🔗 Share this article

One of the most energetic spots on a Tuesday night in the East End's Brick Lane isn't a dining spot or a urban fashion brand temporary shop, it is a chess gathering – or a chess club-nightclub hybrid, precisely speaking.

Knight Club embodies the unlikely crossover between the classic game and the city's fervent nightlife scene. It was founded by Yusuf Ntahilaja, in his late twenties, who launched his first chess club in the summer of 2023 at a smaller bar in Aldgate, a short distance from the current location at Café 1001 on the iconic lane.

“I wanted to create chess clubs for people who look like me and those my age,” he explained. “Typically, chess is only placed in spaces that are full of older people, which isn't inclusive enough.”

On the first night, there were only 8 boards between 16 people. Now, a “successful evening” at the weekly Knight Club will attract approximately 280 people.

At first glance, Knight Club seems more like a DJ event than a chess club. Mixed drinks 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 in use and encircled by a line of spectators waiting for their turn.

Jimmy Ifenayi, 24, has frequented Knight Club regularly for the past several months. “I had little understanding of chess before my first visit, and the initial occasion I tried it, I played a game against a expert player. That was a quick victory, but it made me intrigued to study and continue enjoying chess,” she said.

“This gathering is about half networking and 50% participants actually wanting to play chess … It is a pleasant way to decompress, which doesn't involve visiting a club to see other people my age.”

A Game Revitalized: The Ancient Game in the Contemporary Era

In recent years, chess has been firmly established in the societal zeitgeist. Its appeal of online chess expanded rapidly during the pandemic, establishing it as one of the fastest-growing internet games globally. In popular culture, the streaming series The Queen’s Gambit, as well as Sally Rooney’s recent novel Intermezzo, have created a distinct imagery associated with the sport, which has attracted a fresh wave of enthusiasts.

However much of this recent attraction of the chess club is not always about the technicalities of the game; instead, it is the simplicity of social interaction that it facilitates, by pulling up a chair and playing with a person who may be a total unknown individual.

“It's a great Trojan horse,” remarked one organizer, founder of a local venue in London, a bookstore, reading room, cafe and bar, which has organized a well-attended chess club every Wednesday since it began several years back. His aim is to “take chess off a pedestal and make it feel similar to billiards in a casual pub”.

“It's a very easy tool to get to know people. It kind of takes the pressure of the need of small talk from socializing with people. You can handle the awkward bit of making an introduction and chatting to a new acquaintance over a game rather than with no kind of context around it.”

Growing the Network: Social Gatherings Outside the Capital

Elsewhere in the UK, a similar initiative is a regular chess event held at York’s Cafe, just outside the city centre. “Our observation was that people are seeking spaces where you can socialize, socialise and have a fun evening beyond going to a pub or nightclub,” said its creator and organiser, Karan Singh, in his early twenties.

Together with his friend a partner, 21, he purchased chessboards, printed flyers and started the chess club in the start of the year, during his final year of college. Within months, Singh reported their event has expanded to attract over one hundred youthful participants to its events.

“A chess club has a specific connotation to it, about it being quiet. Our approach is to move in the opposite way; it is a convivial get-together with chess involved,” he emphasized.

Learning and Engaging: A New Generation of Players

For many, chess clubs are an entry point to the game. One participant, 27, is learning how to participate in chess with other visitors of chess night at Reference Point. She became curious in the game was sparked after an pleasurable evening dancing and engaging in chess at one of Knight Club's occasions.

“It's a unique concept, but it works,” she said. “It promotes face-to-face exchanges rather than screen-based activities. It's a free neutral ground to encounter strangers. It is inviting, one doesn't need to necessarily be good at chess.”

She jokingly compared the trendiness of chess with young people to the superficial image of the “ostentatious intellectual”, an effort to simulate intellectualism while projecting the appearance of “coolness”. Whether the chess craze has cultivated a genuine interest in the sport isn't a notion she's entirely convinced by. “It is a wholesome phenomenon, but it’s very much a fad,” she observed. “Once you're playing with people who are truly dedicated about it, it rapidly turns less fun.”

Competitive Gaming and Community

It may seem like a bit of lighthearted activity for individuals aiming to employ a chessboard as a social vehicle, but serious participants certainly have their role, even if off the main party area.

Lucia Ene-Lesikar, in her early twenties, who helps organise the club,says that more skilled players have established a competitive ranking. “People who are part of the competition will face each other, we will go to quarter-finals, semi-finals, and then we will finally have a champion.”

Ryames Chan, in his twenties, is a competitive competitor and chess instructor. He has been in the league for about a twelve months and plays at the club nearly weekly. “This is a welcome alternative to engaging in serious chess; it gives a sense of community,” he said.

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

“What I like about here is that you're not actually playing against the digital opponent, you're facing live opponents.”