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One of the most vibrant venues on a weekday night in east London's Brick Lane couldn't be a restaurant or a streetwear brand pop-up, it's a chess club – or a chess club-nightclub combination, precisely speaking.

This unique venue represents the unlikely blend between chess and the city's fervent evening entertainment culture. It was founded by Yusuf Ntahilaja, in his late twenties, who launched his first chess club in the summer of 2023 at a smaller bar in a nearby area, not too far from the current location at a popular cafe on Brick Lane.

“My goal was to create chess clubs for people who share my background and people my age,” he explained. “Usually, chess is only put in environments that are dominated by older people, which isn't inclusive sufficiently.”

On the first night, there were only 8 boards between sixteen people. Today, a “good night” at the weekly club event will draw approximately two hundred eighty attendees.

Upon arrival, Knight Club feels closer to a music night than a traditional chess meeting. Mixed drinks are being served and tunes is playing, but the chessboards on every table are not just ornamental or there as a novelty: they are all occupied and surrounded by a queue of onlookers eagerly anticipating for their turn.

One regular, 24, has been attending Knight Club often for the last four months. “I had no knowledge of chess prior to I came here, and the initial occasion I ever played, I played a game against a grandmaster. It was a quick victory, but it made me fascinated to study and continue enjoying chess,” she noted.

“The event is about half networking and 50% people genuinely wishing to play chess … It is a nice way to decompress, which doesn't involve visiting a typical nightspot to see other people my age.”

A Game Reborn: The Ancient Game in the Modern Era

In recent years, chess has been cemented in the cultural spirit of the times. The popularity of digital chess proliferated during the global health crisis, making it one of the fastest-growing internet pastimes in the world. Across media, the Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit, along with Sally Rooney’s recent novel a literary work, have crafted a certain iconography surrounding the sport, which has drawn in a fresh generation of players.

However a great deal of this newfound appeal of the chess night isn't always about the intricacies of the game; instead, it is the simplicity of connecting with others that it facilitates, by pulling up a seat and playing with a person who may be a complete unknown individual.

“It's a great clever disguise,” remarked one organizer, co-founder of Reference Point in the city, a bookshop, library, coffee house and lounge, which has organized a well-attended chess club weekly since it opened four years ago. His objective is to “take chess off a pedestal and make it feel similar to pool in a dive bar”.

“It's a really simple vehicle to get to know people. It somewhat takes the pressure of the necessity of conversation from interacting with people. One can handle the uncomfortable bit of introducing yourself and chatting to a new acquaintance over a game rather than with no context involved.”

Growing the Community: Chess Nights Outside the Capital

In Birmingham, Chesscafé is a regular chess night held at York’s Cafe, just outside the downtown area. “Our observation was that individuals are seeking places where you can socialize, socialise and enjoy a fun evening outside of going to a pub or nightclub,” stated its creator and coordinator, a young leader, 21.

Alongside his associate Abdirahim Haji, 21, he bought game sets, printed flyers and started the chess club in the start of the year, while in his final year of university. In less than a year, he said their event has grown to attract over 100 youthful participants to its gatherings.

“Such a venue has a particular connotation associated with it, about it seeming reserved. We really try to move in the opposite way; it is a social get-together with chess as part of it,” he said.

Learning and Engaging: An Alternative Generation of Players

For many, chess clubs are an entry point to the game. One participant, in her late twenties, is learning how to play chess with fellow visitors of chess night at the venue. Her interest in the game was piqued after an enjoyable evening moving to music and playing chess at a previous the club's events.

“It is a unique concept, but it works,” she said. “It encourages in-person exchanges rather than digital pastimes. It's a no-cost third space to encounter new people. It's inviting, you don't need to necessarily be good at chess.”

She humorously likened the popularity of chess among the youth to the facade of the “performative male”, an effort to simulate braininess while projecting the appearance of “hipness”. Whether the chess craze has fostered a genuine passion in the sport is not a notion she is entirely sure about. “It's a positive trend, but it’s very much a fad,” she observed. “When you're playing with people who are truly dedicated about it, it rapidly turns less enjoyable.”

Competitive Gaming and Community

It may seem like a some fun and games for those looking to use a game set as a networking tool, but competitive players certainly have their role, albeit off the dancefloor.

Lucia Ene-Lesikar, 22, who assists in running Knight Club,says that more competitive players have established a competitive ranking. “People who are part of the competition will face one another, we'll progress to early rounds, advanced stages, and then we will eventually have a league winner.”

A dedicated player, 23, is a competitive player and chess teacher. He joined the competition for about a year and participates at the club nearly weekly. “This is a nice alternative to engaging in intense chess; it gives a sense of belonging,” he expressed.

“It's interesting to observe how it evolves into increasingly a social pastime, because previously the sole individuals who played chess were those who didn't socialize; they simply stayed home. It is typically just two people playing on a chessboard …

“What appeals to me about this place is that one isn't actually playing against the digital opponent, you're engaging with live opponents.”