🔗 Share this article

One of the most vibrant venues on a Tuesday evening in east London's famous street isn't a restaurant or a urban fashion label temporary shop, it is a chess club – or a chess and nightlife hybrid, to be exact.

Knight Club embodies the surprising blend between the classic game and London's fervent evening entertainment culture. It was started by a young entrepreneur, in his late twenties, who launched his initial chess club in August 2023 at a more intimate bar in a nearby area, a short distance from the current location at Café 1001 on the iconic lane.

“My goal was to create chess clubs for individuals who share my background and people my age,” he explained. “Usually, chess is only placed in environments that are dominated by senior individuals, which is not diverse sufficiently.”

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

At first glance, Knight Club seems closer to a DJ event than a traditional chess meeting. Cocktails are flowing 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 in use and encircled by a line of onlookers eagerly anticipating for their chance to play.

One regular, in her mid-twenties, has frequented the club often for the past four months. “I had no knowledge of chess prior to my first visit, and the initial occasion I ever played, I competed in a game with a expert player. It was a swift victory, but it left me intrigued to learn and keep playing chess,” she noted.

“This gathering is about 50% social and 50% people actually wanting to engage in chess … It's a pleasant way to unwind, which doesn't involve going to a club to meet others my age.”

An Activity Reborn: Chess in the Modern Era

In recent years, chess has been cemented in the cultural spirit of the times. Its appeal of digital chess expanded rapidly throughout the global health crisis, making it one of the most rapidly expanding online games globally. Across media, the Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit, as well as the author's latest novel a literary work, have created a certain iconography surrounding the game, which has drawn in a new wave of enthusiasts.

However much of this recent appeal of the chess night is not necessarily about the intricacies of the play; instead, it is the ease of connecting with others that it facilitates, by pulling up a chair and engaging with a person who could be a total unknown individual.

“It's a brilliant clever disguise,” said Jonah Freud, founder of a local venue in the city, a bookshop, library, cafe and bar, which has organized a popular chess club weekly since it began four years ago. Freud’s aim is to “take chess from its elite status and make it feel similar to billiards in a casual pub”.

“It's a very simple vehicle to get to know people. It kind of takes the pressure of the necessity of conversation from socializing with people. One can do the awkward bit of introducing yourself and talking to a new acquaintance across a game instead of with no context around it.”

Expanding the Network: Social Gatherings Beyond the Capital

In Birmingham, Chesscafé is a regular chess event held at York’s Cafe, just outside the downtown area. “Our observation was that individuals are seeking spaces where you can go out, interact and enjoy a fun evening beyond going to a bar or nightclub,” stated its creator and organiser, Karan Singh, in his early twenties.

Alongside his friend Abdirahim Haji, also young, Singh bought game sets, created promotional materials and began the chess club in the start of the year, during his final year of university. In less than a year, Singh reported Chesscafé has expanded to draw over 100 youthful participants to its events.

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

Learning 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 participate in chess with fellow visitors of the weekly event at Reference Point. She became curious in the pastime was piqued after an pleasurable evening dancing and engaging in chess at one of Knight Club's occasions.

“It is a unique concept, but it functions well,” she said. “It promotes in-person exchanges rather than screen-based pastimes. It's a free neutral ground to encounter new people. It is welcoming, one doesn't have to necessarily be skilled at chess.”

She humorously likened the popularity of chess with the youth to the superficial image of the “performative male”, an attempt to simulate intellectualism while projecting the veneer of “coolness”. If the chess trend has cultivated a authentic interest in the sport isn't something she's entirely sure about. “It is a positive phenomenon, but it’s very much a trend,” she observed. “Once you compete against opponents who are really dedicated about it, it rapidly turns less enjoyable.”

Serious Play and Togetherness

It might all be a some lighthearted activity for those looking to use a game set as a networking tool, but competitive players certainly have their place, even if away from the dancefloor.

Another organizer, in her early twenties, who assists in running the club,explains that increasingly competitive attenders have formed a league table. “People who are part of the competition will face one another, we will go to early rounds, advanced stages, and then we'll finally have a league winner.”

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

“It's interesting to see how it evolves into increasingly a social pastime, because in the past the sole people who engaged in chess were those who rarely socialize; they just stayed home. It's usually only two people competing on a chessboard …

“What appeals to me about this place is that you're not actually playing against the digital opponent, you are engaging with real people.”