🔗 Share this article

Among the most vibrant locations on a weekday night in the East End's Brick Lane couldn't be a dining spot or a urban fashion brand temporary shop, it is a chess gathering – or a chess club-nightclub combination, precisely speaking.

This unique venue embodies the unlikely crossover between chess and the city's dynamic evening entertainment scene. It was started by Yusuf Ntahilaja, in his late twenties, who launched his first chess club in August 2023 at a more intimate bar in Aldgate, a short distance from the present location at a popular cafe on Brick Lane.

“My goal was to make chess clubs for people who look like me and those my generation,” he explained. “Usually, chess is only put in environments that are dominated by older people, which isn't diverse sufficiently.”

Initially, there were only eight boards shared by 16 people. Today, a “successful evening” at the regular club event will attract about two hundred eighty attendees.

Upon arrival, the venue seems more like a music night than a chess club. Mixed drinks are being served and tunes 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 surrounded by a queue of spectators eagerly anticipating for their chance to play.

Jimmy Ifenayi, in her mid-twenties, has frequented the club regularly for the past four months. “I possessed no knowledge of chess prior to I came here, and the first time I tried it, I competed in a game against a grandmaster. That was a swift win, but it made me fascinated to learn and continue enjoying chess,” she said.

“This gathering is about half social and 50% people actually wanting to engage in chess … It's a nice way to relax, which avoids visiting a club to see other people my age.”

An Activity Revitalized: The Ancient Game in the Contemporary Era

In recent years, chess has been firmly established in the societal zeitgeist. Its appeal of digital chess proliferated during the pandemic, establishing it as one of the most rapidly expanding online pastimes globally. In popular culture, the Netflix series a hit show, as well as Sally Rooney’s latest novel a literary work, have crafted a distinct iconography surrounding the game, which has attracted a fresh generation of players.

However much of this newfound appeal of the chess night is not necessarily about the intricacies of the game; rather, it is the ease of social interaction that it facilitates, by pulling up a chair and engaging with someone who could be a complete unknown individual.

“It is a great clever disguise,” said Jonah Freud, founder of Reference Point in the city, a bookshop, library, cafe and bar, which has hosted a popular chess club every Wednesday since it began several years back. His objective is to “take chess from its elite status and transform it into similar to pool in a dive bar”.

“It's a very easy tool to meet people. It somewhat removes the pressure of the necessity of conversation away from interacting with people. You can do the awkward bit of making an introduction and talking to someone across a game instead of with no context involved.”

Expanding the Community: Chess Nights Beyond the Capital

Elsewhere in the UK, a similar initiative is a recurring chess event held at a city cafe, near the downtown area. “Our observation was that people are seeking places where one can socialize, interact and have a fun evening outside of going to a pub or nightclub,” said its creator and coordinator, a young leader, 21.

Together with his associate Abdirahim Haji, also young, he purchased chessboards, printed promotional materials and began the chess club in January, while in his last year of university. In less than a year, he said Chesscafé has expanded to attract more than 100 young players to its events.

“A chess club has a particular reputation associated with it, about it being reserved. We really try to move in the contrary direction; it is a convivial party with chess involved,” he emphasized.

Learning and Playing: An Alternative Generation of Chess Enthusiasts

Among numerous attendees, chess clubs are an entry point to the activity. Zoë Kezia, in her late twenties, is learning how to play chess with other visitors of chess night at Reference Point. Her interest in the game was piqued after an pleasurable night dancing and playing chess at one of Knight Club's events.

“It is a unique idea, but it functions well,” she said. “It promotes in-person interactions instead of digital pastimes. It is a no-cost neutral ground to encounter strangers. It's welcoming, you don't need to necessarily be skilled at chess.”

She humorously likened the trendiness of chess among young people to the facade of the “performative male”, an attempt to feign braininess while projecting the veneer of “coolness”. If the chess trend has cultivated a genuine interest in the sport isn't a notion she's entirely sure about. “It's a positive phenomenon, but it’s very much a trend,” she observed. “When you're playing against opponents who are truly serious about it, it quickly becomes less fun.”

Competitive Gaming and Community

It might seem like a bit of fun and games for those looking to employ a game set as a networking tool, but competitive players certainly have their place, albeit off the main party area.

Another organizer, in her early twenties, who helps running Knight Club,says that increasingly skilled attenders have formed a competitive ranking. “Participants who are in the league will face one another, we'll progress to quarter-finals, advanced stages, and then we'll eventually have a champion.”

Ryames Chan, 23, is a serious competitor and chess teacher. He has been in the league for about a twelve months and participates at the club nearly every week. “This is a welcome alternative to engaging in serious chess; it gives a sense of community,” he said.

“It is interesting to observe how it evolves into increasingly a social activity, because previously the sole people who engaged in chess were people who didn't go outside; they simply remained home. It is usually only two people playing on a chessboard …

“What I like about here is that you're not actually playing against the digital opponent, you are engaging with real people.”