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One of the most vibrant locations on a weekday night in the East End's famous street isn't a restaurant or a streetwear label pop-up, it is a chess club – or rather a chess and nightlife combination, precisely speaking.

Knight Club embodies the unlikely crossover between the classic game and London's dynamic nightlife scene. It was founded by a young entrepreneur, 27, who began his first chess club in August 2023 at a more intimate bar in a nearby area, a short distance from the current location at Café 1001 on Brick Lane.

“I wanted to make chess clubs for individuals who share my background and those my generation,” he said. “Typically, chess is only put in environments that are full of older people, which isn't inclusive sufficiently.”

On the first night, there were just 8 boards shared by sixteen people. Today, a “successful evening” at the weekly club event will draw about 280 attendees.

Upon arrival, the venue feels closer to a DJ event than a chess club. Cocktails are being served and tunes is in the air, but the chessboards on each table are not just decorative or there as a gimmick: they are all in use and encircled by a queue of spectators eagerly anticipating for their turn.

One regular, 24, has been attending the club regularly for the past four months. “I had little understanding of chess before I came here, and the first time I tried it, I competed in a game against a grandmaster. That was a swift win, but it made me fascinated to learn and continue enjoying chess,” she noted.

“The event is about half social and 50% people genuinely wanting to play chess … It's a pleasant way to relax, which avoids visiting a club to see others my generation.”

A Game Revitalized: Chess in the Contemporary Era

Lately, chess has been firmly established in the societal spirit of the times. The popularity of online chess expanded rapidly during the global health crisis, establishing it as one of the fastest-growing online pastimes globally. Across media, the streaming series The Queen’s Gambit, as well as the author's latest novel Intermezzo, have crafted a distinct iconography associated with the sport, which has drawn in a fresh generation of enthusiasts.

However a great deal of this newfound appeal of the chess night isn't always about the intricacies of the play; rather, it is the ease of connecting with others that it facilitates, by pulling up a seat and engaging with a person who could be a total unknown individual.

“It's a brilliant clever disguise,” said one organizer, founder of a local venue in the city, a bookshop, reading room, coffee house and lounge, which has hosted a popular chess club every Wednesday since it opened several years back. Freud’s aim is to “remove chess from its elite status and make it feel like billiards in a casual pub”.

“It's a very simple tool to get to know people. It somewhat removes the pressure of the need of small talk away from interacting with people. You can do the awkward bit of making an introduction and talking to a new acquaintance across a game instead of with no kind of context around it.”

Expanding the Community: Chess Nights Outside the Capital

Elsewhere in the UK, a similar initiative is a regular chess event held at a city cafe, just outside the city centre. “Our observation was that individuals are seeking places where you can go out, socialise and enjoy a good time outside of visiting a bar or club,” said its creator and coordinator, Karan Singh, 21.

Alongside his friend a partner, also young, he bought chessboards, printed promotional materials and began the chess club in January, while in his final year of university. Within months, he said Chesscafé has grown to attract more than 100 youthful participants to its gatherings.

“Such a venue has a specific reputation associated with it, about it being reserved. We really try to go the opposite direction; it is a social get-together with chess involved,” he said.

Discovering and Playing: An Alternative Generation of Players

For many, chess clubs are an introduction to the game. One participant, in her late twenties, is picking up how to play chess with fellow attenders of chess night at the venue. She became curious in the pastime was piqued after an enjoyable night moving to music and engaging in chess at a previous the club's events.

“It is a unique concept, but it works,” she said. “It encourages face-to-face interactions instead of digital activities. It is a free neutral ground to meet new people. It's welcoming, you don't have to necessarily be good at chess.”

Kezia humorously likened the trendiness of chess with young people to the facade of the “performative male”, an effort to feign braininess while projecting the appearance of “coolness”. If the chess trend has fostered a authentic passion in the game isn't something she's entirely convinced by. “It's a wholesome phenomenon, but it’s largely a fad,” she said. “Once you're playing with people who are truly serious about it, it quickly becomes less enjoyable.”

Competitive Gaming and Togetherness

It may all be a bit of fun and games for those looking to use a chessboard as a networking tool, but serious participants do have their role, even if away from the main party area.

Another organizer, in her early twenties, who assists in running Knight Club,explains that more competitive attenders have established a league table. “Participants who are in the league will play one another, we will go to quarter-finals, semi-finals, and then we will finally have a champion.”

A dedicated player, in his twenties, is a competitive player and chess teacher. He joined in the league for about a year and plays at the club nearly every week. “This is a nice alternative to playing serious chess; it gives a feeling of belonging,” he said.

“It's fascinating to observe how it becomes increasingly a communal pastime, because in the past the only people who played chess were those who didn't go outside; they simply stayed home. It's usually just a pair competing on a chessboard …

“What I like about this place is that one isn't actually facing the computer, you're facing real people.”