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Among the most energetic spots on a Tuesday night in the East End's famous street couldn't be a restaurant or a urban fashion brand pop-up, it is a chess club – or rather a chess and nightlife hybrid, precisely speaking.

Knight Club represents the unlikely crossover between the classic game and the city's dynamic nightlife scene. It was founded by Yusuf Ntahilaja, 27, who began his first chess club in the summer of 2023 at a more intimate bar in a nearby area, not too far 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 age,” he said. “Typically, chess is only put in environments that are full of older people, which isn't inclusive sufficiently.”

Initially, there were just eight boards shared by sixteen people. Today, a “good night” at the regular club event will draw approximately two hundred eighty attendees.

Upon arrival, Knight Club seems more like a DJ event than a chess club. Mixed drinks are being served and music is playing, but the game boards on every table are not just ornamental or there as a gimmick: they are all occupied and surrounded by a queue of spectators eagerly anticipating for their chance to play.

One regular, 24, has frequented Knight Club often for the past several months. “I had little understanding of chess before I came here, and the initial occasion I ever played, I competed in a game with a grandmaster. That was a swift win, but it made me intrigued to study and continue enjoying chess,” she noted.

“This gathering is about half networking and 50% participants genuinely wanting to engage in chess … It is a pleasant way to decompress, which avoids visiting a club to see others my age.”

A Game Revitalized: Chess in the Modern Era

Lately, chess has been cemented in the societal spirit of the times. The popularity of online chess expanded rapidly throughout the global health crisis, establishing it as one of the fastest-growing internet games in the world. Across media, the Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit, along with Sally Rooney’s latest novel Intermezzo, have created a certain iconography surrounding the game, which has drawn in a new wave of enthusiasts.

But a great deal of this recent attraction of the chess club isn't necessarily about the technicalities of the play; rather, it is the ease of connecting with others that it enables, by pulling up a chair and engaging with a person who could be a total stranger.

“It is a great Trojan horse,” remarked Jonah Freud, co-founder of Reference Point in London, a bookshop, library, cafe and bar, which has hosted a popular chess club weekly since it opened four years ago. His objective is to “remove chess off a pedestal and make it feel similar to billiards in a dive bar”.

“It's a very simple vehicle to meet people. It kind of takes the weight of the need of conversation from interacting with people. You can do the uncomfortable bit of introducing yourself and talking to a new acquaintance over a board rather than with no kind of context involved.”

Growing the Community: Chess Nights Outside the Capital

In Birmingham, Chesscafé is a regular chess event taking place at a city cafe, near the downtown area. “Our observation was that people are looking for spaces where one can go out, socialise and have a good time outside of going to a bar or nightclub,” stated its creator and coordinator, a young leader, in his early twenties.

Together with his associate Abdirahim Haji, also young, he purchased chessboards, created promotional materials and started the chess club in January, while in his final year of university. Within months, Singh reported Chesscafé has grown to draw over 100 young participants to its gatherings.

“A chess club has a specific connotation associated with it, about it being quiet. We really try to go the opposite direction; it is a social party with chess as part of it,” he said.

Discovering and Engaging: A New Cohort of Players

For many, chess clubs are an introduction to the activity. Zoë Kezia, 27, is learning how to play chess with other attenders of the weekly event at Reference Point. She became curious in the pastime was piqued after an enjoyable evening dancing and playing 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 digital activities. It is a free neutral ground to meet strangers. It's inviting, one doesn't need to necessarily be skilled at chess.”

Kezia humorously compared the popularity of chess with the youth to the superficial image of the “ostentatious intellectual”, an effort to simulate intellectualism while signaling the veneer of “coolness”. Whether the chess craze has cultivated a genuine interest in the sport is not a notion she's quite sure about. “It is a positive trend, but it’s largely a fad,” she said. “Once you compete with opponents who are truly dedicated about it, it quickly turns less fun.”

Competitive Gaming and Community

It might seem like a bit of fun and games for those aiming to employ a game set as a networking tool, but competitive participants do have their place, albeit off the dancefloor.

Another organizer, in her early twenties, who helps running the club,says that increasingly competitive attenders have formed a competitive ranking. “People who are in the league will face one another, we'll progress to early rounds, semi-finals, and then we'll eventually have a league winner.”

Ryames Chan, in his twenties, is a competitive competitor and chess instructor. He has been the competition for about a twelve months and plays at the club almost every week. “This offers a nice alternative to engaging in intense chess; it gives a sense of belonging,” he expressed.

“It is interesting to observe how it becomes more of a communal activity, because previously the only people who engaged in chess were those who rarely go outside; they simply stayed home. It's typically only a pair playing on a chessboard …

“What appeals to me about here is that one isn't actually playing against the computer, you are facing real people.”