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One of the most energetic locations on a Tuesday evening in east London's famous street isn't a restaurant or a urban fashion label pop-up, it is a chess club – or a chess club-nightclub fusion, precisely speaking.

Knight Club represents the surprising crossover between the classic game and the city's fervent nightlife scene. It was founded by a young entrepreneur, 27, who began his initial chess club in the summer of 2023 at a smaller bar in a nearby area, a short distance from the present location at a popular cafe on the iconic lane.

“My goal was to make chess clubs for individuals who share my background and those my generation,” he explained. “Typically, chess is only put in environments that are full of older people, which isn't diverse sufficiently.”

Initially, there were only 8 boards shared by sixteen people. Now, a “successful evening” at the weekly club event will attract about two hundred eighty people.

Upon arrival, the venue seems closer to a DJ event than a chess club. Cocktails are flowing and tunes is in the air, but the game boards on every table are not just decorative or there as a novelty: they are all occupied and encircled by a line of onlookers eagerly anticipating for their turn.

Jimmy Ifenayi, 24, has been attending the club regularly for the last several months. “I possessed no knowledge of chess before my first visit, and the first time I ever played, I played a game against a expert player. It was a swift victory, but it made me fascinated to study and continue enjoying chess,” she said.

“The event is about 50% social and half participants actually wishing to play chess … It's a nice way to decompress, which avoids going to a typical nightspot to see others my age.”

An Activity Revitalized: Chess in the Modern Era

Lately, chess has been firmly established in the cultural spirit of the times. Its appeal of digital chess proliferated during the global health crisis, establishing it as one of the fastest-growing online games globally. In popular culture, the Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit, along with Sally Rooney’s recent novel a literary work, have crafted a distinct imagery associated with the sport, which has drawn in a new wave of players.

However a great deal of this recent appeal of the chess night is not always about the technicalities of the game; rather, it is the ease of social interaction that it enables, by taking a chair and playing with a person who could be a complete stranger.

“It is a great clever disguise,” remarked Jonah Freud, co-founder of Reference Point in London, a bookstore, reading room, cafe and bar, which has organized a popular chess club every Wednesday since it began four years ago. Freud’s objective is to “take chess off a pedestal and make it feel similar to billiards in a casual pub”.

“It is a very simple tool to get to know people. It somewhat takes the pressure of the need of conversation from socializing with people. You can do the uncomfortable bit of making an introduction and chatting to someone across a board rather than with no context around it.”

Growing the Network: Chess Nights Outside the Capital

In Birmingham, a similar initiative is a recurring chess night taking place at a city cafe, near the city centre. “We found that individuals are looking for spaces where one can socialize, interact and have a fun evening beyond visiting a bar or nightclub,” stated its founder and organiser, a young leader, in his early twenties.

Together with his associate Abdirahim Haji, 21, Singh bought game sets, printed flyers and started the chess club in the start of the year, while in his final year of college. Within months, Singh said their event has expanded to attract more than one hundred youthful participants to its gatherings.

“A chess club has a particular connotation to it, about it being quiet. We really try to move in the contrary direction; it is a social get-together with chess as part of it,” he said.

Discovering and Engaging: An Alternative Generation of Chess Enthusiasts

Among numerous attendees, chess clubs are an introduction to the activity. Zoë Kezia, 27, is learning how to play chess with fellow visitors of the weekly event at Reference Point. Her interest in the game was piqued after an enjoyable evening dancing and engaging in chess at one of Knight Club's events.

“It's a strange idea, but it functions well,” she said. “It promotes in-person interactions instead of digital pastimes. It is a no-cost neutral ground to encounter strangers. It is inviting, one doesn't have to necessarily be good at chess.”

She jokingly likened the popularity of chess with young people to the superficial image of the “ostentatious intellectual”, an effort to simulate braininess while signaling the veneer of “hipness”. Whether the chess craze has fostered a authentic interest in the sport isn't something she's quite convinced by. “It's a wholesome phenomenon, but it’s very much a fad,” she said. “When you compete with opponents who are truly dedicated about it, it rapidly becomes less enjoyable.”

Serious Play and Community

It may all be a bit of fun and games for individuals looking to employ a chessboard as a networking tool, but serious players certainly have their role, even if off the main party area.

Lucia Ene-Lesikar, in her early twenties, who helps organise Knight Club,says that increasingly competitive players have established a competitive ranking. “People who are part of the competition will play each other, we'll progress to quarter-finals, semi-finals, and then we will eventually have a champion.”

Ryames Chan, in his twenties, is a competitive competitor and chess teacher. He joined the competition for about a year and plays at the club almost weekly. “This is a nice option to playing serious chess; it gives a feeling of belonging,” he said.

“It is fascinating to see how it becomes more of a communal pastime, because previously the only individuals who engaged in chess were people who didn't socialize; they simply stayed home. It's usually only a pair playing on a chessboard …

“The thing appeals to me about here is that you're not really facing the computer, you are engaging with live opponents.”