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One of the most vibrant venues on a weekday night in the East End's Brick Lane couldn't be a dining spot or a streetwear label temporary shop, it is a chess gathering – or a chess and nightlife fusion, to be exact.

This unique venue represents the surprising fusion between the classic game and the city's fervent nightlife scene. It was started by a young entrepreneur, 27, who launched his first chess club in the summer of 2023 at a smaller bar in a nearby area, a short distance from the present location at Café 1001 on the iconic lane.

“I wanted to make chess clubs for people who share my background and those my age,” he said. “Usually, chess is only placed in environments that are full of senior individuals, which isn't inclusive sufficiently.”

Initially, there were just 8 boards shared by 16 people. Now, a “good night” at the weekly club event will attract about 280 attendees.

Upon arrival, the venue seems closer to a music night than a chess club. Mixed drinks are flowing and music is in the air, but the game boards on every table aren't just ornamental or there as a gimmick: they are all in use and encircled by a queue of onlookers waiting for their chance to play.

One regular, in her mid-twenties, has frequented Knight Club regularly for the past several months. “I possessed no knowledge of chess before my first visit, and the first time I ever played, I played 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 half networking and half participants actually wanting to play chess … It's a pleasant way to unwind, which avoids visiting a typical nightspot to see other people my generation.”

A Game Revitalized: Chess in the Contemporary Age

In recent years, chess has been firmly established in the cultural zeitgeist. The popularity of digital chess expanded rapidly throughout the pandemic, 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 Intermezzo, have crafted a certain iconography associated with the sport, which has attracted a fresh generation of enthusiasts.

But a great deal of this recent appeal of the chess club is not always about the intricacies of the game; instead, it is the ease of social interaction that it facilitates, by pulling up a chair and playing with someone who may be a complete unknown individual.

“It's a brilliant clever disguise,” said Jonah Freud, founder of a local venue in London, a bookstore, library, coffee house and lounge, which has hosted a popular chess club every Wednesday since it began four years ago. His aim is to “take chess from its elite status and make it feel similar to billiards in a casual pub”.

“It's a very easy vehicle to get to know people. It kind of removes the pressure of the necessity of conversation from interacting with people. One can do the awkward part of introducing yourself and talking to someone across a board instead of with no kind of context around it.”

Expanding the Community: Social Gatherings Outside London

In Birmingham, Chesscafé is a recurring chess event taking place at York’s Cafe, near the city centre. “We found that people are looking for places where one can go out, interact and have a fun evening beyond going to a bar or club,” stated its creator and organiser, Karan Singh, in his early twenties.

Together with his associate a partner, also young, he bought game sets, printed promotional materials and began the chess club in January, during his final year of college. Within months, Singh reported their event has expanded to draw over 100 young players to its events.

“A chess club has a specific reputation associated with it, about it being reserved. We really try to move in the opposite direction; it is a convivial party with chess as part of it,” he said.

Discovering and Playing: A New Cohort of Players

For many, chess clubs are an entry point to the activity. Zoë Kezia, 27, is picking up how to play chess with fellow attenders of chess night at the venue. She became curious in the pastime was piqued after an enjoyable evening moving to music and playing chess at a previous Knight Club's events.

“It is a unique concept, but it functions well,” she said. “It promotes face-to-face exchanges instead of digital pastimes. It is a no-cost third space to encounter new people. It's welcoming, one doesn't have to necessarily be skilled at chess.”

She humorously likened the popularity of chess with young people to the facade of the “performative male”, an effort to feign intellectualism while signaling the veneer of “coolness”. Whether the chess trend has cultivated a authentic interest in the sport is not a notion she's entirely sure about. “It is a wholesome phenomenon, but it’s largely a trend,” she said. “When you're playing against opponents who are truly serious about it, it quickly becomes less enjoyable.”

Serious Play and Community

It may all be a bit of lighthearted activity for those aiming to employ a game set as a social vehicle, but competitive participants certainly have their place, even if off the main party area.

Another organizer, 22, who helps organise the club,says that more skilled attenders have formed a competitive ranking. “People who are in the league will play one another, we'll progress to quarter-finals, advanced stages, and then we'll finally have a champion.”

Ryames Chan, in his twenties, is a competitive player and chess instructor. He joined the competition for about a year and participates at the club nearly weekly. “This offers a nice alternative to engaging in serious chess; it provides a feeling of community,” he expressed.

“It is fascinating to observe how it becomes increasingly a communal activity, because in the past the only people who played chess were those who didn't go outside; they simply remained home. It's usually only a pair competing on a game board …

“What I like about this place is that one isn't actually playing against the computer, you're engaging with real people.”