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Among the most vibrant spots on a Tuesday evening in the East End's Brick Lane isn't a restaurant or a streetwear label pop-up, it's a chess gathering – or a chess club-nightclub fusion, precisely speaking.

Knight Club embodies the unlikely fusion between chess and London's dynamic evening entertainment culture. It was started by Yusuf Ntahilaja, 27, who began his first chess club in the summer of 2023 at a smaller bar in a nearby area, a short distance from the present location at Café 1001 on Brick Lane.

“I wanted to make chess clubs for individuals who share my background and people my age,” he explained. “Usually, chess is only placed in environments that are full of older people, which isn't diverse sufficiently.”

On the first night, there were just eight boards shared by sixteen people. Today, a “good night” at the regular Knight Club will draw approximately 280 attendees.

At first glance, Knight Club seems more like a DJ event than a chess club. Mixed drinks are being served and music is playing, but the game boards on each table aren't just decorative or there as a gimmick: they are all occupied and surrounded by a queue of spectators waiting for their chance to play.

Jimmy Ifenayi, 24, has frequented the club regularly for the last four months. “I possessed no knowledge of chess prior to I came here, and the first time I ever played, I competed in a game with a grandmaster. It was a quick win, but it made me intrigued to study and continue enjoying chess,” she said.

“The event is about 50% social and half participants actually wanting to engage in chess … It's a nice way to decompress, which doesn't involve visiting a club to meet other people my age.”

An Activity Reborn: The Ancient Game in the Modern Era

In recent years, chess has been firmly established in the cultural spirit of the times. Its appeal of online chess expanded rapidly throughout the pandemic, establishing it as one of the most rapidly expanding online pastimes in the world. Across media, the Netflix series a hit show, along with Sally Rooney’s recent novel Intermezzo, have created a distinct imagery surrounding the sport, which has drawn in a new generation of players.

But a great deal of this newfound attraction of the chess night isn't necessarily about the technicalities of the game; instead, it is the simplicity of social interaction that it enables, by pulling up a seat and engaging with someone who could be a total stranger.

“It is a great Trojan horse,” remarked one organizer, co-founder of a local venue in the city, a bookshop, reading room, coffee house and bar, which has organized a popular chess club weekly since it opened four years ago. His aim is to “take chess off a pedestal and transform it into like pool in a dive bar”.

“It is a very easy tool to meet people. It somewhat takes the weight of the necessity of conversation from socializing with people. One can handle the awkward part of introducing yourself and talking to a new acquaintance across a game rather than with no shared activity involved.”

Expanding the Community: Social Gatherings Beyond London

In Birmingham, a similar initiative is a regular chess night taking place at a city cafe, near the downtown area. “We found that individuals are looking for places where you can socialize, socialise and have a fun evening beyond going to a bar or nightclub,” stated its creator and coordinator, a young leader, in his early twenties.

Alongside his associate Abdirahim Haji, 21, he bought game sets, created flyers and started the chess club in January, during his last year of college. In less than a year, Singh said their event has grown to attract more than one hundred young players to its gatherings.

“Such a venue has a particular connotation associated with it, about it seeming reserved. We really try to go the contrary way; it is a convivial party with chess as part of it,” he emphasized.

Learning and Playing: A New Generation of Players

For many, chess clubs are an entry point to the activity. One participant, 27, is picking up how to play chess with other attenders of the weekly event at Reference Point. She became curious in the pastime was piqued after an pleasurable evening moving to music and playing chess at one of Knight Club's occasions.

“It's a strange concept, but it functions well,” she said. “It promotes face-to-face interactions rather than screen-based pastimes. It's a free third space to encounter strangers. It's welcoming, one doesn't have to necessarily be skilled at chess.”

She jokingly likened the trendiness of chess among young people to the facade of the “ostentatious intellectual”, an effort to simulate braininess while signaling the appearance of “coolness”. Whether the chess trend has cultivated a genuine interest in the game isn't something she is quite convinced by. “It's a wholesome trend, but it’s very much a trend,” she observed. “Once you compete with opponents who are truly dedicated about it, it rapidly turns less fun.”

Competitive Play and Community

It might all be a bit of fun and games for individuals aiming to use a chessboard as a networking tool, but serious participants do have their place, even if off the dancefloor.

Lucia Ene-Lesikar, in her early twenties, who assists in running Knight Club,explains that increasingly skilled players have formed a league table. “People who are in the league will face each other, we will go to early rounds, advanced stages, and then we will finally have a champion.”

Ryames Chan, 23, is a competitive player and chess teacher. He joined the competition for about a twelve months and plays at the club nearly weekly. “This is a nice 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 in the past the only individuals who played chess were people who didn't socialize; they just remained home. It is typically only two people playing on a chessboard …

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