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One of the most energetic spots on a Tuesday evening in east London's Brick Lane couldn't be a dining spot or a streetwear label pop-up, it's a chess club – or a chess club-nightclub combination, to be exact.

This unique venue represents the surprising fusion between chess and the city's fervent evening entertainment scene. It was started by a young entrepreneur, 27, who began his first chess club in August 2023 at a smaller bar in Aldgate, a short distance from the present location at Café 1001 on the iconic lane.

“I wanted to make chess clubs for people who look like me and those my generation,” he explained. “Typically, chess is only put in spaces that are full of senior individuals, which isn't diverse enough.”

On the first night, there were just eight boards shared by 16 people. Now, a “good night” at the weekly Knight Club will draw approximately two hundred eighty attendees.

At first glance, Knight Club seems more like a music night than a chess club. Cocktails are being served and tunes is in the air, but the chessboards on every table aren't just decorative or there as a gimmick: they are all in use and encircled by a queue of spectators waiting for their chance to play.

One regular, in her mid-twenties, has been attending the club often for the last four months. “I possessed no knowledge of chess before my first visit, and the initial occasion I tried it, I played a game against a expert player. That was a swift win, but it made me intrigued to learn and continue enjoying chess,” she noted.

“This gathering is about half social and half people genuinely wanting to play chess … It is a nice way to relax, which avoids going to a club to see others my age.”

An Activity Revitalized: Chess in the Modern Age

In recent years, chess has been cemented in the cultural zeitgeist. The popularity of digital chess proliferated during the pandemic, establishing it as one of the most rapidly expanding internet games globally. In popular culture, the Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit, as well as the author's recent novel Intermezzo, have created a distinct imagery surrounding the game, which has attracted a fresh wave of enthusiasts.

However much of this newfound attraction of the chess club is not necessarily about the technicalities of the game; instead, it is the simplicity of social interaction that it enables, by pulling up a chair and engaging with someone who could be a total stranger.

“It is a brilliant Trojan horse,” said Jonah Freud, founder of Reference Point in London, a bookshop, library, cafe and bar, which has organized a popular chess club every Wednesday since it opened four years ago. Freud’s aim is to “remove chess from its elite status and make it feel like pool in a dive bar”.

“It is a very easy tool to meet people. It somewhat takes the pressure of the need of small talk from socializing with people. One can handle the uncomfortable bit of making an introduction and talking to a new acquaintance over a game rather than with no context around it.”

Growing the Community: Social Gatherings Outside 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 looking for places where you can go out, interact and have a fun evening beyond going to a bar or club,” said its founder and coordinator, Karan Singh, in his early twenties.

Alongside his associate Abdirahim Haji, also young, Singh purchased game sets, created flyers and began the chess club in January, while in his last year of college. In less than a year, Singh reported their event has expanded to attract over one hundred youthful participants to its gatherings.

“A chess club has a specific connotation to it, about it being reserved. We really try to go the contrary direction; it is a convivial party with chess as part of it,” he emphasized.

Learning and Playing: A New Generation of Players

For many, chess clubs are an entry point to the activity. One participant, in her late twenties, is picking up how to participate in chess with fellow attenders of chess night at the venue. Her interest in the pastime was sparked after an enjoyable night moving to music and engaging in chess at a previous Knight Club's events.

“It is a strange idea, but it functions well,” she commented. “It encourages face-to-face interactions instead of digital pastimes. It's a no-cost third space to meet new people. It's welcoming, one doesn't need to necessarily be good at chess.”

She humorously compared the popularity of chess among young people to the superficial image of the “ostentatious intellectual”, an effort to feign braininess while projecting the veneer of “coolness”. Whether the chess trend has fostered a authentic passion in the game is not a notion she's entirely convinced by. “It's a wholesome phenomenon, but it’s very much a fad,” she said. “Once you're playing against people who are really serious about it, it rapidly turns less enjoyable.”

Serious Gaming and Community

It might seem like a some lighthearted activity for individuals looking to use a game set as a social vehicle, but competitive players certainly have their role, even if away from the dancefloor.

Another organizer, in her early twenties, who assists in organise the club,explains that increasingly skilled players have formed a league table. “Participants who are in the league will play each other, we will progress to quarter-finals, advanced stages, and then we'll eventually have a league winner.”

Ryames Chan, 23, is a competitive player and chess instructor. He has been in the league for about a year and participates at the club almost every week. “This is a nice option to engaging in serious chess; it provides a sense of community,” he said.

“It is fascinating to observe how it evolves into more of a communal activity, because previously the only people who played chess were people who didn't go outside; they just stayed home. It is typically only two people competing on a chessboard …

“The thing I like about here is that you're not actually facing the computer, you are facing real people.”