting a typical nightspot to see others my age.”

An Activity Reborn: The Ancient Game in the Modern Era

In recent years, chess has been cemented in the cultural zeitgeist. The popularity of digital chess proliferated during the global health crisis, making it one of the most rapidly expanding online pastimes globally. Across media, the Netflix series a hit show, along with Sally Rooney’s recent novel a literary work, have crafted a certain imagery associated with the game, which has attracted a new wave of players.

However much of this recent attraction of the chess night isn't always about the technicalities of the game; rather, it is the simplicity of social interaction that it enables, by taking a seat and engaging with a person who could be a complete stranger.

“It's a brilliant Trojan horse,” said Jonah Freud, co-founder of Reference Point in the city, a bookshop, reading room, cafe and bar, which has organized a popular chess club weekly since it began four years ago. Freud’s objective is to “remove chess off a pedestal and make it feel like billiards in a dive bar”.

“It is a very easy vehicle to get to know people. It kind of removes the pressure of the need of small talk from socializing with people. One can do the uncomfortable bit of introducing yourself and talking to someone over a game rather than with no context involved.”

Expanding the Network: Social Gatherings Beyond the Capital

Elsewhere in the UK, a similar initiative is a recurring chess event taking place at a city cafe, just outside the city centre. “We found that people are seeking spaces where one can socialize, interact and have a good time outside of going to a pub or nightclub,” said its creator and coordinator, Karan Singh, in his early twenties.

Alongside his associate Abdirahim Haji, also young, he purchased chessboards, printed flyers and started the chess club in January, during his final year of college. Within months, Singh said Chesscafé has expanded to draw more than one hundred young participants to its events.

“A chess club has a specific connotation to it, about it being quiet. Our approach is to go the contrary direction; it is a social get-together with chess as part of it,” he emphasized.

Discovering and Engaging: A New Cohort of Chess Enthusiasts

Among numerous attendees, chess clubs are an introduction to the game. Zoë Kezia, 27, is learning how to play chess with other visitors of chess night at Reference Point. Her interest in the game was sparked after an enjoyable night moving to music and playing chess at a previous Knight Club's events.

“It's a unique idea, but it functions well,” she said. “It encourages face-to-face interactions rather than digital activities. It is a no-cost neutral ground to encounter strangers. It is welcoming, one doesn't have to necessarily be skilled at chess.”

She jokingly likened the popularity of chess among young people to the superficial image of the “ostentatious intellectual”, an effort to simulate intellectualism while signaling the appearance of “hipness”. Whether the chess craze has cultivated a authentic interest in the sport is not a notion she's quite convinced by. “It is a positive trend, but it’s largely a trend,” she observed. “When you're playing with people who are truly serious about it, it rapidly turns less fun.”

Serious Gaming and Togetherness

It might all be a some fun and games for individuals aiming to employ a chessboard as a networking tool, but competitive participants do have their place, even if away from the main party area.

Another organizer, in her early twenties, who helps organise Knight Club,explains that more skilled players have established a league table. “People who are in the league will face each other, we will go to quarter-finals, semi-finals, and then we will eventually have a league winner.”

A dedicated player, in his twenties, is a serious player and chess instructor. He joined in the league for about a twelve months and participates at the club nearly weekly. “This is a nice alternative to playing intense chess; it gives a sense of belonging,” he expressed.

“It is interesting to see how it evolves into increasingly a communal pastime, because previously the sole individuals who played chess were people who rarely go outside; they just remained home. It is typically just two people playing on a chessboard …

“The thing I like about here is that one isn't really playing against the digital opponent, you're engaging with live opponents.”