🔗 Share this article

One of the liveliest venues on a weekday evening in the East End's famous street isn't a restaurant or a streetwear label temporary shop, it is a chess gathering – or a chess and nightlife combination, precisely speaking.

Knight Club represents the surprising fusion between the classic game and the city's fervent evening entertainment culture. It was started by a young entrepreneur, 27, who began his first chess club in August 2023 at a more intimate bar in Aldgate, not too far from the current location at a popular cafe on Brick Lane.

“I wanted to make chess clubs for people who look like me and those my age,” he said. “Usually, chess is only put in environments that are dominated by older people, which is not diverse sufficiently.”

Initially, there were only 8 boards shared by sixteen people. Now, a “good night” at the weekly club event will draw approximately two hundred eighty people.

Upon arrival, Knight Club seems more like a DJ event than a traditional chess meeting. Cocktails are flowing and music is in the air, but the game boards on each table are not just decorative or there as a novelty: they are all in use and encircled by a queue of spectators eagerly anticipating for their turn.

Jimmy Ifenayi, 24, has frequented the club often for the last several months. “I possessed little understanding of chess prior to I came here, and the first time I tried it, I played a game against a expert player. It was a swift victory, but it made me intrigued to learn and keep playing chess,” she said.

“This gathering is about half social and half people genuinely wishing to play chess … It is a pleasant way to relax, which doesn't involve going to a typical nightspot to see other people my age.”

A Game Revitalized: Chess in the Contemporary Era

Lately, chess has been cemented in the cultural spirit of the times. Its appeal of online chess proliferated during the pandemic, establishing it as one of the fastest-growing internet pastimes globally. Across media, the Netflix series a hit show, along with Sally Rooney’s recent novel Intermezzo, have created a certain imagery associated with the sport, which has attracted a new wave of enthusiasts.

However a great deal of this newfound appeal of the chess night is not always about the intricacies of the game; rather, it is the ease of social interaction that it enables, by pulling up a chair and engaging with a person who may be a complete unknown individual.

“It's a great Trojan horse,” said one organizer, co-founder of a local venue in London, a bookstore, library, cafe and lounge, which has hosted a popular chess club weekly since it opened several years back. His aim is to “take chess from its elite status and make it feel similar to billiards in a dive bar”.

“It is a very simple tool to get to know people. It kind of takes the weight of the need of conversation away from socializing with people. One can do the awkward bit of introducing yourself and chatting to someone across a game instead of with no shared activity involved.”

Expanding the Network: Social Gatherings Beyond London

In Birmingham, Chesscafé is a regular chess event held at York’s Cafe, just outside the downtown area. “We found that people are looking for spaces where you can socialize, socialise and have a good time beyond going to a pub or club,” said its founder and organiser, a young leader, 21.

Together with his associate Abdirahim Haji, 21, Singh purchased chessboards, printed flyers and started the chess club in January, during his final year of university. In less than a year, Singh said Chesscafé has grown to attract over 100 youthful players to its events.

“Such a venue has a specific connotation associated with it, about it seeming quiet. We really try to move in the opposite direction; it's a convivial party with chess involved,” he emphasized.

Learning and Engaging: An Alternative Cohort of Players

For many, chess clubs are an entry point to the game. One participant, in her late twenties, is picking up how to play chess with fellow attenders of the weekly event at the venue. She became curious in the game was piqued after an enjoyable night moving to music and playing chess at one of Knight Club's occasions.

“It's a unique idea, but it works,” she commented. “It encourages in-person exchanges rather than screen-based pastimes. It is a no-cost third space to encounter new people. It is inviting, one doesn't need to necessarily be good at chess.”

She humorously likened the trendiness of chess among young people to the superficial image of the “performative male”, an effort to simulate intellectualism while signaling the appearance of “coolness”. Whether the chess trend has cultivated a genuine interest in the game isn't something she is quite convinced by. “It is a wholesome trend, but it’s largely a trend,” she observed. “When you're playing with opponents who are really dedicated about it, it rapidly becomes less enjoyable.”

Serious Play and Community

It may seem like a bit of lighthearted activity for those aiming to employ a game set as a networking tool, but competitive participants do have their role, albeit away from the main party area.

Lucia Ene-Lesikar, in her early twenties, who assists in running the club,explains that more competitive attenders have established a league table. “People who are in the league will play one another, we'll progress to early rounds, advanced stages, and then we will eventually have a league winner.”

Ryames Chan, in his twenties, is a serious competitor and chess teacher. He has been the competition for about a twelve months and participates at the club almost weekly. “This offers a welcome option to engaging in serious chess; it provides a feeling of belonging,” he said.

“It's fascinating to observe how it becomes increasingly a social activity, because previously the sole individuals who played chess were people who rarely socialize; they simply remained home. It is typically just two people competing on a game board …

“The thing appeals to me about this place is that you're not actually facing the computer, you're facing real people.”