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One of the most vibrant venues on a weekday night in east London's famous street couldn't be a dining spot or a streetwear label pop-up, it's a chess gathering – or a chess club-nightclub fusion, precisely speaking.

This unique venue represents the unlikely blend between the classic game and the city's fervent evening entertainment culture. It was founded by Yusuf Ntahilaja, in his late twenties, who began his initial chess club in the summer of 2023 at a more intimate bar in Aldgate, not too far from the present location at a popular cafe on Brick Lane.

“I wanted to create chess clubs for individuals who share my background and people my generation,” he said. “Typically, chess is only placed in spaces that are dominated by older people, which is not inclusive enough.”

On the first night, there were only 8 boards between sixteen people. Now, a “good night” at the regular club event will draw about 280 attendees.

Upon arrival, Knight Club seems more like a DJ event than a chess club. Mixed drinks are being served and tunes is in the air, but the chessboards on every table are not just decorative or there as a gimmick: they are all occupied and encircled by a line of onlookers eagerly anticipating for their turn.

Jimmy Ifenayi, 24, has frequented the club regularly for the past several months. “I had little understanding of chess prior to my first visit, and the first time I ever played, I competed in a game against a expert player. It was a swift victory, but it made me intrigued to learn and keep playing chess,” she said.

“This gathering is about half social and 50% people actually wanting to engage in chess … It's a pleasant way to unwind, which avoids visiting a typical nightspot to meet other people my generation.”

A Game Revitalized: The Ancient Game in the Contemporary Age

In recent years, chess has been firmly established in the societal spirit of the times. Its appeal of online chess proliferated throughout the global health crisis, establishing it as one of the most rapidly expanding online games globally. In popular culture, the streaming series a hit show, along with Sally Rooney’s latest novel a literary work, have created a certain iconography surrounding the game, which has attracted a fresh wave of players.

However a great deal of this recent attraction of the chess club is not necessarily about the technicalities of the play; rather, it is the simplicity of social interaction that it facilitates, by pulling up a seat and playing with a person who could be a complete unknown individual.

“It is a great clever disguise,” remarked Jonah Freud, co-founder of a local venue in London, a bookstore, reading room, cafe and bar, which has organized a well-attended chess club every Wednesday since it began several years back. Freud’s aim is to “take chess off a pedestal and transform it into similar to billiards in a dive bar”.

“It's a really easy vehicle to meet people. It kind of removes the pressure of the need of conversation away from socializing with people. You can do the uncomfortable part of making an introduction and talking to someone across a game instead of with no shared activity around it.”

Expanding the Network: Chess Nights Beyond the Capital

Elsewhere in the UK, Chesscafé is a recurring chess night held at a city cafe, just outside the city centre. “Our observation was that people are looking for spaces where you can go out, interact and have a good time beyond going to a pub or nightclub,” said its creator and coordinator, Karan Singh, 21.

Alongside his associate Abdirahim Haji, also young, he purchased chessboards, printed flyers and started the chess club in January, during his last year of university. In less than a year, he said their event has grown to attract over 100 youthful players to its events.

“Such a venue has a particular connotation associated with it, about it seeming quiet. We really try to go the opposite direction; it is a convivial party with chess involved,” he said.

Learning and Engaging: An Alternative Generation of Chess Enthusiasts

Among numerous attendees, chess clubs are an introduction to the activity. One participant, in her late twenties, is learning how to participate in chess with other attenders of the weekly event at Reference Point. She became curious in the pastime was piqued after an pleasurable evening dancing and playing chess at one of the club's events.

“It's a unique concept, but it works,” she commented. “It promotes in-person interactions instead of digital activities. It's a no-cost neutral ground to meet new people. It is inviting, you don't need to necessarily be skilled at chess.”

Kezia humorously compared the trendiness of chess with young people to the superficial image of the “ostentatious intellectual”, an effort to feign intellectualism while signaling the appearance of “hipness”. If the chess trend has fostered a genuine passion in the sport is not a notion she is quite convinced by. “It is a positive trend, but it’s very much a trend,” she observed. “When you're playing against people who are really dedicated about it, it rapidly turns less enjoyable.”

Competitive Gaming and Community

It may seem like a bit of fun and games for those aiming to employ a game set as a networking tool, but serious participants certainly have their place, albeit away from the dancefloor.

Another organizer, in her early twenties, who helps running Knight Club,says that more skilled attenders have formed a league table. “People who are in the league will face one another, we will progress to quarter-finals, advanced stages, and then we will finally have a champion.”

Ryames Chan, 23, is a competitive player and chess teacher. He has been in the league for about a year and participates at the club nearly every week. “This is a nice alternative to playing serious chess; it provides a sense of community,” he expressed.

“It is interesting to see how it evolves into increasingly a social pastime, because in the past the sole individuals who engaged in chess were people who rarely socialize; they just remained home. It's typically just two people playing on a game board …

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