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Among the most energetic venues on a Tuesday night in east London's Brick Lane couldn't be a restaurant or a urban fashion label temporary shop, it's a chess club – or rather a chess club-nightclub fusion, to be exact.

This unique venue embodies the surprising blend between the classic game and London's fervent 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 more intimate bar in Aldgate, not too far from the current location at a popular cafe on the iconic lane.

“My goal was to make chess clubs for people who look like me and people my age,” he explained. “Usually, chess is only put in spaces that are full of older people, which isn't inclusive enough.”

Initially, there were just eight boards shared by sixteen people. Now, a “successful evening” at the regular Knight Club will draw about 280 attendees.

At first glance, the venue feels closer to a DJ event than a chess club. Mixed drinks are flowing and music is playing, but the game boards on each table aren't just ornamental or there as a novelty: they are all occupied and surrounded by a line of onlookers eagerly anticipating for their chance to play.

Jimmy Ifenayi, in her mid-twenties, has frequented the club regularly for the past four months. “I possessed little understanding of chess before my first visit, and the initial occasion I tried it, I played a game with a grandmaster. It was a swift win, but it left me fascinated to learn and keep playing chess,” she noted.

“This gathering is about 50% networking and 50% people actually wanting to engage in chess … It's a pleasant way to unwind, which doesn't involve visiting a club to see other people my age.”

A Game Revitalized: The Ancient Game in the Modern Age

Lately, 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. In popular culture, the Netflix series a hit show, as well as Sally Rooney’s latest novel a literary work, have created a distinct iconography associated with the sport, which has attracted a fresh generation of players.

However much of this newfound attraction of the chess club isn't necessarily about the technicalities of the play; rather, it is the ease of connecting with others that it enables, by taking a seat and playing with someone who may be a total stranger.

“It is a brilliant Trojan horse,” said Jonah Freud, co-founder of Reference Point in the city, a bookstore, reading room, cafe and lounge, which has organized a popular chess club weekly since it began several years back. Freud’s objective is to “take chess off a pedestal and make it feel similar to billiards in a dive bar”.

“It's a very simple tool to get to know people. It kind of removes the pressure of the necessity of small talk away from interacting with people. You can do the uncomfortable bit of making an introduction and chatting to someone across a board instead of with no kind of context around it.”

Expanding the Community: Social Gatherings Beyond London

Elsewhere in the UK, Chesscafé is a regular chess event taking place at a city cafe, near the city centre. “We found that people are seeking places where you can go out, socialise and enjoy a good time outside of going to a bar or club,” said its founder and coordinator, Karan Singh, 21.

Together with his associate a partner, 21, Singh bought game sets, printed flyers and started the chess club in January, during his final year of college. Within months, he reported their event has grown to draw over 100 young players to its events.

“A chess club has a specific reputation associated with it, about it being quiet. Our approach is to go the contrary way; it is a convivial party with chess as part of it,” he said.

Discovering and Playing: A New Generation of Chess Enthusiasts

For many, chess clubs are an introduction to the activity. Zoë Kezia, in her late twenties, is learning how to play chess with fellow visitors of chess night at Reference Point. Her interest in the pastime was sparked after an enjoyable evening moving to music and playing chess at one of the club's occasions.

“It is a unique concept, but it functions well,” she commented. “It encourages face-to-face exchanges rather than digital activities. It is a no-cost neutral ground to meet new people. It's welcoming, you don't need to necessarily be good at chess.”

Kezia humorously likened the popularity of chess with the youth to the facade of the “ostentatious intellectual”, an effort to feign intellectualism while projecting the appearance of “coolness”. Whether the chess trend has cultivated a authentic passion in the sport isn't something she is entirely sure about. “It's a positive trend, but it’s largely a fad,” she said. “Once you're playing against opponents who are truly serious about it, it quickly becomes less enjoyable.”

Competitive Play and Community

It might all be a bit of lighthearted activity for individuals looking to employ a game set as a social vehicle, but serious players do have their place, even if away from the dancefloor.

Lucia Ene-Lesikar, in her early twenties, who helps organise Knight Club,says that increasingly skilled attenders have formed a competitive ranking. “Participants who are in the league will play each other, we'll progress to quarter-finals, advanced stages, and then we will eventually have a league winner.”

Ryames Chan, 23, is a competitive player and chess instructor. He joined the competition for about a year and plays at the club almost every week. “This offers a welcome alternative to engaging in intense chess; it gives a feeling of community,” he said.

“It is interesting to see how it becomes increasingly a communal activity, because in the past the sole individuals who engaged in chess were those who rarely go outside; they just remained home. It is typically just two people playing on a game board …

“What I like about here is that you're not actually facing the digital opponent, you are engaging with real people.”