🔗 Share this article

One of the most energetic spots on a Tuesday evening in east London's famous street couldn't be a restaurant or a streetwear brand temporary shop, it's a chess club – or a chess club-nightclub combination, precisely speaking.

This unique venue embodies the unlikely blend between the classic game and the city's fervent evening entertainment scene. It was founded by a young entrepreneur, 27, who launched his initial chess club in the summer of 2023 at a more intimate 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 people my generation,” he explained. “Usually, chess is only put in spaces that are full of older people, which isn't inclusive enough.”

Initially, there were just eight boards between sixteen people. Now, a “good night” at the weekly club event will draw approximately 280 people.

Upon arrival, Knight Club feels closer to a music night than a traditional chess meeting. Mixed drinks are being served and music is playing, but the game boards on each table are not just ornamental or there as a novelty: they are all occupied and surrounded by a line of onlookers eagerly anticipating for their chance to play.

Jimmy Ifenayi, 24, has been attending Knight Club often for the past four months. “I possessed no knowledge of chess before my first visit, and the initial occasion I tried it, I played a game with a grandmaster. It was a swift victory, but it left me fascinated to study and continue enjoying chess,” she said.

“This gathering is about half networking and 50% participants actually wishing to play chess … It's a pleasant way to unwind, which doesn't involve going to a club to see others my age.”

An Activity Reborn: Chess in the Contemporary Era

Lately, chess has been cemented in the cultural spirit of the times. The popularity of online chess proliferated during the pandemic, making it one of the most rapidly expanding online games globally. In popular culture, the Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit, as well as Sally Rooney’s latest novel a literary work, have crafted a distinct iconography surrounding the game, which has attracted a new generation of players.

However much of this recent attraction of the chess club is not always about the intricacies of the play; rather, it is the ease of social interaction that it enables, by taking a seat and engaging with a person who could be a total unknown individual.

“It's a great Trojan horse,” said Jonah Freud, co-founder of a local venue in London, a bookshop, reading room, cafe and bar, which has organized a popular chess club every Wednesday since it opened four years ago. His aim is to “remove chess off a pedestal and make it feel similar to billiards in a dive bar”.

“It's a very simple tool to meet people. It somewhat removes the weight of the need of small talk away from socializing with people. You can handle the awkward part of introducing yourself and talking to a new acquaintance over a board instead of with no context involved.”

Expanding the Network: Social Gatherings Outside London

Elsewhere in the UK, a similar initiative is a regular chess event held at York’s Cafe, near the downtown area. “Our observation was that individuals are seeking places where you can socialize, socialise and have a fun evening outside of going to a bar or nightclub,” said its creator and coordinator, Karan Singh, in his early twenties.

Alongside his associate a partner, 21, he purchased game sets, printed 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 expanded to attract over 100 youthful players to its events.

“Such a venue has a specific connotation to it, about it being quiet. We really try to go the contrary way; it is a convivial get-together with chess involved,” he said.

Discovering and Playing: An Alternative Cohort of Chess Enthusiasts

For many, chess clubs are an introduction to the game. One participant, in her late twenties, is picking up how to play chess with fellow attenders of chess night at the venue. Her interest in the game was sparked after an enjoyable evening dancing and engaging in chess at a previous Knight Club's occasions.

“It's a unique concept, but it functions well,” she said. “It promotes in-person interactions rather than digital pastimes. It is a free third space to encounter new people. It's welcoming, you don't have to necessarily be good at chess.”

Kezia jokingly likened the popularity of chess with young people to the facade of the “performative male”, an attempt to simulate braininess while projecting the appearance of “hipness”. Whether the chess craze has cultivated a authentic passion in the game isn't a notion she's quite convinced by. “It's a wholesome phenomenon, but it’s very much a fad,” she said. “Once you're playing against people who are really serious about it, it quickly turns less enjoyable.”

Serious Play and Togetherness

It might all be a bit of fun and games for those looking to use a chessboard as a networking tool, but competitive players certainly have their role, albeit off the dancefloor.

Another organizer, in her early twenties, who helps running Knight Club,explains that more competitive players have established a league table. “Participants who are in the league will play each other, we will go to early rounds, advanced stages, and then we will finally have a champion.”

A dedicated player, 23, is a serious player and chess instructor. He joined in the league for about a twelve months and participates at the club nearly weekly. “This is a welcome option to engaging in serious chess; it gives a sense of belonging,” he said.

“It is fascinating to observe how it becomes increasingly a communal activity, because previously the only individuals who played chess were people who didn't socialize; they just stayed home. It is typically only a pair competing on a chessboard …

“The thing appeals to me about this place is that one isn't really facing the digital opponent, you're engaging with real people.”