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One of the most vibrant locations on a weekday night in east London's famous street isn't a dining spot or a streetwear brand pop-up, it's a chess gathering – or rather a chess and nightlife combination, to be exact.

Knight Club represents the surprising blend between chess and the city's dynamic evening entertainment scene. It was founded by Yusuf Ntahilaja, in his late twenties, who began his first chess club in August 2023 at a smaller bar in Aldgate, a short distance from the current location at a popular cafe on the iconic lane.

“My goal was to create chess clubs for people who share my background and those my generation,” he said. “Usually, chess is only placed in environments that are full of senior individuals, which isn't diverse enough.”

Initially, there were only 8 boards between sixteen people. Today, a “successful evening” at the regular Knight Club will draw about 280 people.

At first glance, the venue seems closer to a music night than a chess club. Mixed drinks are flowing and music is in the air, but the game boards on each table are not just ornamental or there as a gimmick: they are all occupied and encircled by a queue of onlookers eagerly anticipating for their turn.

Jimmy Ifenayi, 24, has been attending the club regularly for the past four months. “I had little understanding of chess prior to my first visit, and the initial occasion I ever played, I played a game with a expert player. It was a quick win, but it made me intrigued to study and keep playing chess,” she said.

“The event is about half social and half participants actually wishing to engage in chess … It is a pleasant way to decompress, which doesn't involve going to a club to meet other people my generation.”

A Game Reborn: Chess in the Contemporary Era

Lately, chess has been firmly established in the cultural zeitgeist. Its appeal of digital chess proliferated throughout the pandemic, establishing it as one of the fastest-growing internet games in the world. In popular culture, the Netflix series a hit show, along with the author's recent novel Intermezzo, have crafted a certain imagery surrounding the sport, which has attracted a new wave of players.

But much of this newfound attraction of the chess night isn't always about the technicalities of the game; instead, it is the simplicity of social interaction that it enables, by taking a seat and playing with a person who could be a total unknown individual.

“It is a great Trojan horse,” said one organizer, founder of a local venue in the city, a bookstore, library, cafe and lounge, which has organized a well-attended chess club weekly since it opened several years back. Freud’s objective is to “take chess from its elite status and transform it into like pool in a dive bar”.

“It's a very easy tool to get to know people. It somewhat takes the weight of the necessity of conversation from interacting with people. One can handle the uncomfortable part of making an introduction and talking to a new acquaintance over a game instead of with no shared activity around it.”

Expanding the Network: Chess Nights Outside London

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 go out, interact and enjoy a good time outside of going to a bar or club,” stated its creator and organiser, a young leader, 21.

Together with his associate Abdirahim Haji, also young, Singh purchased chessboards, printed promotional materials and started the chess club in the start of the year, while in his final year of university. In less than a year, Singh said Chesscafé has grown to draw more than one hundred youthful participants to its gatherings.

“A chess club has a specific connotation associated with it, about it seeming quiet. We really try to go the opposite way; it is a convivial party with chess involved,” he emphasized.

Learning and Playing: A New Cohort of Chess Enthusiasts

Among numerous attendees, chess clubs are an entry point to the game. One participant, 27, is learning how to play chess with fellow attenders of the weekly event at Reference Point. She became curious in the game was piqued after an pleasurable night moving to music and engaging in chess at a previous Knight Club's events.

“It is a unique idea, but it works,” she said. “It encourages face-to-face exchanges instead of screen-based pastimes. It's a no-cost third space to meet new people. It's inviting, you don't need to necessarily be skilled at chess.”

She humorously likened the trendiness of chess with young people to the facade of the “ostentatious intellectual”, an effort to feign braininess while signaling the appearance of “hipness”. If the chess trend has fostered a genuine passion in the sport is not a notion she is entirely sure about. “It is a wholesome trend, but it’s largely a fad,” she observed. “Once you're playing against people who are really dedicated about it, it quickly becomes less enjoyable.”

Serious Play and Togetherness

It may all be a some lighthearted activity for individuals aiming to use a chessboard as a networking tool, but competitive players do have their place, albeit away from the main party area.

Another organizer, in her early twenties, who assists in organise Knight Club,says that more skilled players have formed a competitive ranking. “People who are in the league will face one another, we will progress to early rounds, advanced stages, and then we will finally have a champion.”

Ryames Chan, in his twenties, is a competitive player and chess teacher. He joined the competition for about a twelve months and plays at the club nearly every week. “This offers a nice option to engaging in serious chess; it provides a sense of community,” he expressed.

“It is interesting to observe how it evolves into more of a communal activity, because previously the sole individuals who played chess were people who didn't go outside; they just remained home. It's usually just a pair competing on a chessboard …

“The thing appeals to me about here is that one isn't really playing against the digital opponent, you are engaging with live opponents.”