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One of the most vibrant locations on a Tuesday night in the East End's famous street isn't a restaurant or a urban fashion brand temporary shop, it's a chess gathering – or rather a chess club-nightclub combination, precisely speaking.

Knight Club embodies the surprising blend between the classic game and the city's dynamic evening entertainment culture. It was founded by Yusuf Ntahilaja, in his late twenties, who began his initial chess club in August 2023 at a more intimate bar in Aldgate, a short distance from the current location at a popular cafe on Brick Lane.

“My goal was to make chess clubs for people who look like me and those my age,” he said. “Usually, chess is only placed in spaces that are full of senior individuals, which isn't inclusive sufficiently.”

On the first night, there were just eight boards between sixteen people. Now, a “good night” at the regular club event will draw about 280 attendees.

At first glance, Knight Club feels closer to a music night than a chess club. Cocktails are being served and music is in the air, but the game boards on each table are not just ornamental or there as a novelty: they are all in use and encircled by a queue of onlookers eagerly anticipating for their turn.

One regular, 24, has frequented the club often for the past several months. “I possessed no knowledge of chess before my first visit, and the initial occasion I tried it, I played a game with a expert player. It was a quick victory, but it made me intrigued to learn and continue enjoying chess,” she noted.

“The event is about 50% networking and 50% people actually wishing to engage in chess … It's a nice way to relax, which avoids going to a club to meet others my age.”

An Activity Revitalized: Chess in the Contemporary Era

In recent years, chess has been cemented in the cultural zeitgeist. Its appeal of digital chess proliferated throughout the global health crisis, establishing it as one of the fastest-growing online games globally. In popular culture, the streaming series The Queen’s Gambit, as well as Sally Rooney’s recent novel a literary work, have created a certain iconography surrounding the sport, which has drawn in a new generation of players.

But much of this newfound appeal of the chess club isn't always about the intricacies of the game; rather, it is the simplicity of connecting with others that it facilitates, by pulling up a chair and playing with someone who could be a total unknown individual.

“It's a brilliant clever disguise,” said one organizer, co-founder of a local venue in the city, a bookstore, library, coffee house and bar, which has organized a popular chess club weekly since it opened four years ago. His objective is to “take chess off a pedestal and transform it into like billiards in a casual pub”.

“It is a very simple tool to get to know people. It somewhat takes the weight of the necessity of small talk away from socializing with people. One can do the awkward bit of making an introduction and chatting to someone over a game instead of with no kind of context involved.”

Growing the Network: Social Gatherings Outside the Capital

Elsewhere in the UK, a similar initiative is a regular chess night taking place at York’s Cafe, just outside the city centre. “We found that individuals are looking for places where one can go out, socialise and enjoy a good time beyond going to a pub or nightclub,” stated its creator and organiser, a young leader, 21.

Together with his associate Abdirahim Haji, also young, Singh bought game sets, created promotional materials and began the chess club in the start of the year, during his final year of college. Within months, Singh reported their event has expanded to draw over one hundred youthful players to its gatherings.

“A chess club has a particular connotation associated with it, about it being quiet. We really try to go the opposite direction; it is a social get-together with chess as part of it,” he emphasized.

Discovering and Playing: An Alternative Generation of Chess Enthusiasts

Among numerous attendees, chess clubs are an entry point to the activity. One participant, 27, is picking up how to play chess with fellow attenders of the weekly event at the venue. Her interest in the pastime was sparked after an pleasurable night dancing and engaging in chess at a previous Knight Club's events.

“It is a unique concept, but it functions well,” she said. “It encourages face-to-face interactions rather than digital pastimes. It is a no-cost third space to encounter strangers. It's inviting, you don't have to necessarily be skilled at chess.”

Kezia jokingly likened the trendiness of chess among young people to the facade of the “performative male”, an effort to feign intellectualism while signaling the appearance of “coolness”. Whether the chess trend has fostered a genuine interest in the sport isn't something she is quite convinced by. “It's a positive trend, but it’s largely a fad,” she said. “When you're playing against opponents who are truly dedicated about it, it rapidly becomes less enjoyable.”

Serious Play and Togetherness

It may all be a bit of fun and games for those looking to use a chessboard as a social vehicle, but competitive players certainly have their place, even if away from the main party area.

Another organizer, in her early twenties, who assists in organise the club,says that more competitive attenders have formed a league table. “Participants who are in the league will face one another, we'll go to early rounds, semi-finals, and then we will finally have a league winner.”

A dedicated player, in his twenties, is a serious player and chess teacher. He joined the competition for about a year and participates at the club nearly weekly. “This offers a nice alternative to engaging in serious chess; it provides a feeling of community,” he said.

“It's interesting to see how it becomes more of a communal pastime, because in the past the only people who played chess were people who rarely go outside; they just stayed home. It's typically just a pair playing on a chessboard …

“What I like about here is that one isn't actually facing the computer, you're facing live opponents.”