🔗 Share this article

One of the liveliest spots on a weekday night in east London's famous street couldn't be a dining spot or a streetwear brand temporary shop, it's a chess club – or rather a chess and nightlife hybrid, precisely speaking.

This unique venue embodies the surprising fusion between chess and the city's dynamic evening entertainment scene. It was started by a young entrepreneur, 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 present 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 spaces that are dominated by senior individuals, which is not inclusive enough.”

On the first night, there were only eight boards between sixteen people. Now, a “good night” at the weekly club event will attract approximately two hundred eighty people.

At first glance, Knight Club seems more like a DJ event than a traditional chess meeting. Mixed drinks are being served and music is playing, but the chessboards on each table aren't just ornamental or there as a gimmick: they are all occupied and surrounded by a line of onlookers eagerly anticipating for their chance to play.

Jimmy Ifenayi, 24, has been attending the club often for the past four months. “I possessed little understanding of chess prior to I came here, and the initial occasion I ever played, I competed in a game against a expert player. That was a quick victory, but it made me intrigued to study and keep playing chess,” she said.

“This gathering is about half social and half participants actually wishing to play chess … It is a pleasant way to decompress, which doesn't involve going to a typical nightspot to meet others my generation.”

An Activity Revitalized: Chess in the Contemporary Era

Lately, chess has been cemented in the societal spirit of the times. The popularity of online chess expanded rapidly during the global health crisis, making it one of the fastest-growing online pastimes globally. Across media, the Netflix series a hit show, as well as Sally Rooney’s recent novel Intermezzo, have crafted a certain iconography associated with the sport, which has drawn in a fresh wave of players.

But much of this recent appeal of the chess night is not always about the intricacies of the play; instead, it is the ease of social interaction that it facilitates, by taking a chair and playing with someone who may be a complete stranger.

“It is a brilliant clever disguise,” remarked Jonah Freud, co-founder of Reference Point in the city, a bookstore, reading room, coffee house and bar, which has organized a popular chess club every Wednesday since it opened several years back. His aim is to “remove chess from its elite status and transform it into like pool in a dive bar”.

“It's a really simple tool to get to know people. It kind of takes the pressure of the need of conversation from socializing with people. One can handle the uncomfortable part of introducing yourself and talking to someone over a game rather than with no kind of context involved.”

Expanding the Community: Social Gatherings Outside London

Elsewhere in the UK, a similar initiative is a recurring chess event held at a city cafe, near the downtown area. “Our observation was that individuals are seeking spaces where one can socialize, interact and have a fun evening beyond going to a bar or club,” said its creator and organiser, a young leader, 21.

Together with his friend a partner, also young, he bought game sets, created flyers and started the chess club in January, during his last year of university. In less than a year, Singh reported Chesscafé has grown to attract over one hundred youthful players to its gatherings.

“A chess club has a specific connotation associated with it, about it seeming quiet. Our approach is to go the contrary way; it is a convivial party with chess involved,” he said.

Learning and Engaging: An Alternative Cohort of Chess Enthusiasts

Among numerous attendees, chess clubs are an entry point to the activity. Zoë Kezia, in her late twenties, is learning how to play chess with fellow visitors of chess night at Reference Point. She became curious in the game was sparked after an enjoyable evening moving to music and playing chess at one of Knight Club's occasions.

“It's a strange idea, but it works,” she said. “It promotes face-to-face exchanges instead of digital pastimes. It's a free third space to encounter strangers. It's inviting, one doesn't have to necessarily be skilled at chess.”

She jokingly compared the popularity of chess among young people to the superficial image of the “performative male”, an effort to feign braininess while projecting the appearance of “hipness”. Whether the chess trend has fostered a authentic interest in the game isn't a notion she is entirely convinced by. “It's a wholesome phenomenon, but it’s very much a trend,” she said. “Once you compete with opponents who are really serious about it, it quickly turns less fun.”

Serious Play and Togetherness

It might all be a bit of fun and games for those aiming to use a chessboard as a social vehicle, but serious participants do have their place, albeit off the main party area.

Another organizer, in her early twenties, who helps organise Knight Club,explains that more skilled attenders have formed a league table. “Participants who are in the league will play one another, we will progress to quarter-finals, semi-finals, and then we will finally have a league winner.”

A dedicated player, in his twenties, is a serious competitor and chess teacher. He joined the competition for about a year and participates at the club nearly weekly. “This offers a nice option to playing serious chess; it gives a feeling of belonging,” he expressed.

“It's interesting to observe how it evolves into more of a social pastime, because previously the only people who engaged in chess were people who didn't socialize; they just remained home. It is usually only two people playing on a chessboard …

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