🔗 Share this article

Among the most vibrant locations on a weekday night in east London's Brick Lane couldn't be a restaurant or a streetwear brand pop-up, it is a chess club – or rather a chess club-nightclub combination, to be exact.

Knight Club embodies the unlikely fusion between the classic game and the city's dynamic evening entertainment scene. It was started by Yusuf Ntahilaja, in his late twenties, 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 a popular cafe on Brick Lane.

“I wanted to create chess clubs for individuals who look like me and people my age,” he said. “Usually, chess is only put in spaces that are dominated by senior individuals, which is not inclusive sufficiently.”

On the first night, there were just eight boards between sixteen people. Today, a “good night” at the regular Knight Club will attract about two hundred eighty people.

At first glance, the venue feels more like a DJ event than a traditional chess meeting. Cocktails are flowing and tunes is playing, but the chessboards on every table aren't just decorative 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, 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 played a game against a expert player. It was a swift victory, but it left me fascinated to learn and keep playing chess,” she noted.

“This gathering is about 50% networking and 50% people genuinely wanting to engage in chess … It's a nice way to decompress, which doesn't involve going to a typical nightspot to see others my age.”

An Activity Revitalized: The Ancient Game in the Modern Age

Lately, chess has been cemented in the societal spirit of the times. Its appeal of online chess proliferated throughout the pandemic, establishing it as one of the most rapidly expanding internet games in the world. In popular culture, the Netflix series a hit show, as well as the author's recent novel Intermezzo, have created a distinct imagery associated with the game, which has attracted a fresh wave of enthusiasts.

However a great deal of this recent appeal of the chess club isn't always about the technicalities of the play; rather, it is the simplicity of connecting with others that it facilitates, by taking a seat and engaging with someone who may be a complete stranger.

“It's a brilliant clever disguise,” remarked Jonah Freud, co-founder of a local venue in the city, a bookstore, reading room, cafe and bar, which has hosted a popular chess club weekly since it began four years ago. His aim is to “remove chess off a pedestal and transform it into similar to pool in a dive bar”.

“It is a really easy vehicle to get to know people. It kind of takes the pressure of the need of small talk away from socializing with people. One can do the awkward bit of making an introduction and chatting to someone across a game rather than with no context involved.”

Expanding the Community: Social Gatherings Beyond the Capital

Elsewhere in the UK, Chesscafé is a regular chess night taking place at York’s Cafe, near the city centre. “Our observation was that individuals are looking for spaces where one can go out, interact and enjoy a good time outside of going to a pub or nightclub,” stated its founder and coordinator, Karan Singh, 21.

Together with his friend Abdirahim Haji, 21, he purchased game sets, created flyers and began the chess club in the start of the year, during his final year of college. In less than a year, he reported Chesscafé has grown to draw more than one hundred youthful participants to its events.

“Such a venue has a particular reputation to it, about it seeming reserved. Our approach is to go the contrary direction; it is a convivial get-together with chess as part of it,” he said.

Discovering and Engaging: A New Generation of Players

For many, chess clubs are an entry point to the game. One participant, 27, is picking up how to participate in chess with fellow visitors of the weekly event at the venue. She became curious in the game was sparked after an pleasurable night dancing and playing chess at a previous Knight Club's events.

“It is a strange idea, but it functions well,” she said. “It encourages face-to-face interactions rather than screen-based pastimes. It's a free third space to meet strangers. It's inviting, one doesn't need to necessarily be good at chess.”

She jokingly likened the trendiness of chess with the youth to the superficial image of the “performative male”, an effort to feign braininess while signaling the veneer of “hipness”. Whether the chess trend has cultivated a authentic interest in the sport is not something she is entirely sure about. “It is a positive phenomenon, but it’s very much a fad,” she observed. “When you're playing against opponents who are really dedicated about it, it quickly turns less fun.”

Serious Gaming and Togetherness

It might seem like a bit of fun and games for those looking to employ a game set as a social vehicle, but competitive players certainly have their role, albeit off the dancefloor.

Another organizer, in her early twenties, who helps running the club,says that more competitive attenders have formed a league table. “People who are part of the competition will face one another, we will go to early rounds, advanced stages, and then we'll eventually have a league winner.”

A dedicated player, 23, is a competitive competitor and chess teacher. He joined the competition for about a year and plays at the club nearly weekly. “This is a nice alternative to playing serious chess; it provides a feeling of community,” he said.

“It's interesting to observe how it evolves into increasingly a social activity, because in the past the only people who engaged in chess were people who rarely go outside; they just remained home. It is typically just a pair competing on a chessboard …

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