🔗 Share this article

One of the most energetic venues on a Tuesday night in the East End's Brick Lane isn't a dining spot or a streetwear brand temporary shop, it is a chess gathering – or rather a chess club-nightclub fusion, to be exact.

Knight Club represents the surprising fusion between chess and London's fervent nightlife scene. It was started by Yusuf Ntahilaja, 27, who began his initial chess club in August 2023 at a more intimate bar in Aldgate, not too far from the current location at a popular cafe on the iconic lane.

“My goal was to make chess clubs for individuals who share my background and people my generation,” he explained. “Typically, chess is only placed in environments that are full of older people, which isn't inclusive sufficiently.”

On the first night, there were only 8 boards between sixteen people. Today, a “successful evening” at the weekly club event will attract approximately two hundred eighty attendees.

Upon arrival, the venue seems more like a music night than a traditional chess meeting. Mixed drinks are flowing and tunes is in the air, but the game boards on every table are not just ornamental or there as a gimmick: they are all in use and encircled by a queue of spectators waiting for their turn.

Jimmy Ifenayi, in her mid-twenties, has frequented the club often for the last several months. “I had no knowledge of chess before my first visit, and the first time I ever played, I competed in a game against a grandmaster. It was a quick win, but it left me fascinated to learn and continue enjoying chess,” she noted.

“The event is about half social and 50% participants actually wishing to engage in chess … It's a pleasant way to decompress, which avoids visiting a club to see others my generation.”

An Activity Reborn: Chess in the Contemporary Era

Lately, chess has been firmly established in the societal spirit of the times. Its appeal of online chess proliferated throughout the global health crisis, establishing it as one of the fastest-growing internet pastimes globally. Across media, the Netflix series a hit show, along with Sally Rooney’s recent novel Intermezzo, have crafted a certain iconography surrounding the sport, which has attracted a new wave of enthusiasts.

But much of this newfound appeal of the chess club is not necessarily about the technicalities of the play; instead, it is the ease of social interaction that it facilitates, by taking a seat and engaging with someone who may be a total unknown individual.

“It's a brilliant Trojan horse,” said Jonah Freud, founder of Reference Point in the city, a bookstore, library, coffee house and lounge, which has organized a popular chess club every Wednesday since it began several years back. Freud’s aim is to “take chess off a pedestal and transform it into like billiards in a casual pub”.

“It is a really simple tool to get to know people. It kind of removes the weight of the necessity of conversation away from socializing with people. One can do the uncomfortable bit of introducing yourself and chatting to someone over a game rather than with no kind of context involved.”

Expanding the Network: Social Gatherings Outside London

In Birmingham, a similar initiative is a regular chess night taking place at York’s Cafe, just outside the city centre. “Our observation was that individuals are seeking spaces where one can socialize, socialise and have a fun evening outside of visiting a pub or club,” said its creator and coordinator, a young leader, in his early twenties.

Together with his associate a partner, 21, Singh bought chessboards, created promotional materials and began the chess club in the start of the year, during his last year of university. In less than a year, Singh said Chesscafé has expanded to attract over 100 young participants to its events.

“A chess club has a specific connotation to it, about it being reserved. Our approach is to go the contrary way; it is a social party with chess involved,” he said.

Learning and Engaging: An Alternative Cohort of Chess Enthusiasts

Among numerous attendees, chess clubs are an introduction to the activity. Zoë Kezia, 27, is picking up how to play chess with other attenders of the weekly event at the venue. Her interest in the pastime was sparked after an enjoyable evening moving to music and engaging in chess at one of the club's events.

“It is a strange concept, but it works,” she said. “It encourages in-person exchanges instead of digital pastimes. It is a no-cost third space to encounter new people. It is welcoming, one doesn't have to necessarily be skilled at chess.”

Kezia humorously compared the trendiness of chess among the youth to the facade of the “ostentatious intellectual”, an effort to simulate intellectualism while projecting the appearance of “hipness”. Whether the chess craze has cultivated a genuine interest in the game is not a notion she's quite sure about. “It is a wholesome trend, but it’s very much a trend,” she said. “When you're playing with people who are truly serious about it, it quickly turns less fun.”

Competitive Play and Togetherness

It might all be a bit of fun and games for those looking to use a game set as a networking tool, but competitive participants certainly have their role, albeit off the main party area.

Lucia Ene-Lesikar, in her early twenties, who assists in organise the club,explains that increasingly competitive players have established a league table. “Participants who are in the league will face each other, we'll go to quarter-finals, semi-finals, and then we'll finally have a league winner.”

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

“It's fascinating to observe how it evolves into more of a social pastime, because in the past the only people who engaged in chess were those who rarely go outside; they just remained home. It is typically only two people competing on a chessboard …

“What I like about here is that one isn't really playing against the computer, you're facing real people.”