🔗 Share this article

One of the most vibrant spots on a weekday evening in east London's Brick Lane couldn't be a restaurant or a urban fashion brand pop-up, it is a chess gathering – or rather a chess club-nightclub hybrid, precisely speaking.

Knight Club embodies the unlikely blend between the classic game and London's dynamic nightlife culture. It was started by Yusuf Ntahilaja, in his late twenties, who launched his first chess club in August 2023 at a smaller bar in Aldgate, not too far from the present location at Café 1001 on the iconic lane.

“I wanted to create chess clubs for people who share my background and people my generation,” he said. “Usually, chess is only put in environments that are full of older people, which is not diverse sufficiently.”

Initially, there were just eight boards shared by sixteen people. Today, a “good night” at the weekly Knight Club will attract approximately 280 people.

At first glance, Knight Club seems more like a DJ event than a chess club. Mixed drinks are being served and tunes is playing, but the game boards on every table are not just ornamental or there as a novelty: they are all in use and surrounded by a line of onlookers waiting for their turn.

Jimmy Ifenayi, in her mid-twenties, has been attending Knight Club regularly for the past several months. “I had little understanding of chess prior to I came here, and the initial occasion I tried it, I competed in a game against a grandmaster. It was a quick victory, but it made me fascinated to study and keep playing chess,” she said.

“The event is about 50% networking and 50% people genuinely wishing to engage in chess … It's a pleasant way to relax, which doesn't involve going to a typical nightspot to meet other people my generation.”

A Game Reborn: Chess in the Modern Era

Lately, chess has been cemented in the societal spirit of the times. Its appeal of online chess expanded rapidly during the pandemic, making it one of the most rapidly expanding online games in the world. Across media, the Netflix series a hit show, as well as the author's latest novel a literary work, have created a certain imagery surrounding the sport, which has attracted a fresh generation of players.

However much of this newfound appeal of the chess club isn't necessarily about the intricacies of the game; 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 complete stranger.

“It is a great Trojan horse,” said Jonah Freud, founder of a local venue in London, a bookshop, reading room, cafe and bar, which has hosted a popular chess club every Wednesday since it opened four years ago. His objective is to “take chess off a pedestal and make it feel like pool in a casual pub”.

“It's a very simple vehicle to get to know people. It kind of removes the pressure of the need of conversation from socializing with people. You can do the uncomfortable part of making an introduction and chatting to a new acquaintance across a game instead of with no kind of context involved.”

Expanding the Network: Chess Nights Outside the Capital

Elsewhere in the UK, Chesscafé is a regular chess event held at York’s Cafe, near the city centre. “Our observation was that individuals are looking for places where you can go out, interact and enjoy a good time outside of going to a pub or nightclub,” stated its founder and coordinator, Karan Singh, 21.

Alongside his friend Abdirahim Haji, also young, he purchased game sets, created promotional materials and began the chess club in the start of the year, while in his final year of university. In less than a year, Singh reported their event has expanded to attract over 100 youthful players to its events.

“Such a venue has a specific reputation associated with it, about it seeming reserved. Our approach is to move in the contrary direction; it is a convivial get-together with chess as part of it,” he emphasized.

Learning and Engaging: An Alternative Cohort of Chess Enthusiasts

For many, chess clubs are an entry point to the activity. Zoë Kezia, 27, is picking up how to play chess with other attenders of the weekly event at Reference Point. She became curious in the pastime was sparked after an pleasurable evening moving to music and playing chess at one of Knight Club's events.

“It is a strange concept, but it works,” she commented. “It promotes face-to-face exchanges rather than screen-based activities. It is a free neutral ground to encounter new people. It's welcoming, one doesn't need to necessarily be skilled at chess.”

She humorously likened the trendiness of chess among the youth to the superficial image of the “performative male”, an effort to simulate braininess while projecting the veneer of “coolness”. Whether the chess trend has fostered a genuine passion in the sport is not something she's quite sure about. “It's a wholesome phenomenon, but it’s very much a trend,” she said. “Once you compete with opponents who are truly dedicated about it, it rapidly becomes less enjoyable.”

Serious Play and Community

It may all be a bit of fun and games for individuals aiming to use a chessboard as a social vehicle, but competitive participants certainly have their place, even if away from the dancefloor.

Lucia Ene-Lesikar, in her early twenties, who helps running the club,says that more skilled attenders have established a competitive ranking. “People who are part of the competition will play each other, we'll go to early rounds, advanced stages, and then we will finally have a league winner.”

A dedicated player, 23, is a serious competitor and chess teacher. He joined the competition for about a year and participates at the club almost weekly. “This offers a welcome option to engaging in serious chess; it gives a sense of community,” he expressed.

“It is interesting to see how it becomes more of a social activity, because previously the only people who played chess were people who didn't go outside; they just stayed home. It's usually only two people playing on a game board …

“What I like about here is that one isn't actually facing the digital opponent, you're facing real people.”