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Among the most vibrant locations on a weekday night in east London's Brick Lane isn't a dining spot or a streetwear label pop-up, it's a chess club – or rather a chess and nightlife fusion, to be exact.

This unique venue embodies the surprising blend between the classic game and London's dynamic nightlife culture. It was started by Yusuf Ntahilaja, 27, who launched his first chess club in August 2023 at a more intimate bar in a nearby area, not too far from the current 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 explained. “Usually, chess is only placed in spaces that are full of older people, which isn't inclusive enough.”

On the first night, there were only eight boards shared by sixteen people. Today, a “successful evening” at the weekly Knight Club will draw approximately 280 attendees.

At first glance, Knight Club seems closer to a DJ event than a chess club. Cocktails are flowing and music is playing, but the game boards on each table are not just ornamental or there as a gimmick: they are all in use and surrounded by a line of spectators eagerly anticipating for their turn.

Jimmy Ifenayi, 24, has been attending the club regularly for the past several months. “I had little understanding of chess prior to my first visit, and the initial occasion I tried it, I competed in a game with a expert player. It was a quick victory, but it made me fascinated to study and keep playing chess,” she noted.

“This gathering is about 50% social and half participants actually wanting to engage in chess … It's a pleasant way to relax, which doesn't involve visiting a club to see others my age.”

A Game Revitalized: Chess in the Modern Era

In recent years, chess has been cemented in the cultural zeitgeist. Its appeal of online chess proliferated throughout the pandemic, establishing it as one of the fastest-growing internet games globally. In popular culture, the streaming series a hit show, along with the author's latest novel Intermezzo, have crafted a distinct iconography associated with the sport, which has attracted a new generation of enthusiasts.

But a great deal of this recent appeal of the chess club is not always about the technicalities of the game; instead, it is the simplicity of social interaction that it enables, by taking a chair and engaging with someone who may be a complete stranger.

“It is a great Trojan horse,” said one organizer, founder of Reference Point in the city, a bookshop, library, coffee house and bar, which has hosted a well-attended chess club weekly since it began four years ago. Freud’s objective is to “remove chess off a pedestal and make it feel similar to billiards in a dive bar”.

“It is a really easy vehicle to meet people. It kind of removes the pressure of the necessity of conversation from socializing with people. You can handle the uncomfortable part of making an introduction and chatting to someone across a board instead of with no shared activity around it.”

Expanding the Network: Chess Nights Beyond London

In Birmingham, a similar initiative is a recurring chess event taking place at a city cafe, near the downtown area. “We found that people are seeking spaces where one can socialize, socialise and enjoy a fun evening beyond visiting a pub or nightclub,” stated its creator and organiser, Karan Singh, 21.

Alongside his friend Abdirahim Haji, 21, he bought game sets, created flyers and began the chess club in January, while in his last year of college. In less than a year, he said Chesscafé has expanded to draw over one hundred young participants to its events.

“Such a venue has a specific connotation to it, about it being quiet. Our approach is to move in the opposite way; it's a convivial get-together with chess as part of it,” he said.

Learning and Engaging: An Alternative Generation of Chess Enthusiasts

Among numerous attendees, chess clubs are an introduction to the activity. One participant, 27, is learning how to participate in chess with other attenders of chess night at Reference Point. She became curious in the pastime was sparked after an pleasurable night moving to music and playing chess at one of Knight Club's occasions.

“It's a unique idea, but it works,” she said. “It promotes in-person exchanges rather than screen-based activities. It is a free third space to meet strangers. It is welcoming, one doesn't have to necessarily be good at chess.”

Kezia humorously likened the trendiness of chess with young people to the superficial image of the “performative male”, an attempt to feign braininess while signaling the veneer of “coolness”. Whether the chess craze has cultivated a authentic interest in the sport isn't something she's entirely convinced by. “It's a wholesome trend, but it’s very much a trend,” she observed. “Once you're playing against people who are truly dedicated about it, it rapidly becomes less fun.”

Serious Play and Togetherness

It may seem like a bit of fun and games for those aiming to use a game set as a social vehicle, but serious participants do have their place, albeit away from the main party area.

Lucia Ene-Lesikar, in her early twenties, who helps organise Knight Club,explains that more skilled players have formed a league table. “People who are in the league will play one another, we will progress to quarter-finals, advanced stages, and then we'll finally have a league winner.”

A dedicated player, in his twenties, is a competitive competitor and chess instructor. He joined the competition for about a year and participates at the club almost every week. “This is a welcome option to playing serious chess; it provides a sense of community,” he expressed.

“It is interesting to see how it evolves into increasingly a communal activity, because previously the sole individuals who played chess were people who didn't socialize; they simply remained home. It is usually just a pair playing on a chessboard …

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