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One of the most vibrant locations on a Tuesday evening in east London's famous street couldn't be a dining spot or a streetwear label temporary shop, it is a chess club – or rather a chess club-nightclub fusion, precisely speaking.

Knight Club embodies the surprising blend between chess and London's fervent evening entertainment culture. It was started by a young entrepreneur, 27, who began his first chess club in August 2023 at a smaller bar in a nearby area, a short distance from the present location at Café 1001 on the iconic lane.

“My goal was to make chess clubs for people who look like me and people my generation,” he said. “Typically, chess is only put in spaces that are full of older people, which isn't diverse enough.”

Initially, there were just eight boards between sixteen people. Now, a “successful evening” at the weekly Knight Club will draw approximately two hundred eighty attendees.

Upon arrival, Knight Club feels closer to a music night than a traditional chess meeting. Cocktails are flowing and music is playing, but the game boards on every table aren't just ornamental or there as a novelty: they are all occupied and encircled by a line of spectators eagerly anticipating for their chance to play.

Jimmy Ifenayi, 24, has been attending Knight Club often for the past four months. “I possessed little understanding of chess before I came here, and the initial occasion I ever played, I played a game against a expert player. That was a quick victory, but it left me fascinated to learn and continue enjoying chess,” she said.

“The event is about half networking and half people actually wanting to play chess … It's a nice way to unwind, which avoids visiting a typical nightspot to see other people my generation.”

An Activity Reborn: The Ancient Game in the Modern Era

In recent years, chess has been cemented in the cultural zeitgeist. The popularity of online chess expanded rapidly throughout the pandemic, establishing it as one of the most rapidly expanding internet games globally. In popular culture, the Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit, along with the author's latest novel Intermezzo, have created a distinct iconography surrounding the sport, which has drawn in a new wave of enthusiasts.

But a great deal of this newfound attraction of the chess club isn't necessarily about the intricacies of the game; instead, it is the ease of social interaction that it enables, by pulling up a chair and engaging with someone who could be a total stranger.

“It's a brilliant clever disguise,” said one organizer, co-founder of a local venue in London, a bookstore, reading room, cafe and lounge, which has hosted a popular chess club every Wednesday since it opened several years back. His objective is to “remove chess from its elite status and make it feel like billiards in a dive bar”.

“It is a really simple tool to get to know people. It kind of removes the weight of the need of conversation away from socializing with people. One can do the awkward bit of introducing yourself and talking to someone over a board instead of with no kind of context around it.”

Expanding the Network: Social Gatherings Beyond London

Elsewhere in the UK, Chesscafé is a regular chess event held at a city cafe, just outside the downtown area. “We found that individuals are looking for places where you can socialize, interact and enjoy a good time beyond going to a bar or club,” said its creator and coordinator, a young leader, in his early twenties.

Alongside his friend a partner, 21, he bought chessboards, created promotional materials and started the chess club in the start of the year, while in his last year of university. Within months, Singh reported Chesscafé has grown to attract over one hundred young players to its events.

“Such a venue has a particular reputation associated with it, about it seeming quiet. Our approach is to move in the opposite way; it's a convivial get-together with chess as part of it,” he emphasized.

Learning and Playing: An Alternative Generation of Players

Among numerous attendees, chess clubs are an entry point to the activity. Zoë Kezia, in her late twenties, is learning how to participate in chess with other visitors of chess night at Reference Point. She became curious in the pastime was sparked after an pleasurable night dancing and playing chess at one of Knight Club's events.

“It is a unique idea, but it functions well,” she said. “It encourages face-to-face exchanges rather than screen-based activities. It is a no-cost third space to encounter new people. It is inviting, you don't need to necessarily be good at chess.”

Kezia humorously likened the trendiness of chess with the youth to the facade of the “performative male”, an attempt to simulate intellectualism while signaling the veneer of “hipness”. If the chess trend has fostered a authentic interest in the sport isn't a notion she's entirely sure about. “It is a wholesome phenomenon, but it’s very much a trend,” she observed. “Once you compete with people who are really serious about it, it rapidly becomes less enjoyable.”

Serious Play and Togetherness

It may all be a some fun and games for those aiming to use a game set as a social vehicle, but competitive participants certainly have their place, albeit off the main party area.

Another organizer, 22, who assists in running Knight Club,says that increasingly competitive players have formed a competitive ranking. “People who are in the league will face one another, we will go to quarter-finals, advanced stages, and then we'll finally have a league winner.”

A dedicated player, in his twenties, is a competitive player and chess instructor. He joined the competition for about a twelve months and participates at the club almost weekly. “This is a welcome option to playing intense chess; it provides a feeling of community,” he said.

“It is fascinating to observe how it becomes more of a social pastime, because in the past the sole people who played chess were people who rarely go outside; they simply remained home. It is usually only two people playing on a chessboard …

“The thing appeals to me about this place is that you're not really facing the digital opponent, you are engaging with real people.”