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One of the liveliest venues on a Tuesday evening in the East End's Brick Lane isn't a restaurant or a urban fashion label temporary shop, it's a chess gathering – or rather a chess and nightlife combination, precisely speaking.

This unique venue embodies the surprising fusion between chess and the city's fervent evening entertainment scene. It was started by a young entrepreneur, 27, who launched his initial chess club in the summer of 2023 at a smaller bar in a nearby area, a short distance from the current location at Café 1001 on Brick Lane.

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

On the first night, there were just 8 boards between sixteen people. Now, a “good night” at the weekly Knight Club will attract about two hundred eighty people.

Upon arrival, Knight Club feels closer to a DJ event than a chess club. Mixed drinks are flowing and tunes is in the air, but the chessboards on each table aren't just ornamental or there as a novelty: they are all in use and surrounded by a line of onlookers eagerly anticipating for their chance to play.

One regular, 24, has frequented the club often for the past four months. “I had little understanding of chess prior to I came here, and the initial occasion I ever played, I competed in a game against a grandmaster. It was a quick victory, but it made me fascinated to study and continue enjoying chess,” she said.

“The event is about half networking and 50% participants genuinely wanting to play chess … It's a nice way to relax, which doesn't involve going to a club to see others my generation.”

An Activity Revitalized: The Ancient Game in the Contemporary Age

Lately, chess has been cemented in the societal spirit of the times. Its appeal of online chess proliferated throughout the pandemic, establishing it as one of the fastest-growing internet pastimes in the world. In popular culture, the Netflix series a hit show, as well as the author's recent novel a literary work, have crafted a distinct imagery surrounding the game, which has drawn in a new wave of enthusiasts.

However a great deal of this recent attraction of the chess club isn't necessarily about the technicalities of the play; instead, it is the simplicity of connecting with others that it facilitates, by pulling up a seat and engaging with a person who could be a complete unknown individual.

“It is a brilliant clever disguise,” remarked one organizer, founder of a local venue in the city, a bookstore, library, coffee house and lounge, which has organized a well-attended chess club weekly since it opened several years back. His objective is to “take chess off a pedestal and make it feel like pool in a dive bar”.

“It is a really simple vehicle to get to know people. It kind of takes the pressure of the need of conversation away from socializing with people. One can handle the uncomfortable part of introducing yourself and talking to a new acquaintance across a board instead of with no kind of context involved.”

Expanding the Community: Chess Nights Beyond the Capital

Elsewhere in the UK, a similar initiative is a regular chess night held at a city cafe, just outside the city centre. “We found that individuals are seeking spaces where one can go out, interact and have a fun evening beyond going to a pub or club,” said its creator and organiser, Karan Singh, in his early twenties.

Alongside his associate a partner, 21, Singh bought game sets, printed flyers and began the chess club in the start of the year, while in his final year of university. In less than a year, he reported Chesscafé has grown to attract more than one hundred young players to its events.

“A chess club has a particular connotation associated with it, about it being reserved. Our approach is to go the opposite direction; it's a social get-together with chess as part of it,” he emphasized.

Discovering and Engaging: An Alternative Cohort of Players

Among numerous attendees, chess clubs are an entry point to the game. One participant, in her late twenties, is learning how to participate in chess with other visitors of the weekly event at Reference Point. Her interest in the game was sparked after an enjoyable night moving to music and engaging in chess at a previous Knight Club's events.

“It is a strange idea, but it functions well,” she commented. “It encourages face-to-face exchanges rather than digital activities. It is a no-cost neutral ground to encounter strangers. It is inviting, one doesn't need to necessarily be good at chess.”

Kezia jokingly compared the trendiness of chess among young people to the superficial image of the “performative male”, an effort to feign braininess while projecting the veneer of “coolness”. If the chess trend has cultivated a authentic passion in the sport is not a notion she's quite convinced by. “It is a wholesome phenomenon, but it’s very much a fad,” she observed. “Once you're playing against people who are really serious about it, it quickly becomes less enjoyable.”

Competitive Gaming and Community

It may seem like a some lighthearted activity for those aiming to employ a game set as a networking tool, but competitive participants do have their role, albeit away from the dancefloor.

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

A dedicated player, 23, is a serious competitor and chess instructor. He has been in the league for about a twelve months and plays at the club almost every week. “This offers a welcome option to playing serious chess; it gives a feeling of community,” he expressed.

“It is fascinating to see how it becomes increasingly a communal activity, because previously the only people who engaged in chess were people who didn't go outside; they just stayed home. It's usually only two people playing on a chessboard …

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