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One of the most energetic locations on a Tuesday night in east London's famous street isn't a restaurant or a urban fashion brand temporary shop, it is a chess gathering – or rather a chess and nightlife fusion, precisely speaking.

Knight Club represents the surprising blend between the classic game and London's fervent nightlife culture. It was founded by a young entrepreneur, 27, who launched his initial chess club in August 2023 at a more intimate bar in Aldgate, not too far from the present location at Café 1001 on the iconic lane.

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

On the first night, there were just eight boards between 16 people. Now, a “successful evening” at the weekly club event will draw about two hundred eighty people.

At first glance, Knight Club feels more like a DJ event than a traditional chess meeting. Cocktails are being served and tunes is playing, but the game boards on every table aren't just decorative or there as a gimmick: they are all occupied and encircled by a queue of onlookers waiting for their chance to play.

One regular, in her mid-twenties, has frequented Knight Club regularly for the past several months. “I had little understanding of chess before I came here, and the initial occasion I tried it, I competed in a game with a grandmaster. It was a swift win, but it left me fascinated to study and continue enjoying chess,” she noted.

“The event is about half social and 50% people actually wishing to engage in chess … It is a nice way to unwind, which avoids visiting a club to meet other people my generation.”

A Game Reborn: Chess in the Contemporary Era

Lately, chess has been cemented in the societal zeitgeist. Its appeal of digital chess expanded rapidly throughout the pandemic, establishing it as one of the fastest-growing online games globally. In popular culture, the Netflix series a hit show, along with Sally Rooney’s recent novel a literary work, have crafted a distinct imagery associated with the sport, which has attracted a new wave of enthusiasts.

But a great deal of this recent appeal of the chess night is not necessarily about the intricacies of the play; rather, it is the ease of social interaction that it enables, by pulling up a seat and engaging with a person who may be a complete unknown individual.

“It's a great clever disguise,” remarked one organizer, co-founder of Reference Point in the city, a bookstore, reading room, coffee house and bar, which has organized a well-attended chess club every Wednesday since it opened four years ago. Freud’s aim is to “remove chess from its elite status and make it feel similar to billiards in a dive bar”.

“It is a really easy tool to get to know people. It kind of takes the weight of the need of small talk away from interacting with people. One can do the uncomfortable part of introducing yourself and talking to a new acquaintance over a game rather than with no kind of shared activity involved.”

Expanding the Network: Social Gatherings Outside the Capital

Elsewhere in the UK, a similar initiative is a recurring chess event taking place at a city cafe, just outside the city centre. “Our observation was that individuals are looking for spaces where one can go out, interact and enjoy a fun evening outside of visiting a pub or nightclub,” said its creator and coordinator, Karan Singh, in his early twenties.

Together with his friend Abdirahim Haji, also young, Singh bought game sets, created flyers and began the chess club in the start of the year, during his last year of university. In less than a year, he said Chesscafé has expanded to attract over 100 young participants to its gatherings.

“A chess club has a particular connotation associated with it, about it seeming quiet. We really try to go the opposite direction; it's a convivial get-together with chess as part of it,” he emphasized.

Learning and Engaging: An Alternative Cohort of Players

For many, chess clubs are an entry point to the game. Zoë Kezia, in her late twenties, is learning how to play chess with other visitors of chess night at Reference Point. Her interest in the game was sparked after an enjoyable evening moving to music and engaging in chess at a previous the club's events.

“It's a strange idea, but it functions well,” she commented. “It encourages in-person exchanges rather than digital activities. It's a no-cost neutral ground to encounter strangers. It is welcoming, you don't have to necessarily be good at chess.”

Kezia humorously likened the trendiness of chess among young people to the facade of the “ostentatious intellectual”, an attempt to simulate intellectualism while signaling the appearance of “hipness”. If the chess trend has cultivated a genuine passion in the game is not a notion she's quite sure about. “It is a positive trend, but it’s largely a fad,” she observed. “When you compete with people who are truly serious about it, it quickly becomes less fun.”

Serious Play and Community

It might seem like a bit of fun and games for individuals looking to employ a game set as a social vehicle, but serious participants certainly have their place, albeit off the main party area.

Another organizer, 22, who assists in running Knight Club,says that increasingly skilled attenders have established a league table. “People who are part of the competition will play one another, we'll go to early rounds, semi-finals, and then we will eventually have a champion.”

A dedicated player, in his twenties, is a serious competitor and chess instructor. He has been in the league for about a twelve months and participates at the club almost every week. “This offers a welcome option to playing serious chess; it provides a sense of belonging,” he expressed.

“It's fascinating to observe how it evolves into more of a social pastime, because in the past the sole individuals who played chess were people who didn't socialize; they simply remained home. It is usually only two people playing on a chessboard …

“What appeals to me about here is that you're not actually facing the digital opponent, you're engaging with real people.”