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One of the most vibrant spots on a weekday night in the East End's Brick Lane isn't a restaurant or a streetwear brand pop-up, it is a chess gathering – or rather a chess and nightlife combination, to be exact.

This unique venue represents the unlikely fusion between chess and the city's fervent nightlife scene. It was started by a young entrepreneur, in his late twenties, who launched his first chess club in August 2023 at a smaller bar in Aldgate, a short distance from the current location at Café 1001 on Brick Lane.

“I wanted to create chess clubs for people who share my background and those my age,” he said. “Typically, chess is only put in environments that are full of senior individuals, which isn't diverse enough.”

Initially, there were just 8 boards shared by 16 people. Today, a “good night” at the weekly club event will draw approximately two hundred eighty people.

Upon arrival, Knight Club seems closer to a DJ event than a chess club. Cocktails are being served and music 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 encircled by a queue of spectators eagerly anticipating for their chance to play.

One regular, 24, has frequented the club often for the last four months. “I had no knowledge of chess prior to I came here, and the first time I tried it, I competed in a game against a expert player. It was a quick win, but it left me fascinated to learn and keep playing chess,” she noted.

“The event is about half social and 50% people actually wishing to engage in chess … It's a nice way to relax, which doesn't involve visiting a typical nightspot to see others my age.”

An Activity Reborn: The Ancient Game in the Modern Era

Lately, chess has been firmly established in the cultural zeitgeist. The popularity of digital chess expanded rapidly during the pandemic, establishing it as one of the most rapidly expanding online games globally. Across media, the Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit, along with Sally Rooney’s latest novel Intermezzo, have created a certain iconography associated with the game, which has attracted a fresh generation of enthusiasts.

However much of this recent attraction of the chess night is not necessarily about the intricacies of the play; instead, it is the ease of connecting with others that it enables, by pulling up a chair and engaging with a person who may be a complete unknown individual.

“It's a great Trojan horse,” said Jonah Freud, co-founder of a local venue in the city, a bookstore, library, coffee house and bar, which has hosted a popular chess club every Wednesday since it began several years back. Freud’s aim is to “remove chess from its elite status and transform it into like billiards in a casual pub”.

“It's a very simple vehicle to get to know people. It somewhat removes the weight of the need of small talk away from socializing with people. One can do the uncomfortable bit of introducing yourself and chatting to someone over a board instead of with no kind of shared activity involved.”

Expanding the Community: Social Gatherings Beyond London

In Birmingham, Chesscafé is a recurring chess event taking place at a city cafe, near the city centre. “We found that individuals are seeking spaces where you can socialize, interact and have a fun evening beyond going to a pub or club,” stated its founder and coordinator, Karan Singh, 21.

Together with his associate Abdirahim Haji, 21, Singh purchased game sets, created flyers and started the chess club in the start of the year, during his final year of college. Within months, Singh said their event has grown to draw over 100 youthful players to its events.

“Such a venue has a specific reputation to it, about it being quiet. We really try to go the contrary direction; it is a social get-together with chess as part of it,” he emphasized.

Learning and Playing: An Alternative Cohort of Chess Enthusiasts

Among numerous attendees, chess clubs are an entry point to the activity. Zoë Kezia, 27, is learning how to participate in chess with other attenders of the weekly event at the venue. She became curious in the game was piqued after an enjoyable evening moving to music and playing chess at a previous Knight Club's occasions.

“It's a strange idea, but it works,” she said. “It promotes face-to-face exchanges rather than screen-based pastimes. It's a no-cost third space to encounter new people. It is inviting, one doesn't need to necessarily be skilled at chess.”

She humorously compared the popularity of chess among the youth 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 interest in the game is not a notion she's entirely sure about. “It is a positive trend, but it’s largely a trend,” she said. “When you compete against people who are truly serious about it, it rapidly turns less fun.”

Competitive Gaming and Community

It might seem like a bit of lighthearted activity for those looking to use a chessboard as a social vehicle, but serious players certainly have their place, even if off the main party area.

Lucia Ene-Lesikar, 22, who helps organise the club,explains that more skilled attenders have established a league table. “Participants who are in the league will play each other, we will progress to early rounds, semi-finals, and then we will eventually have a league winner.”

A dedicated player, 23, is a serious competitor and chess teacher. He has been the competition for about a year and participates at the club almost weekly. “This offers a welcome alternative to engaging in serious chess; it provides a sense of belonging,” he expressed.

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

“The thing appeals to me about this place is that one isn't really facing the computer, you are engaging with real people.”