Drinks & Chess Victories: These Youthful Britons Providing The Game a Fresh Lease of Vitality

Among the most vibrant venues on a weekday night in the East End's famous street couldn't be a dining spot or a streetwear label pop-up, it is a chess gathering – or rather a chess club-nightclub fusion, to be exact.

Knight Club represents the unlikely fusion between the classic game and London's dynamic nightlife scene. It was started by a young entrepreneur, 27, who began his first 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 Brick Lane.

“I wanted to make chess clubs for people who look like me and those my age,” he explained. “Typically, chess is only put in spaces that are full of older people, which isn't inclusive sufficiently.”

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

At first glance, Knight Club feels closer to a music night than a traditional chess meeting. Cocktails are being served and tunes is in the air, but the chessboards on every table aren't just decorative or there as a gimmick: they are all in use and surrounded by a line of spectators waiting for their chance to play.

Jimmy Ifenayi, 24, has been attending the club often for the past four months. “I had little understanding of chess prior to I came here, and the first time I ever played, I played a game with a grandmaster. It was a quick victory, but it made me fascinated to study and keep playing chess,” she noted.

“This gathering is about half social and half people actually wishing to engage in chess … It is a pleasant way to unwind, which avoids going to a typical nightspot to meet others my age.”

An Activity Reborn: The Ancient Game in the Modern Age

In recent years, chess has been cemented in the societal zeitgeist. The popularity of digital chess proliferated during the global health crisis, making it one of the most rapidly expanding online pastimes globally. Across media, the Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit, along with the author's latest novel Intermezzo, have created a certain iconography associated with the sport, which has attracted a fresh wave of enthusiasts.

However much of this newfound attraction of the chess club isn't always about the intricacies of the play; rather, it is the ease of connecting with others that it enables, by taking a seat and engaging with a person who could be a complete stranger.

“It is a great clever disguise,” said Jonah Freud, founder of Reference Point in London, a bookshop, reading room, coffee house and lounge, which has organized a popular chess club weekly since it opened several years back. His aim is to “remove chess off a pedestal and make it feel similar to pool in a dive bar”.

“It's a very easy tool to get to know people. It kind of takes the weight of the necessity of small talk away from socializing with people. One can handle the awkward bit of introducing yourself and talking to someone over a board rather than with no kind of context involved.”

Expanding the Community: Social Gatherings Beyond the Capital

Elsewhere in the UK, Chesscafé is a regular chess night taking place at a city cafe, just outside the city centre. “Our observation was that people are looking for spaces where one can socialize, socialise and enjoy a fun evening beyond visiting a pub or club,” said its founder and coordinator, a young leader, 21.

Together with his friend Abdirahim Haji, also young, Singh bought chessboards, printed 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 their event has expanded to draw over 100 young participants to its gatherings.

“Such a venue has a particular connotation associated with it, about it seeming quiet. Our approach is to move in the contrary direction; it is a social get-together with chess as part of it,” he said.

Learning and Playing: An Alternative Generation of Players

Among numerous attendees, chess clubs are an entry point to the activity. One participant, 27, is picking up how to participate in chess with other visitors of the weekly event at Reference Point. She became curious in the pastime was sparked after an pleasurable night dancing and playing chess at one of Knight Club's events.

“It is a strange concept, but it works,” she commented. “It encourages in-person interactions instead of digital pastimes. It is a free third space to meet strangers. It's inviting, you don't need to necessarily be good at chess.”

She humorously compared the popularity of chess among the youth to the facade of the “performative male”, an effort to feign braininess while signaling the veneer of “coolness”. If the chess craze has fostered a authentic interest in the game is not a notion she is entirely sure about. “It's a positive phenomenon, but it’s very much a trend,” she said. “Once you compete with opponents who are truly serious about it, it quickly becomes less fun.”

Competitive Gaming and Community

It may all be a bit of fun and games for those aiming to use a chessboard as a networking tool, but competitive players do have their place, even if away from the dancefloor.

Lucia Ene-Lesikar, in her early twenties, who assists in running the club,says that more competitive players have established a competitive ranking. “Participants who are in the league will face each other, we'll progress to quarter-finals, advanced stages, and then we will finally have a league winner.”

Ryames Chan, 23, is a competitive player and chess instructor. He joined the competition for about a twelve months and participates at the club nearly every week. “This is a nice alternative to playing intense chess; it gives a feeling of belonging,” he expressed.

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

“The thing I like about here is that you're not really facing the computer, you're engaging with real people.”