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Among the liveliest locations on a Tuesday night in the East End's famous street isn't a dining spot or a streetwear brand pop-up, it is a chess gathering – or rather a chess club-nightclub hybrid, precisely speaking.

Knight Club embodies the surprising fusion between the classic game and London's fervent nightlife scene. It was founded by Yusuf Ntahilaja, 27, who began his initial chess club in August 2023 at a smaller bar in Aldgate, a short distance from the present location at a popular cafe on Brick Lane.

“I wanted to make chess clubs for individuals who share my background and those my generation,” he said. “Usually, chess is only put in environments that are dominated by older people, which isn't inclusive sufficiently.”

Initially, there were only eight boards between 16 people. Now, a “successful evening” at the regular Knight Club will draw approximately two hundred eighty people.

At first glance, the venue feels more like a music night than a traditional chess meeting. Mixed drinks are flowing and tunes is in the air, but the chessboards on each table are not just ornamental or there as a novelty: they are all occupied and surrounded by a queue of spectators eagerly anticipating for their chance to play.

One regular, 24, has been attending Knight Club regularly for the last several months. “I possessed no knowledge of chess before my first visit, and the initial occasion I tried it, I competed in a game with a expert player. That was a quick win, but it left me fascinated to learn and keep playing chess,” she said.

“This gathering is about 50% networking and 50% participants genuinely wanting to play chess … It's a pleasant way to unwind, which avoids visiting a club to see other people my age.”

A Game Revitalized: Chess in the Contemporary Age

In recent years, chess has been firmly established in the cultural spirit of the times. Its appeal of digital chess expanded rapidly throughout the pandemic, establishing it as one of the most rapidly expanding online pastimes in the world. Across media, the streaming series a hit show, along with Sally Rooney’s recent novel Intermezzo, have created a certain iconography associated with the game, which has attracted a fresh wave of players.

However a great deal of this newfound appeal of the chess night isn't necessarily about the technicalities of the game; rather, it is the ease of connecting with others that it facilitates, by pulling up a chair and engaging with someone who could be a total unknown individual.

“It's a brilliant clever disguise,” said Jonah Freud, founder of a local venue in London, a bookshop, reading room, coffee house and lounge, which has hosted a well-attended chess club every Wednesday since it began four years ago. His aim is to “take chess from its elite status and make it feel similar to billiards in a casual pub”.

“It's a really easy tool to get to know people. It somewhat takes the pressure of the necessity of small talk from socializing with people. You can handle the uncomfortable part of introducing yourself and talking to a new acquaintance over a board rather than with no context involved.”

Expanding the Community: Chess Nights Beyond London

In Birmingham, Chesscafé is a regular chess night taking place at a city cafe, near the downtown area. “Our observation was that people are looking for places where you can socialize, interact and have a fun evening outside of visiting a pub or nightclub,” said its founder and organiser, Karan Singh, 21.

Together with his associate a partner, also young, Singh purchased game sets, printed flyers and started the chess club in January, while in his last year of university. In less than a year, he reported Chesscafé has grown to draw more than one hundred youthful players to its gatherings.

“A chess club has a specific reputation to it, about it seeming quiet. We really try to move in the contrary direction; it's a convivial get-together with chess involved,” he emphasized.

Learning and Engaging: A New Cohort of Players

Among numerous attendees, chess clubs are an entry point to the game. One participant, in her late twenties, is picking up how to participate in chess with fellow attenders of the weekly event at the venue. She became curious in the game was piqued after an pleasurable evening dancing and engaging in chess at one of the club's events.

“It is a strange idea, but it functions well,” she commented. “It promotes in-person interactions rather than digital activities. It's a free neutral ground to encounter strangers. It's welcoming, you don't need to necessarily be skilled at chess.”

Kezia humorously likened the trendiness of chess with the youth to the superficial image of the “ostentatious intellectual”, an effort to simulate braininess while projecting the veneer of “hipness”. Whether the chess trend has cultivated a authentic interest in the sport is not a notion she's quite convinced by. “It is a wholesome trend, but it’s very much a trend,” she said. “When you're playing with opponents who are truly dedicated about it, it quickly becomes less enjoyable.”

Serious Gaming and Togetherness

It may seem like a some lighthearted activity for individuals aiming to employ a game set as a social vehicle, but competitive participants do have their place, even if off the dancefloor.

Lucia Ene-Lesikar, 22, who helps running Knight Club,says that increasingly skilled attenders have formed a league table. “People who are in the league will face each other, we will progress to early rounds, advanced stages, and then we'll eventually have a champion.”

Ryames Chan, 23, is a competitive competitor and chess instructor. He joined the competition for about a year and participates at the club nearly weekly. “This is a welcome option to playing intense chess; it gives a sense of belonging,” he said.

“It's fascinating to observe how it becomes increasingly a social pastime, because previously the only people who played chess were those who rarely socialize; they just stayed home. It's usually just two people competing on a game board …

“The thing I like about this place is that you're not actually facing the digital opponent, you're facing live opponents.”