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Among the most vibrant spots on a weekday night in east London's famous street couldn't be a dining spot or a urban fashion label temporary shop, it is a chess club – or a chess and nightlife combination, precisely speaking.

Knight Club embodies the unlikely fusion between chess and the city's fervent evening entertainment scene. It was started by a young entrepreneur, in his late twenties, who began his first chess club in August 2023 at a smaller bar in a nearby area, not too far from the current location at Café 1001 on Brick Lane.

“I wanted to make chess clubs for individuals who look like me and those my generation,” he said. “Usually, chess is only put in spaces that are dominated by older people, which is not inclusive sufficiently.”

Initially, there were only eight boards shared by 16 people. Today, a “good night” at the weekly Knight Club will attract about two hundred eighty people.

Upon arrival, Knight Club seems closer to a DJ event than a traditional chess meeting. Mixed drinks are being served and music is playing, but the game boards on each table are not just ornamental or there as a gimmick: they are all in use and surrounded by a line of onlookers eagerly anticipating for their chance to play.

One regular, in her mid-twenties, has been attending Knight Club often for the past four months. “I possessed little understanding of chess before I came here, and the initial occasion I tried it, I competed in a game with a expert player. That was a swift win, but it left me fascinated to learn and continue enjoying chess,” she said.

“The event is about 50% networking and 50% people genuinely wanting to play chess … It's a nice way to decompress, which doesn't involve visiting a typical nightspot to see others my generation.”

An Activity Reborn: Chess in the Modern Era

Lately, chess has been firmly established in the cultural spirit of the times. Its appeal of online chess expanded rapidly during the pandemic, making it one of the most rapidly expanding online pastimes in the world. Across media, the streaming series a hit show, along with the author's recent novel Intermezzo, have crafted a certain iconography surrounding the sport, which has drawn in a fresh generation of enthusiasts.

But much of this newfound appeal of the chess club is not always about the intricacies of the game; instead, it is the ease of social interaction that it facilitates, by pulling up a chair and playing with someone who could be a total stranger.

“It's a great clever disguise,” remarked one organizer, founder of a local venue in the city, a bookshop, reading room, cafe and bar, which has organized a well-attended chess club every Wednesday since it opened four years ago. His aim is to “take chess from its elite status and transform it into similar to pool in a casual pub”.

“It's a very easy tool to meet people. It somewhat takes the weight of the need of small talk from socializing with people. One can do the awkward bit of making an introduction and talking to a new acquaintance over a board instead of with no kind of context around it.”

Expanding the Community: Chess Nights Outside the Capital

Elsewhere in the UK, Chesscafé is a regular chess night taking place at a city cafe, just outside the downtown area. “Our observation was that people are looking for places where you can go out, interact and have a good time outside of going to a bar or club,” stated its creator and organiser, a young leader, in his early twenties.

Together with his associate Abdirahim Haji, 21, Singh bought game sets, created flyers and started the chess club in the start of the year, while in his last year of university. In less than a year, he said their event has grown to attract more than one hundred youthful participants to its events.

“A chess club has a particular reputation to it, about it being reserved. Our approach is to move in the opposite direction; it's a convivial get-together with chess involved,” he emphasized.

Discovering and Engaging: An Alternative Generation of Players

Among numerous attendees, chess clubs are an introduction to the game. Zoë Kezia, in her late twenties, is picking up how to play chess with fellow attenders of the weekly event at the venue. She became curious in the pastime was sparked after an pleasurable evening moving to music and playing chess at one of Knight Club's occasions.

“It is a strange idea, but it functions well,” she said. “It promotes in-person interactions instead of screen-based activities. It's a free third space to encounter new people. It's welcoming, you don't need to necessarily be good at chess.”

She jokingly compared the popularity of chess among the youth to the facade of the “ostentatious intellectual”, an attempt to simulate intellectualism while signaling the appearance of “coolness”. Whether the chess trend has cultivated a authentic passion in the sport is not a notion she's quite sure about. “It's a positive phenomenon, but it’s largely a trend,” she observed. “When you're playing against opponents who are truly dedicated about it, it rapidly becomes less fun.”

Serious Gaming and Togetherness

It may all be a some lighthearted activity for those looking to employ a game set as a networking tool, but serious players certainly have their role, even if away from the dancefloor.

Lucia Ene-Lesikar, in her early twenties, who assists in running the club,says that more skilled attenders have established a competitive ranking. “People who are in the league will face one another, we will progress to early rounds, advanced stages, and then we'll finally have a champion.”

Ryames Chan, in his twenties, is a competitive player and chess teacher. He joined the competition for about a year and participates at the club nearly weekly. “This offers a nice option to playing intense chess; it gives a sense of belonging,” he said.

“It's fascinating to see how it evolves into increasingly a communal pastime, because previously the sole people who engaged in chess were people who didn't socialize; they simply remained home. It is usually only a pair competing on a game board …

“The thing I like about this place is that you're not actually facing the computer, you are engaging with real people.”