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One of the most vibrant venues on a Tuesday evening in the East End's Brick Lane couldn't be a dining spot or a urban fashion label temporary shop, it is a chess gathering – or a chess club-nightclub hybrid, to be exact.

Knight Club embodies the unlikely fusion between the classic game and London's dynamic nightlife scene. It was founded by a young entrepreneur, in his late twenties, who began his initial chess club in August 2023 at a more intimate bar in a nearby area, a short distance from the present location at Café 1001 on the iconic lane.

“I wanted to create chess clubs for individuals who share my background and those my age,” he explained. “Typically, chess is only put in environments that are dominated by older people, which is not inclusive sufficiently.”

On the first night, there were just 8 boards between 16 people. Today, a “successful evening” at the regular club event will attract approximately two hundred eighty people.

At first glance, the venue seems more like a music night than a traditional chess meeting. Mixed drinks are being served and music is in the air, but the game boards on every table aren't just ornamental or there as a novelty: they are all in use and encircled by a line of onlookers waiting for their chance to play.

One regular, 24, has frequented the club often for the last several months. “I had little understanding of chess prior to I came here, and the initial occasion I ever played, I played a game with a grandmaster. It was a swift win, but it made me intrigued to learn and keep playing chess,” she said.

“This gathering is about half social and half participants genuinely wanting to engage in chess … It is a pleasant way to relax, which avoids visiting a club to see other people my generation.”

An Activity Reborn: Chess in the Contemporary Age

Lately, chess has been cemented in the cultural zeitgeist. Its appeal of online chess expanded rapidly during the global health crisis, establishing it as one of the most rapidly expanding internet games in the world. In popular culture, the Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit, as well as Sally Rooney’s latest novel Intermezzo, have created a certain iconography surrounding the game, which has attracted a new generation of players.

However much of this newfound attraction of the chess club isn't always about the intricacies of the game; rather, it is the simplicity of social interaction that it enables, by pulling up a seat and engaging with someone who could be a complete stranger.

“It is a brilliant clever disguise,” remarked Jonah Freud, founder of a local venue in London, a bookshop, reading room, coffee house and lounge, which has hosted a popular chess club weekly since it began four years ago. Freud’s aim is to “take chess from its elite status and make it feel like pool in a dive bar”.

“It is a really simple tool to meet people. It kind of removes the weight of the necessity of conversation away from interacting with people. You can handle the awkward part of making an introduction and talking to a new acquaintance across a board rather than with no shared activity around it.”

Growing the Network: Chess Nights Outside London

In Birmingham, a similar initiative is a recurring chess night held at a city cafe, just outside the downtown area. “We found that individuals are seeking places where one can go out, interact and have a good time outside of visiting a bar or club,” said its creator and coordinator, Karan Singh, 21.

Alongside his associate a partner, 21, he purchased game sets, created promotional materials and began the chess club in January, during his last year of university. In less than a year, Singh said Chesscafé has grown to attract more than 100 young participants to its gatherings.

“A chess club has a specific reputation to it, about it seeming quiet. Our approach is to move in the opposite way; it's a social party with chess involved,” he said.

Discovering and Engaging: An Alternative Cohort of Players

For many, chess clubs are an entry point to the activity. One participant, 27, is picking up how to play chess with fellow visitors of the weekly event at Reference Point. Her interest in the game was piqued after an pleasurable night moving to music and engaging in chess at a previous Knight Club's occasions.

“It is a strange idea, but it functions well,” she said. “It encourages face-to-face interactions rather than digital pastimes. It's a free third space to meet new people. It's welcoming, you don't need to necessarily be good at chess.”

She humorously likened the popularity of chess among young people to the superficial image of the “performative male”, an attempt to feign intellectualism while projecting the appearance of “coolness”. Whether the chess craze has cultivated a authentic passion in the game isn't something she is entirely convinced by. “It's a wholesome trend, but it’s largely a fad,” she observed. “Once you compete against people who are truly dedicated about it, it quickly becomes less fun.”

Competitive Gaming and Community

It may seem like a some lighthearted activity for individuals aiming to employ a chessboard as a networking tool, but competitive participants certainly have their place, even if away from the dancefloor.

Another organizer, in her early twenties, who helps running the club,explains that more skilled attenders have established a league table. “People who are in the league will face each other, we'll progress to early rounds, advanced stages, and then we will finally have a champion.”

A dedicated player, 23, is a competitive competitor and chess instructor. He joined the competition for about a twelve months and participates at the club almost every week. “This is a welcome option to playing serious chess; it gives a feeling of community,” he said.

“It is interesting to observe how it becomes increasingly a communal activity, because in the past the sole individuals who played chess were those who rarely go outside; they simply remained home. It's usually just two people playing on a chessboard …

“What appeals to me about this place is that one isn't really facing the computer, you're facing real people.”