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Among the most vibrant locations on a Tuesday evening in the East End's famous street isn't a dining spot or a streetwear label pop-up, it is a chess club – or a chess and nightlife fusion, precisely speaking.

Knight Club represents the surprising blend between the classic game and London's fervent nightlife scene. It was started by Yusuf Ntahilaja, in his late twenties, who launched his first chess club in August 2023 at a smaller bar in a nearby area, a short distance from the current location at Café 1001 on the iconic lane.

“I wanted to create chess clubs for people who look like me and people my generation,” he said. “Usually, chess is only placed in environments that are full of older people, which isn't inclusive enough.”

On the first night, there were just 8 boards between sixteen people. Now, a “successful evening” at the weekly club event will draw about two hundred eighty people.

At first glance, Knight Club feels more like a DJ event than a traditional chess meeting. Mixed drinks are being served and music is playing, but the game boards on each table aren't just decorative or there as a novelty: they are all in use and surrounded by a line of spectators eagerly anticipating for their turn.

One regular, in her mid-twenties, has been attending the club regularly for the past four months. “I possessed little understanding of chess prior to I came here, and the initial occasion I ever played, I competed in a game with a expert player. That was a swift victory, but it made me fascinated to study and continue enjoying chess,” she noted.

“This gathering is about 50% social and half people genuinely wishing to play chess … It's a pleasant way to relax, which avoids visiting a typical nightspot to meet others my age.”

A Game Reborn: The Ancient Game in the Contemporary Era

In recent years, chess has been cemented in the societal spirit of the times. The popularity of digital chess proliferated throughout the pandemic, making it one of the most rapidly expanding online pastimes in the world. In popular culture, the Netflix series a hit show, as well as the author's latest novel Intermezzo, have created a distinct iconography surrounding the game, which has attracted a new generation of players.

However a great deal of this newfound attraction of the chess club is not always about the technicalities of the play; instead, it is the simplicity of connecting with others that it enables, by pulling up a seat and playing with someone who may be a total unknown individual.

“It is a brilliant clever disguise,” remarked one organizer, co-founder of a local venue in London, a bookshop, reading room, coffee house and bar, which has hosted a well-attended chess club weekly since it began four years ago. Freud’s objective is to “take chess off a pedestal and make it feel similar to pool in a casual pub”.

“It is a very easy tool to meet people. It kind of removes the pressure of the need of small talk from socializing with people. One can do the uncomfortable part of making an introduction and talking to a new acquaintance over a board rather than with no kind of context involved.”

Growing the Network: Chess Nights Outside the Capital

In Birmingham, Chesscafé is a recurring chess event taking place at York’s Cafe, just outside the city centre. “We found that individuals are seeking spaces where you can go out, socialise and have a good time beyond going to a pub or nightclub,” said its founder and organiser, Karan Singh, in his early twenties.

Alongside his friend a partner, also young, Singh purchased chessboards, printed flyers and began the chess club in the start of the year, while in his last year of college. Within months, he said Chesscafé has grown to attract over 100 young participants to its gatherings.

“A chess club has a particular reputation associated with 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.

Learning and Engaging: An Alternative Generation of Players

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

“It is a strange concept, but it works,” she commented. “It encourages in-person exchanges instead of digital pastimes. It is a no-cost third space to encounter new people. It is inviting, you don't need to necessarily be skilled at chess.”

Kezia jokingly likened the popularity of chess among the youth to the facade of the “performative male”, an attempt to feign braininess while signaling the appearance of “hipness”. Whether the chess craze has fostered a genuine interest in the game isn't a notion she is quite sure about. “It's a positive phenomenon, but it’s very much a trend,” she observed. “Once you compete with opponents who are really dedicated about it, it rapidly becomes less fun.”

Serious Gaming and Togetherness

It may seem like a bit of lighthearted activity for those aiming to employ a chessboard as a networking tool, but serious players do have their role, albeit off the dancefloor.

Lucia Ene-Lesikar, in her early twenties, who helps running Knight Club,explains that more skilled attenders have formed a competitive ranking. “Participants who are part of the competition will play each other, we will go to quarter-finals, semi-finals, and then we'll eventually have a champion.”

A dedicated player, in his twenties, is a competitive competitor and chess teacher. He joined the competition for about a twelve months and participates at the club nearly weekly. “This offers a nice option to engaging in intense chess; it provides a sense of belonging,” he expressed.

“It's interesting to see how it evolves into increasingly a social pastime, because in the past the sole individuals who engaged in chess were those who didn't socialize; they just remained home. It's usually only a pair playing on a chessboard …

“The thing appeals to me about here is that one isn't really facing the computer, you are engaging with live opponents.”