Cocktails & Chess Victories: These Youthful British People Providing The Game a Fresh Breath of Vitality

One of the liveliest locations on a weekday evening in the East End's famous street isn't a restaurant or a urban fashion brand pop-up, it is a chess gathering – or rather a chess club-nightclub fusion, precisely speaking.

Knight Club embodies the unlikely blend between chess 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 smaller bar in a nearby area, a short distance from the present location at a popular cafe on Brick Lane.

“I wanted to create chess clubs for people who share my background and those my generation,” he explained. “Usually, chess is only put in environments that are dominated by older people, which is not inclusive enough.”

On the first night, there were only 8 boards between sixteen people. Today, a “successful evening” at the weekly club event will draw approximately 280 people.

At first glance, the venue feels closer to a music night than a chess club. Cocktails are being served and tunes is playing, but the chessboards on each table are not just ornamental or there as a novelty: they are all occupied and encircled by a line of onlookers waiting for their turn.

Jimmy Ifenayi, in her mid-twenties, has been attending the club often for the last four months. “I possessed little understanding of chess before I came here, and the first time I tried it, I competed in a game with a expert player. That was a swift win, but it made me intrigued to study and continue enjoying chess,” she noted.

“This gathering is about 50% social and 50% participants actually wishing to engage in chess … It is a nice way to relax, which doesn't involve visiting a typical nightspot to meet other people my age.”

A Game Revitalized: The Ancient Game in the Contemporary Age

Lately, chess has been firmly established in the societal spirit of the times. Its appeal of online chess proliferated during the pandemic, establishing it as one of the most rapidly expanding internet games globally. Across media, the streaming series a hit show, along with the author's latest novel a literary work, have created a certain imagery surrounding the game, which has drawn in a new generation of enthusiasts.

But a great deal of this recent attraction of the chess night is not always about the intricacies of the play; rather, it is the simplicity of connecting with others that it facilitates, by pulling up a seat and engaging with a person who could be a total unknown individual.

“It's a great Trojan horse,” said one organizer, founder of a local venue in London, a bookstore, reading room, cafe and bar, which has organized a well-attended chess club every Wednesday since it opened four years ago. His aim is to “remove chess from its elite status and make it feel like pool in a casual pub”.

“It's a very easy tool to get to know people. It somewhat removes the weight of the need of small talk away from socializing with people. One can handle the awkward part of introducing yourself and chatting to someone across a game rather than with no shared activity involved.”

Expanding the Network: Social Gatherings Beyond the Capital

In Birmingham, Chesscafé is a recurring chess event held at a city cafe, near the downtown area. “Our observation was that individuals are looking for places where you can socialize, socialise and have a good time outside of visiting a bar or nightclub,” stated its founder and coordinator, Karan Singh, in his early twenties.

Alongside his friend Abdirahim Haji, 21, he bought chessboards, printed flyers and began the chess club in the start of the year, during his last year of university. Within months, Singh said their event has grown to draw more than one hundred youthful participants to its events.

“Such a venue has a specific reputation associated with it, about it seeming quiet. Our approach is to move in the contrary way; it is a social party with chess as part of it,” he said.

Learning and Playing: A New Generation of Chess Enthusiasts

For many, chess clubs are an introduction to the game. Zoë Kezia, 27, is learning how to participate in chess with other attenders of chess night at Reference Point. She became curious in the pastime was piqued after an enjoyable night dancing and playing chess at one of the club's occasions.

“It is a unique idea, but it works,” she said. “It encourages in-person exchanges instead of screen-based activities. It is a free neutral ground to encounter new people. It's inviting, you don't need to necessarily be skilled at chess.”

She jokingly likened the popularity of chess among young people to the facade of the “performative male”, an attempt to feign intellectualism while projecting the veneer of “coolness”. If the chess trend has cultivated a authentic interest in the game is not something she's quite sure about. “It's a wholesome phenomenon, but it’s very much a fad,” she observed. “Once you compete with opponents who are really serious about it, it rapidly becomes less enjoyable.”

Competitive Play and Community

It might seem like a bit of fun and games for individuals looking to use a chessboard as a social vehicle, but competitive participants certainly have their role, albeit off the dancefloor.

Another organizer, in her early twenties, who assists in organise Knight Club,explains that increasingly competitive attenders have formed a league table. “People who are part of the competition will face each other, we will go to early rounds, advanced stages, and then we will eventually have a champion.”

A dedicated player, in his twenties, is a competitive competitor and chess instructor. He has been the competition for about a twelve months and plays at the club nearly every week. “This offers a welcome alternative to engaging in intense chess; it gives a feeling of community,” he expressed.

“It is fascinating to see how it evolves into increasingly a communal pastime, because previously the sole individuals who played chess were those who rarely socialize; they just stayed home. It's typically just a pair playing on a game board …

“The thing appeals to me about this place is that one isn't really playing against the digital opponent, you're engaging with real people.”