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Among the most vibrant venues on a weekday night in east London's Brick Lane isn't a restaurant or a urban fashion brand temporary shop, it's a chess gathering – or rather a chess and nightlife combination, to be exact.

This unique venue embodies the unlikely fusion between the classic game and the city's fervent evening entertainment culture. It was founded by a young entrepreneur, 27, who began his first chess club in the summer of 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 individuals who look like me and people my generation,” he explained. “Usually, chess is only put in environments that are full of older people, which is not diverse sufficiently.”

On the first night, there were only 8 boards between 16 people. Now, a “successful evening” at the regular club event will attract about 280 attendees.

Upon arrival, the venue seems more like a music night than a traditional chess meeting. Cocktails are flowing and music is playing, but the game boards on every table are not just ornamental or there as a gimmick: they are all occupied and encircled by a line of spectators waiting for their chance to play.

One regular, 24, has frequented the club often for the last four months. “I had little understanding of chess prior to my first visit, and the initial occasion I ever played, I played a game with a expert player. That was a swift victory, but it made me fascinated to study and keep playing chess,” she said.

“This gathering is about half networking and half participants genuinely wanting to play chess … It's a nice way to decompress, which doesn't involve going to a club to meet other people my generation.”

A Game Reborn: The Ancient Game in the Modern Era

Lately, chess has been firmly established in the cultural zeitgeist. The popularity of online chess expanded rapidly throughout the pandemic, making it one of the fastest-growing internet pastimes globally. Across media, the streaming series The Queen’s Gambit, along with Sally Rooney’s recent novel a literary work, have created a certain iconography surrounding the sport, which has drawn in a new wave of enthusiasts.

However much of this recent attraction of the chess club isn't necessarily about the technicalities of the game; instead, it is the ease of connecting with others that it facilitates, by taking a seat and playing with someone who may be a total unknown individual.

“It is a great clever disguise,” remarked one organizer, founder of Reference Point in London, a bookstore, reading room, coffee house and bar, which has organized a popular chess club every Wednesday since it began four years ago. His objective is to “remove chess from its elite status and transform it into like billiards in a dive bar”.

“It's a really easy vehicle to get to know people. It somewhat takes the pressure of the need of conversation away from interacting with people. You can do the uncomfortable bit of introducing yourself and chatting to a new acquaintance over a game rather than with no shared activity around it.”

Expanding the Community: Chess Nights Beyond the Capital

Elsewhere in the UK, Chesscafé is a regular chess event held at York’s Cafe, just outside the city centre. “Our observation was that people are seeking places where one can go out, socialise and have a good time outside of going to a pub or club,” stated its creator and coordinator, a young leader, 21.

Alongside his friend Abdirahim Haji, 21, he purchased chessboards, printed promotional materials and started the chess club in the start of the year, while in his last year of college. In less than a year, he reported their event has expanded to draw over 100 youthful players to its events.

“A chess club has a particular connotation associated with it, about it seeming quiet. Our approach is to go the opposite direction; it's a convivial get-together with chess involved,” he said.

Discovering and Playing: A New Cohort of Players

For many, chess clubs are an introduction to the game. Zoë Kezia, in her late twenties, is picking up how to play chess with fellow visitors of the weekly event at the venue. Her interest in the pastime was sparked after an enjoyable night dancing and playing chess at a previous Knight Club's events.

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

Kezia jokingly compared the popularity of chess with the youth to the facade of the “performative male”, an effort to feign intellectualism while projecting the veneer of “hipness”. Whether the chess trend has cultivated a authentic interest in the game is not a notion she is quite sure about. “It is a positive trend, but it’s largely a trend,” she said. “When you compete with people who are really serious about it, it quickly turns less fun.”

Serious Play and Togetherness

It may all be a bit of lighthearted activity for individuals looking to employ a chessboard as a social vehicle, but serious participants certainly have their role, albeit off the main party area.

Lucia Ene-Lesikar, 22, who helps organise the club,says that more skilled attenders have established a league table. “People who are part of the competition will face each other, we'll progress to early rounds, semi-finals, and then we will finally have a champion.”

A dedicated player, in his twenties, is a competitive competitor and chess teacher. He joined in the league for about a twelve months and participates at the club nearly every week. “This offers a welcome option to engaging in intense chess; it provides a feeling of community,” he said.

“It's fascinating to see how it becomes increasingly a social activity, because previously the sole individuals who played chess were those who didn't go outside; they simply remained home. It is typically just a pair playing on a chessboard …

“The thing appeals to me about here is that you're not really facing the computer, you are facing real people.”