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Among the most vibrant spots on a weekday night in east London's famous street isn't a dining spot or a urban fashion label temporary shop, it's a chess gathering – or rather a chess club-nightclub hybrid, precisely speaking.

This unique venue represents the surprising blend between chess and London's dynamic evening entertainment culture. It was founded by a young entrepreneur, 27, who launched his initial chess club in August 2023 at a more intimate bar in a nearby area, not too far from the present location at a popular cafe on the iconic lane.

“My goal was to create chess clubs for individuals who look like me and those my age,” he said. “Typically, chess is only put in environments that are dominated by older people, which is not diverse enough.”

On the first night, there were only 8 boards between sixteen people. Today, a “good night” at the regular Knight Club will draw about two hundred eighty people.

At first glance, Knight Club feels closer to a DJ event than a traditional chess meeting. Cocktails are being served and tunes is playing, but the chessboards on every table aren't just decorative or there as a novelty: they are all occupied and encircled by a line of onlookers eagerly anticipating for their turn.

One regular, 24, has been attending the club regularly for the last four months. “I possessed little understanding of chess prior to my first visit, and the first time I tried it, I played a game with a grandmaster. It was a quick victory, but it left me intrigued to learn and keep playing chess,” she noted.

“This gathering is about half social and half people genuinely wishing to play chess … It is a pleasant way to relax, which avoids visiting a typical nightspot to see others my age.”

A Game Revitalized: Chess in the Contemporary Age

Lately, chess has been cemented in the cultural spirit of the times. Its appeal of digital chess expanded rapidly throughout the global health crisis, establishing it as one of the fastest-growing online pastimes in the world. Across media, the Netflix series a hit show, as well as Sally Rooney’s latest novel a literary work, have created a certain iconography surrounding the sport, which has attracted a fresh wave of enthusiasts.

But a great deal of this newfound attraction of the chess night isn't always about the technicalities of the play; rather, it is the simplicity of connecting with others that it facilitates, by pulling up a chair and engaging with a person who may be a total unknown individual.

“It's a brilliant Trojan horse,” said Jonah Freud, founder of Reference Point in London, a bookshop, library, coffee house and bar, which has hosted a popular chess club weekly since it opened several years back. Freud’s objective is to “remove chess from its elite status and make it feel similar to pool in a dive bar”.

“It is a really simple tool to get to know people. It somewhat takes the pressure of the necessity of small talk away from socializing with people. You can handle the awkward bit of introducing yourself and chatting to someone across a game instead of with no kind of shared activity involved.”

Expanding the Community: Social Gatherings Beyond the Capital

Elsewhere in the UK, a similar initiative is a regular chess night held at York’s Cafe, just outside the downtown area. “Our observation was that people are seeking spaces where one can socialize, interact and enjoy a fun evening beyond visiting a pub or club,” said its founder and organiser, Karan Singh, in his early twenties.

Together with his friend Abdirahim Haji, also young, he bought game sets, created flyers and started the chess club in the start of the year, during his last year of college. Within months, Singh reported their event has grown to attract more than one hundred youthful participants to its gatherings.

“A chess club has a specific reputation to it, about it seeming reserved. We really try to move in the contrary way; it's a convivial party with chess involved,” he said.

Learning and Playing: A New Generation of Chess Enthusiasts

Among numerous attendees, chess clubs are an entry point to the activity. One participant, 27, is learning how to play chess with fellow attenders of chess night at Reference Point. Her interest in the game was piqued after an pleasurable evening dancing and playing chess at a previous Knight Club's occasions.

“It is a strange concept, but it works,” she commented. “It encourages face-to-face interactions rather than digital activities. It's a no-cost third space to meet strangers. It's welcoming, one doesn't need to necessarily be good at chess.”

Kezia humorously likened the popularity 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 isn't something she is quite convinced by. “It's a positive trend, but it’s very much a fad,” she said. “When you're playing with people who are really serious about it, it rapidly turns less fun.”

Competitive Play and Community

It may seem like a bit of fun and games for those looking to use a chessboard as a networking tool, but competitive players do have their place, albeit away from the dancefloor.

Another organizer, 22, who assists in running Knight Club,says that more skilled attenders have established a league table. “People who are in the league will face each other, we will go to quarter-finals, advanced stages, and then we will finally have a champion.”

Ryames Chan, in his twenties, is a serious competitor and chess instructor. He has been the competition for about a year and participates at the club almost weekly. “This is a nice alternative to engaging in intense chess; it provides a feeling of community,” he expressed.

“It is interesting to see how it becomes more of a communal activity, because in the past the only people who engaged in chess were those who didn't socialize; they just stayed home. It's typically only a pair competing on a game board …

“What appeals to me about this place is that one isn't actually playing against the digital opponent, you are engaging with live opponents.”