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Among the liveliest spots on a weekday evening in east London's famous street couldn't be a restaurant or a streetwear brand temporary shop, it's a chess club – or a chess club-nightclub combination, to be exact.

This unique venue embodies the surprising blend between chess and London's dynamic nightlife scene. It was founded by Yusuf Ntahilaja, 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 a popular cafe on the iconic lane.

“My goal was to make chess clubs for individuals who look like me and people my generation,” he said. “Usually, chess is only put in spaces that are full of senior individuals, which is not diverse enough.”

Initially, there were only 8 boards shared by 16 people. Today, a “successful evening” at the weekly club event will draw about 280 attendees.

At first glance, Knight Club feels more like a DJ event than a traditional chess meeting. Cocktails are flowing and music is playing, but the game boards on every table are not just decorative or there as a gimmick: they are all in use and encircled by a line of spectators waiting for their chance to play.

Jimmy Ifenayi, 24, has frequented the club often for the past four months. “I had no knowledge of chess before I came here, and the initial occasion I tried it, I competed in a game against a grandmaster. That was a quick win, but it made me intrigued to study and continue enjoying chess,” she said.

“This gathering is about 50% social and 50% participants genuinely wanting to engage in chess … It's a pleasant way to decompress, which doesn't involve going to a club to meet others my age.”

A Game Revitalized: The Ancient Game in the Modern Era

In recent years, chess has been cemented in the societal spirit of the times. The popularity of online chess proliferated during the global health crisis, making it one of the most rapidly expanding online pastimes in the world. In popular culture, the streaming series The Queen’s Gambit, along with the author's latest novel a literary work, have created a certain iconography surrounding the game, which has drawn in a fresh wave of enthusiasts.

But a great deal of this newfound appeal of the chess night is not always about the intricacies of the game; rather, it is the ease of connecting with others that it facilitates, by taking a chair and playing with a person who may be a total stranger.

“It's a brilliant Trojan horse,” said Jonah Freud, founder of Reference Point in the city, a bookstore, library, coffee house and bar, which has hosted a well-attended chess club weekly since it began four years ago. Freud’s objective is to “take chess from its elite status and make it feel similar to billiards in a casual pub”.

“It is a really simple tool to meet people. It kind of takes the weight of the necessity of conversation from socializing with people. You can handle the uncomfortable part of introducing yourself and talking to someone over a board rather than with no shared activity around it.”

Growing the Network: Chess Nights Beyond London

In Birmingham, Chesscafé is a regular chess night held at York’s Cafe, near the downtown area. “Our observation was that individuals are seeking places where you can socialize, interact and enjoy a fun evening beyond going to a bar or club,” stated its founder and organiser, a young leader, in his early twenties.

Together with his friend Abdirahim Haji, also young, Singh bought chessboards, created promotional materials and began the chess club in January, while in his final year of university. Within months, Singh reported Chesscafé has expanded to attract over 100 young participants to its gatherings.

“Such a venue has a particular connotation to it, about it seeming reserved. We really try to move in the opposite way; it is a convivial get-together with chess as part of it,” he said.

Learning and Playing: A New Cohort of Players

For many, chess clubs are an entry point to the activity. One participant, in her late twenties, is learning how to participate in chess with other attenders of chess night at Reference Point. She became curious in the pastime was piqued after an pleasurable evening dancing and engaging in chess at one of Knight Club's occasions.

“It is a unique concept, but it functions well,” she commented. “It promotes in-person interactions rather than screen-based pastimes. It is a free third space to meet new people. It is welcoming, you don't have to necessarily be good at chess.”

Kezia jokingly compared the trendiness of chess among the youth to the facade of the “ostentatious intellectual”, an attempt to simulate intellectualism while projecting the veneer of “hipness”. Whether the chess craze has cultivated a genuine passion in the sport is not something she is quite sure about. “It is a wholesome trend, but it’s largely a trend,” she said. “Once you're playing against opponents who are really serious about it, it quickly turns less fun.”

Competitive Play and Togetherness

It might seem like a some fun and games for individuals aiming to employ a game set as a social vehicle, but competitive participants do have their place, albeit off the dancefloor.

Another organizer, 22, who assists in running the club,explains that more skilled players have formed a competitive ranking. “Participants who are in the league will face one another, we will go to quarter-finals, semi-finals, and then we'll eventually have a league winner.”

A dedicated player, 23, is a competitive player and chess instructor. He joined the competition for about a year and participates at the club nearly weekly. “This is a welcome option to engaging in intense chess; it provides a sense of community,” he said.

“It's interesting to observe how it becomes increasingly a social activity, because in the past the only individuals who engaged in chess were those who didn't go outside; they just remained home. It is typically only a pair competing on a chessboard …

“The thing appeals to me about here is that one isn't actually playing against the digital opponent, you're engaging with live opponents.”