Among the liveliest venues on a weekday night in the East End's Brick Lane isn't a dining spot or a streetwear label pop-up, it is a chess gathering – or rather a chess and nightlife hybrid, to be exact.
Knight Club represents the unlikely blend between the classic game and London's fervent nightlife culture. It was started by a young entrepreneur, 27, who began his first chess club in the summer of 2023 at a more intimate bar in Aldgate, a short distance from the present location at Café 1001 on Brick Lane.
“My goal was to make chess clubs for people who share my background and people my age,” he said. “Typically, chess is only placed in spaces that are full of senior individuals, which is not inclusive sufficiently.”
Initially, there were only 8 boards between 16 people. Today, a “successful evening” at the weekly club event will attract about two hundred eighty people.
Upon arrival, the venue seems more like a music night than a chess club. Cocktails are being served and music is playing, but the chessboards on each table are not just decorative or there as a novelty: they are all occupied and encircled by a line of spectators eagerly anticipating for their turn.
Jimmy Ifenayi, in her mid-twenties, has frequented the club regularly for the past four months. “I possessed no knowledge of chess before I came here, and the first time I tried it, I played a game with a grandmaster. That was a quick victory, but it left me fascinated to learn and continue enjoying chess,” she noted.
“The event is about 50% networking and half people genuinely wanting to engage in chess … It's a nice way to decompress, which avoids visiting a typical nightspot to see other people my age.”
In recent years, chess has been firmly established in the cultural zeitgeist. Its appeal of online chess proliferated during the pandemic, making it one of the fastest-growing online pastimes in the world. In popular culture, the streaming series The Queen’s Gambit, as well as the author's recent novel Intermezzo, have crafted a distinct imagery surrounding the game, which has drawn in a new generation of players.
However a great deal of this newfound appeal of the chess night is not always about the intricacies of the game; rather, it is the simplicity of connecting with others that it enables, by taking a chair and playing with a person who may be a total stranger.
“It's a great clever disguise,” remarked one organizer, founder of Reference Point in the city, a bookshop, library, cafe and lounge, which has organized a popular chess club every Wednesday since it began several years back. Freud’s objective is to “remove 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 removes the pressure of the necessity of conversation away from socializing with people. You can handle the awkward bit of introducing yourself and chatting to someone over a game rather than with no context involved.”
Elsewhere in the UK, Chesscafé is a regular chess night taking place at York’s Cafe, just outside the city centre. “Our observation was that people are seeking places where you can go out, interact and have a good time beyond visiting a pub or club,” stated its founder and organiser, Karan Singh, in his early twenties.
Together with his friend a partner, 21, he purchased chessboards, printed promotional materials and started the chess club in the start of the year, during his final year of university. In less than a year, Singh reported Chesscafé has expanded to draw over 100 young players to its events.
“A chess club has a specific connotation associated with it, about it being quiet. Our approach is to move in the opposite direction; it is a social party with chess as part of it,” he said.
Among numerous attendees, chess clubs are an entry point to the game. Zoë Kezia, 27, is learning how to play chess with other attenders of chess night at the venue. She became curious in the pastime was piqued after an pleasurable evening dancing and engaging in chess at one of the club's events.
“It is a strange concept, but it functions well,” she said. “It encourages in-person interactions rather than screen-based activities. It is a free third space to meet strangers. It's inviting, you don't have to necessarily be skilled at chess.”
She humorously likened the trendiness of chess with the youth to the facade of the “performative male”, an effort to simulate braininess while projecting the appearance of “coolness”. Whether the chess craze has fostered a authentic passion in the sport is not something she's entirely convinced by. “It is a wholesome phenomenon, but it’s very much a trend,” she said. “Once you compete with people who are really dedicated about it, it rapidly becomes less fun.”
It might seem like a bit of lighthearted activity for those looking to use a chessboard as a social vehicle, but competitive participants do have their place, albeit away from the main party area.
Another organizer, 22, who assists in organise the club,explains that increasingly skilled players have formed a competitive ranking. “Participants who are in the league will play one another, we will go to quarter-finals, semi-finals, and then we will eventually have a league winner.”
A dedicated player, in his twenties, is a serious competitor and chess instructor. He has been the competition for about a year and participates at the club nearly weekly. “This is a welcome option to playing intense chess; it provides a feeling of community,” he expressed.
“It's interesting to observe how it becomes more of a social activity, because previously the sole individuals who engaged in chess were people who rarely go outside; they simply stayed home. It is usually just two people competing on a chessboard …
“What I like about this place is that you're not really facing the computer, you are facing live opponents.”
A tech enthusiast and writer passionate about emerging technologies and their impact on society, with a background in software development.
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