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Among the liveliest spots on a weekday night in the East End's Brick Lane couldn't be a dining spot or a urban fashion brand temporary shop, it's a chess club – or a chess and nightlife combination, to be exact.

This unique venue embodies the unlikely blend between the classic game and London's dynamic evening entertainment scene. It was founded by a young entrepreneur, in his late twenties, who began his first chess club in the summer of 2023 at a smaller bar in Aldgate, a short distance from the current location at Café 1001 on the iconic 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 environments that are full of older people, which isn't diverse enough.”

Initially, there were only 8 boards between sixteen people. Now, a “successful evening” at the regular Knight Club will draw approximately 280 attendees.

Upon arrival, the venue feels closer to a DJ event than a traditional chess meeting. Cocktails are being served and tunes is playing, but the game boards on each table aren't just decorative or there as a novelty: they are all occupied and encircled by a line of onlookers waiting for their turn.

One regular, in her mid-twenties, has frequented the club regularly for the last four months. “I possessed no knowledge of chess prior to my first visit, and the first time I tried it, I competed in a game against a grandmaster. It was a quick win, but it made me intrigued to study and continue enjoying chess,” she said.

“This gathering is about 50% social and half participants actually wanting to play chess … It is a pleasant way to relax, which avoids visiting a club to see other people my age.”

A Game Revitalized: Chess in the Contemporary Era

In recent years, chess has been firmly established in the cultural zeitgeist. The popularity of digital chess proliferated during the global health crisis, making it one of the most rapidly expanding online games in the world. Across media, the streaming series a hit show, as well as the author's recent novel a literary work, have created a certain imagery surrounding the sport, which has attracted a new wave of players.

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

“It is a brilliant Trojan horse,” said one organizer, co-founder of Reference Point in London, a bookshop, reading room, coffee house and lounge, which has organized a well-attended chess club every Wednesday since it opened four years ago. His aim is to “take chess off a pedestal and make it feel like pool in a dive bar”.

“It's a very simple vehicle to get to know people. It somewhat takes the pressure of the need of conversation from interacting with people. You can handle the awkward part of introducing yourself and chatting to someone over a board rather than with no kind of context involved.”

Growing the Community: Social Gatherings Outside London

In Birmingham, a similar initiative is a recurring chess night taking place at York’s Cafe, near the city centre. “We found that individuals are looking for places where you can go out, interact and enjoy a good time beyond going to a pub or nightclub,” said its founder and organiser, a young leader, 21.

Together with his friend a partner, also young, Singh bought game sets, created promotional materials and began the chess club in the start of the year, during his last year of university. Within months, he reported Chesscafé has grown to attract over one hundred young players to its events.

“A chess club has a specific reputation associated with it, about it seeming reserved. Our approach is to move in the contrary way; it's a social get-together with chess as part of it,” he said.

Discovering and Playing: A New Cohort of Players

For many, chess clubs are an introduction to the game. Zoë Kezia, in her late twenties, is picking up how to participate in chess with fellow visitors of the weekly event at Reference Point. She became curious in the game was sparked after an pleasurable night moving to music and playing chess at a previous the club's events.

“It's a unique idea, but it functions well,” she said. “It encourages in-person exchanges instead of digital pastimes. It is a no-cost third space to encounter new people. It's welcoming, one doesn't have to necessarily be skilled at chess.”

She jokingly likened the trendiness of chess among the youth to the facade of the “performative male”, an attempt to feign intellectualism while projecting the appearance of “hipness”. Whether the chess craze has cultivated a genuine passion in the sport isn't a notion she is quite sure about. “It is a positive trend, but it’s largely a trend,” she observed. “When you're playing against opponents who are truly dedicated about it, it rapidly becomes less fun.”

Serious Play and Community

It may all be a some lighthearted activity for individuals looking to employ a chessboard as a networking tool, but serious participants certainly have their place, even if off the main party area.

Lucia Ene-Lesikar, 22, who assists in running Knight Club,says that more skilled players have established a league table. “People who are part of the competition will face one another, we'll go to quarter-finals, advanced stages, and then we will finally have a champion.”

A dedicated player, in his twenties, is a serious player and chess instructor. He joined the competition for about a year and participates at the club nearly every week. “This offers a welcome option to playing intense chess; it gives a sense of belonging,” he expressed.

“It's interesting to see how it evolves into increasingly a communal pastime, because in the past the sole people who played chess were those who didn't socialize; they just remained home. It is usually just two people playing on a game board …

“What I like about this place is that one isn't actually playing against the digital opponent, you're engaging with real people.”