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One of the most energetic locations on a Tuesday night in the East End's famous street isn't a restaurant or a streetwear brand temporary shop, it's a chess club – or rather a chess club-nightclub hybrid, precisely speaking.

Knight Club represents the surprising crossover between chess and London's dynamic nightlife 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, a short distance from the present location at a popular cafe on the iconic lane.

“My goal was to create chess clubs for people who look like me and people my generation,” he said. “Typically, chess is only placed in environments that are dominated by senior individuals, which isn't inclusive sufficiently.”

Initially, there were just 8 boards shared by sixteen people. Now, a “successful evening” at the regular Knight Club will attract about 280 attendees.

Upon arrival, the venue feels more like a music night than a chess club. Cocktails are being served and music is in the air, but the game boards on each table aren't just decorative or there as a gimmick: they are all occupied and surrounded by a queue of onlookers waiting for their chance to play.

One regular, in her mid-twenties, has been attending Knight Club often for the past four months. “I possessed little understanding of chess prior to I came here, and the first time I ever played, I played a game with a grandmaster. That was a swift win, but it left me fascinated to learn and keep playing chess,” she noted.

“This gathering is about half networking and 50% participants actually wanting to play chess … It's a pleasant way to unwind, which doesn't involve visiting a typical nightspot to meet others my generation.”

A Game Revitalized: The Ancient Game in the Contemporary Age

In recent years, chess has been cemented in the cultural zeitgeist. The popularity of digital chess proliferated during the global health crisis, making it one of the most rapidly expanding internet games globally. In popular culture, the streaming series The Queen’s Gambit, as well as the author's latest novel a literary work, have crafted a distinct iconography surrounding the game, which has drawn in a fresh wave of players.

However much of this newfound appeal of the chess club is not necessarily about the technicalities of the play; instead, it is the simplicity of connecting with others that it enables, by pulling up a chair and playing with someone who could be a complete stranger.

“It's a brilliant Trojan horse,” said one organizer, founder of a local venue in the city, a bookshop, reading room, coffee house and bar, which has organized a well-attended chess club weekly since it opened several years back. His aim is to “remove chess from its elite status and make it feel like billiards in a casual pub”.

“It is a very simple tool to get to know people. It kind of takes the weight of the need of conversation from interacting with people. One can handle the uncomfortable bit of making an introduction and chatting to a new acquaintance across a board rather than with no context involved.”

Growing the Network: Chess Nights Outside London

Elsewhere in the UK, a similar initiative is a regular chess night taking place at a city cafe, just outside the downtown area. “We found that people are looking for places where you can go out, socialise and enjoy a fun evening outside of going to a bar or club,” stated its creator and organiser, Karan Singh, in his early twenties.

Together with his friend a partner, 21, Singh purchased chessboards, created flyers and began the chess club in January, while in his last year of college. In less than a year, Singh said Chesscafé has grown to attract over one hundred young participants to its gatherings.

“A chess club has a specific connotation associated with it, about it being reserved. We really try to move in the opposite direction; it's a social get-together with chess involved,” he emphasized.

Learning and Engaging: A New Cohort of Chess Enthusiasts

For many, chess clubs are an entry point to the activity. One participant, in her late twenties, is learning how to play chess with other attenders of the weekly event at the venue. She became curious in the game was piqued after an enjoyable evening dancing and engaging in chess at one of Knight Club's events.

“It's a unique concept, but it functions well,” she said. “It promotes face-to-face interactions rather than screen-based activities. It's a no-cost third space to encounter new people. It is welcoming, one doesn't have to necessarily be good at chess.”

Kezia jokingly likened the popularity of chess among the youth to the superficial image of the “ostentatious intellectual”, an effort to simulate intellectualism while signaling the veneer of “hipness”. If the chess trend has fostered a genuine interest in the game isn't a notion she's quite convinced by. “It is a wholesome phenomenon, but it’s largely a trend,” she said. “When you compete with opponents who are truly dedicated about it, it quickly becomes less fun.”

Competitive Gaming and Togetherness

It might all be a bit of lighthearted activity for those aiming to employ a chessboard as a social vehicle, but competitive players do have their place, even if away from the main party area.

Lucia Ene-Lesikar, 22, who assists in running Knight Club,says that more competitive attenders have formed a competitive ranking. “People who are in the league will face each other, we will progress to early rounds, advanced stages, and then we'll eventually have a champion.”

Ryames Chan, in his twenties, is a competitive player and chess teacher. He has been in the league for about a twelve months and participates at the club nearly weekly. “This is a welcome alternative to engaging in serious chess; it provides a feeling of belonging,” he expressed.

“It is fascinating to see how it becomes more of a communal pastime, because previously the sole individuals who engaged in chess were those who didn't socialize; they simply stayed home. It is usually only two people playing on a game board …

“The thing I like about this place is that you're not actually playing against the computer, you're engaging with live opponents.”