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One of the most energetic spots on a weekday night in east London's famous street isn't a dining spot or a urban fashion brand pop-up, it is a chess club – or rather a chess club-nightclub fusion, precisely speaking.

Knight Club represents the surprising crossover between chess and London's dynamic evening entertainment culture. It was started by a young entrepreneur, 27, who launched his first chess club in the summer of 2023 at a smaller bar in Aldgate, a short distance from the present location at Café 1001 on Brick Lane.

“My goal was to make chess clubs for people who share my background and people my generation,” he said. “Usually, chess is only placed in environments that are full of older people, 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 attract about two hundred eighty attendees.

At first glance, the venue seems closer to a music night than a chess club. Cocktails are flowing and music is playing, but the game boards on each table are not just decorative or there as a gimmick: they are all in use and encircled by a line of spectators eagerly anticipating for their chance to play.

One regular, 24, has been attending Knight Club often for the last four months. “I possessed little understanding of chess before my first visit, and the first time I tried it, I played a game against a expert player. It was a quick win, but it left me fascinated to learn and keep playing chess,” she said.

“This gathering is about half social and 50% participants genuinely wanting to engage in chess … It's a pleasant way to decompress, which avoids visiting a club to meet other people my generation.”

An Activity Reborn: Chess in the Contemporary Era

In recent years, chess has been cemented in the cultural spirit of the times. Its appeal of online chess expanded rapidly during the global health crisis, establishing it as one of the fastest-growing internet games globally. Across media, the Netflix series a hit show, as well as Sally Rooney’s latest novel a literary work, have crafted a certain imagery associated with the game, which has attracted a fresh generation of players.

However much of this recent attraction of the chess night is not necessarily about the intricacies of the play; instead, it is the simplicity of connecting with others that it facilitates, by pulling up a seat and engaging with a person who could be a total unknown individual.

“It's a brilliant Trojan horse,” remarked one organizer, co-founder of Reference Point in the city, a bookshop, library, coffee house and bar, which has organized a well-attended chess club every Wednesday since it opened several years back. Freud’s aim is to “take chess from its elite status and make it feel similar to billiards in a casual pub”.

“It's a very easy vehicle to meet people. It kind of takes the weight of the need of small talk from interacting with people. You can do the awkward bit of making an introduction and chatting to someone over a board rather than with no shared activity involved.”

Growing the Network: Chess Nights Beyond London

Elsewhere in the UK, a similar initiative is a regular chess night taking place at York’s Cafe, just outside the downtown area. “Our observation was that people are seeking spaces where you can socialize, interact and enjoy a fun evening beyond going to a bar or club,” stated its founder and organiser, Karan Singh, 21.

Together with his associate a partner, also young, he purchased chessboards, created promotional materials and started the chess club in the start of the year, while in his last year of university. In less than a year, he reported Chesscafé has expanded to draw more than one hundred young participants to its events.

“Such a venue has a specific connotation to it, about it being reserved. Our approach is to move in the contrary way; it is a convivial get-together with chess as part of it,” he emphasized.

Discovering and Engaging: An Alternative Cohort of Chess Enthusiasts

Among numerous attendees, chess clubs are an introduction to the game. One participant, in her late twenties, is learning how to participate in chess with fellow visitors of the weekly event at Reference Point. She became curious in the pastime was sparked after an pleasurable night moving to music and engaging in chess at a previous the club's events.

“It's a unique concept, but it works,” she commented. “It promotes in-person exchanges instead of screen-based activities. It's a no-cost neutral ground to meet new people. It's welcoming, you don't have to necessarily be skilled at chess.”

She jokingly likened the trendiness of chess among the youth to the facade of the “ostentatious intellectual”, an attempt to feign braininess while projecting the appearance of “coolness”. If the chess craze has fostered a genuine interest in the game is not a notion she is entirely convinced by. “It's a positive trend, but it’s largely a trend,” she observed. “Once you compete with people who are truly serious about it, it rapidly becomes less fun.”

Competitive Gaming and Togetherness

It may seem like a some fun and games for individuals looking to use a game set as a networking tool, but serious players certainly have their place, even if away from the dancefloor.

Another organizer, in her early twenties, who assists in running the club,says that more competitive players have established a league table. “Participants who are in the league will play one another, we will go to early rounds, advanced stages, and then we'll finally have a league winner.”

Ryames Chan, in his twenties, is a competitive player and chess teacher. He has been the competition for about a twelve months and plays at the club nearly weekly. “This is a welcome option to engaging in serious chess; it provides a feeling of community,” he expressed.

“It is interesting to see how it becomes increasingly a social pastime, because in the past the only people who played chess were those who didn't go outside; they simply stayed home. It is typically just a pair competing on a chessboard …

“What I like about here is that you're not really facing the computer, you're engaging with live opponents.”