Drinks & Checkmates: These Young Britons Giving The Game a New Lease of Life

One of the most energetic spots on a Tuesday evening in east London's Brick Lane isn't a restaurant or a urban fashion brand pop-up, it is a chess club – or rather a chess and nightlife combination, precisely speaking.

This unique venue embodies the surprising fusion between the classic game and the city's fervent evening entertainment culture. It was started by a young entrepreneur, 27, who launched his initial chess club in August 2023 at a smaller bar in Aldgate, a short distance from the present location at Café 1001 on Brick Lane.

“I wanted to create chess clubs for individuals who look like me and people my age,” he said. “Usually, chess is only placed in spaces that are dominated by senior individuals, which is not inclusive sufficiently.”

On the first night, there were only 8 boards between 16 people. Today, a “good night” at the regular Knight Club will draw about 280 people.

Upon arrival, the venue seems closer to a DJ event than a traditional chess meeting. Mixed drinks are being served and tunes is playing, but the chessboards on every table aren't just decorative or there as a novelty: they are all occupied and surrounded by a line of onlookers eagerly anticipating for their chance to play.

One regular, in her mid-twenties, has frequented Knight Club often for the last several months. “I possessed no knowledge of chess before my first visit, and the first time I ever played, I competed in a game with a grandmaster. That was a swift win, but it made me fascinated to study and continue enjoying chess,” she said.

“The event is about half networking and half participants genuinely wanting to engage in chess … It's a nice way to relax, which doesn't involve visiting a typical nightspot to meet others my generation.”

A Game Reborn: Chess in the Contemporary Era

In recent years, chess has been cemented in the societal zeitgeist. Its appeal of digital chess expanded rapidly during the global health crisis, establishing it as one of the fastest-growing online games globally. In popular culture, the Netflix series a hit show, as well as the author's latest novel a literary work, have created a distinct imagery surrounding the sport, which has drawn in a fresh wave of players.

But much of this newfound appeal of the chess night is not necessarily about the intricacies of the game; rather, it is the simplicity of social interaction that it facilitates, by taking a seat and engaging with a person who could be a total stranger.

“It is a brilliant Trojan horse,” said one organizer, co-founder of Reference Point in the city, a bookstore, library, coffee house and bar, which has organized a well-attended chess club weekly since it began several years back. Freud’s aim is to “remove chess from its elite status and transform it into like pool in a casual pub”.

“It's a really easy vehicle to meet people. It kind of takes the pressure of the necessity of conversation from socializing with people. You can do the awkward part of making an introduction and chatting to a new acquaintance over a board instead of with no kind of shared activity involved.”

Expanding the Network: Social Gatherings Beyond the Capital

In Birmingham, Chesscafé is a regular chess event held at a city cafe, near the city centre. “Our observation was that individuals are seeking places where one can go out, socialise and enjoy a good time beyond visiting a bar or nightclub,” said its creator and organiser, Karan Singh, 21.

Together with his friend a partner, 21, Singh purchased chessboards, created flyers and started the chess club in the start of the year, during his last year of college. Within months, he reported Chesscafé has grown to draw over 100 young participants to its events.

“A chess club has a specific connotation associated with it, about it being quiet. Our approach is to go the opposite way; it is a convivial party with chess involved,” he emphasized.

Discovering and Engaging: A New Cohort of Players

Among numerous attendees, chess clubs are an introduction to the game. One participant, in her late twenties, is picking up how to play chess with fellow visitors of the weekly event at Reference Point. She became curious in the game was piqued after an pleasurable night dancing and playing chess at one of the club's occasions.

“It is a strange idea, but it works,” she commented. “It promotes in-person interactions rather than screen-based activities. It is a no-cost third space to meet strangers. It is welcoming, one doesn't have to necessarily be good at chess.”

Kezia humorously compared the trendiness of chess with young people to the superficial image of the “ostentatious intellectual”, an effort to simulate braininess while signaling the veneer of “hipness”. If the chess trend has fostered a genuine passion in the sport is not a notion she is quite sure about. “It is a positive phenomenon, but it’s very much a trend,” she observed. “When you're playing against people who are really serious about it, it rapidly turns less fun.”

Serious Play and Togetherness

It might seem like a bit of lighthearted activity for those aiming to employ a chessboard as a networking tool, but serious participants do have their role, even if away from the main party area.

Lucia Ene-Lesikar, 22, who helps organise the club,says that increasingly skilled attenders have established a league table. “Participants who are in the league will face one another, we will progress to early rounds, semi-finals, and then we'll eventually have a league winner.”

A dedicated player, in his twenties, is a serious competitor and chess teacher. He has been the competition for about a twelve months and plays at the club nearly weekly. “This is a nice alternative to engaging in intense chess; it gives a sense of belonging,” he expressed.

“It is interesting to see how it evolves into increasingly a communal pastime, because in the past the sole people who engaged in chess were people who rarely socialize; they simply stayed home. It is typically only a pair playing on a chessboard …

“The thing I like about this place is that one isn't actually facing the computer, you are facing real people.”