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One of the most energetic locations on a Tuesday evening in east London's famous street couldn't be a restaurant or a urban fashion brand pop-up, it's a chess club – or rather a chess and nightlife fusion, to be exact.

Knight Club represents the unlikely blend between chess and the city's dynamic nightlife culture. It was founded by a young entrepreneur, 27, who launched his first chess club in the summer of 2023 at a more intimate bar in a nearby area, a short distance from the current location at Café 1001 on the iconic lane.

“My goal was to make chess clubs for people who share my background and people my generation,” he explained. “Typically, chess is only put in environments that are dominated by senior individuals, which isn't diverse enough.”

On the first night, there were just eight boards between sixteen people. Now, a “successful evening” at the regular Knight Club will attract approximately 280 attendees.

Upon arrival, Knight Club seems closer to a DJ event than a traditional chess meeting. Mixed drinks are flowing and tunes is playing, but the chessboards on every table aren't just decorative or there as a gimmick: they are all occupied and encircled by a queue of onlookers eagerly anticipating for their chance to play.

One regular, in her mid-twenties, has been attending the club often for the last several months. “I possessed no knowledge of chess before I came here, and the initial occasion I ever played, I played a game against a expert player. It was a swift win, but it made me intrigued to learn and continue enjoying chess,” she noted.

“This gathering is about 50% social and 50% participants actually wanting to engage in chess … It is a nice way to decompress, which avoids visiting a typical nightspot to meet other people my age.”

A Game Revitalized: The Ancient Game in the Contemporary Era

In recent years, chess has been firmly established in the societal spirit of the times. Its appeal of digital chess expanded rapidly throughout the pandemic, establishing it as one of the most rapidly expanding online pastimes globally. Across media, the Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit, as well as Sally Rooney’s latest novel Intermezzo, have crafted a distinct iconography associated with the sport, which has attracted a new generation of enthusiasts.

However much of this newfound attraction of the chess night isn't necessarily about the intricacies of the game; instead, it is the simplicity of connecting with others that it facilitates, by taking a chair and engaging with someone who may be a total unknown individual.

“It's a great clever disguise,” remarked one organizer, founder of a local venue in London, a bookshop, library, coffee house and bar, which has organized a well-attended chess club weekly since it began several years back. His aim is to “remove chess from its elite status and transform it into similar to pool in a casual pub”.

“It is a very easy vehicle to get to know people. It somewhat takes the pressure of the need of small talk from interacting with people. You can handle the uncomfortable part of introducing yourself and chatting to a new acquaintance across a game rather than with no context involved.”

Expanding the Community: Social Gatherings Beyond London

In Birmingham, a similar initiative is a recurring chess event held at a city cafe, near the downtown area. “Our observation was that people are looking for spaces where one can go out, interact and enjoy a good time outside of going to a pub or club,” said its founder and organiser, a young leader, 21.

Alongside his associate Abdirahim Haji, also young, Singh purchased chessboards, created flyers and started the chess club in the start of the year, during his last year of college. Within months, Singh said their event has grown to draw over 100 youthful participants to its gatherings.

“Such a venue has a particular reputation associated with it, about it seeming reserved. Our approach is to go the opposite way; it is a social party with chess as part of it,” he emphasized.

Discovering and Engaging: An Alternative Generation of Players

For many, chess clubs are an introduction to the game. Zoë Kezia, 27, is learning how to participate in chess with fellow attenders of the weekly event at Reference Point. She became curious in the pastime was sparked after an pleasurable night moving to music and playing chess at one of the club's events.

“It is a strange idea, but it works,” she said. “It encourages in-person interactions instead of digital pastimes. It's a no-cost third space to meet strangers. It's welcoming, you don't have to necessarily be skilled at chess.”

She jokingly likened the popularity of chess with the youth to the facade of the “ostentatious intellectual”, an attempt to feign intellectualism while projecting the appearance of “coolness”. If the chess craze has cultivated a authentic passion in the sport is not a notion she is quite convinced by. “It's a wholesome trend, but it’s very much a trend,” she said. “Once you're playing with opponents who are really dedicated about it, it rapidly turns less enjoyable.”

Competitive Play and Togetherness

It might all be a some lighthearted activity for individuals aiming to employ a chessboard as a networking tool, but serious players certainly have their role, albeit off the dancefloor.

Another organizer, in her early twenties, who assists in organise the club,explains that increasingly skilled players have established a competitive ranking. “Participants who are part of the competition will play each other, we will go to quarter-finals, advanced stages, and then we'll eventually have a champion.”

A dedicated player, 23, is a serious player and chess teacher. He joined in the league for about a year and participates at the club almost every week. “This offers a nice option to playing serious chess; it provides a sense of belonging,” he said.

“It is interesting to observe how it evolves into more of a communal activity, because in the past the only people who engaged in chess were people who rarely go outside; they simply stayed home. It's usually just a pair playing on a game board …

“What I like about this place is that one isn't really playing against the computer, you're engaging with live opponents.”